A gay rights group has erected a billboard addressed to Kim Davis in her home town of Morehead, Kentucky.

Davis, a 49-year-old county clerk in Kentucky, was released from prison after being jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences for same-sex couples. 

Planting Peace, a non-profit LGBTQ rights group, paid for the poster which stands in the middle of Davis' home town. Addressed directly to Davis it reads: "Dear Kim Davis, the fact that you can't sell your daughter for three goats and a cow means we've already redefined marriage."

The message, which refers to the ancient practice of selling women into marriage in return for livestock, was defended by Aaron Jackson, the president of Planting Peace.

He hopes the billboard will "expose how the anti-LGBT movement is selective in what rules to follow and how they choose to define 'traditional' institutions or values", he told USA Today.

"It is important and relevant to call this out, because these messages and actions are not simply about a political or religious debate," Planting Peace later said in a statement.

"There are LGBTQ youth across the world who are taking their lives at an alarming rate because of these messages from society that make them feel broken."

Davis, 49, has refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples in Rowan County, saying same-sex marriage is against her religious beliefs.

However in June the US Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage, requiring her in her role as county clerk to issue same-sex marriage licences. After her continued refusal she was jailed for contempt of court but was released after five days.

Planting Peace is the same group the launched the Equality House in 2013, a rainbow-painted house opposite Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, where a lesbian couple held their wedding.