She is a Court Clerk in Rowan County Kentucky where it is her job, among other things, to issue marriage licenses. Recently, the Supreme Court invented a constitutional right to marry someone of the same gender, but, as a recent convert (four years she says) to Christianity, Ms. Davis believes same-sex “marriage” is wrong.
Therefore, she refused to issue the licenses.
There have been lots of similar situations.
Businesses who do not wish to participate in a same-sex “marriage” ceremony are sued.
Private sector employees like Brendan Eich, the former CEO of Mozilla, have been forced out of their jobs for supporting the idea that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.
Public sector employees like Kelvin Cochran, the former fire chief from Atlanta, have been fired for those same beliefs without any accusation of mistreating employees or discriminating against anyone.
But Kim Davis’ situation is different because she holds elected office. She doesn’t have a boss who can fire her. A court ordered her to issue same-sex “marriage” licenses but she refused. So yesterday, she was sent to jail for contempt of court.
Despite the insistence from the left that the redefinition of marriage would have no impact on religious freedom, many see this story as just further evidence of freedoms being lost.
The left, however, has moved away from pretending to care about freedom of religion. They now express full-blown, outrage at the idea that people shouldn’t lose their freedom if they don’t support same-sex “marriage”. After all, who needs freedom of conscience when you can have tolerance and equality?
In Kim Davis’ case, however, their outrage is a little different. They aren’t simply outraged that she doesn’t like same-sex “marriage”, they are outraged by her shocking disregard for the law.
Shocking, I tell you.
Suddenly, the progressives are organizing lectures to remind the world that our system of government is predicated on our laws being enforced equitably, regardless of the preferences of the individuals. Even Hillary Clinton got into the act this week tweeting that, “Marriage equality is the law of the land. Officials should be held to their duty to uphold the law-end of story.”
And you thought Animal Farm was satire.
Of course their point about the importance of the rule of law is a good one. But given the context of the Kim Davis controversy, it seems a brief lesson in the history of same-sex “marriage” is in order.
- Once President Obama finished his evolution on marriage, the U.S. Department of Justice, whose job it is to defend the laws of the United States in Court, refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.
- Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder then declared that state Attorneys General are not required to defend constitutional amendments in their states if they believe them to be “discriminatory”.
- It is the job of an attorney general to defend state laws in court. However, the Attorneys General in Oregon, Nevada, California, Illinois, Virginia, and Pennsylvania all refused to defend constitutional amendments in their states defining marriage as a man/woman relationship.
- In 2013, D. Bruce Haines, an official in Montgomery County Pennsylvania, started issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses when the law did not permit it.
- In 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsome of San Francisco and Mayor John West of New Paltz, New York both directed marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples long before marriage had been redefined in their states.
“We’ve progressed,” they insist. “The law has changed to be good so we care about the rule of law now.”
About that.
Let’s remember how this new “law” was actually changed. Was it lawful?
The states did not come together with Congress in the constitutionally prescribed manner to amend the constitution and change the law for the whole nation. While a few states actually did use the democratic process to redefine marriage, the vast majority (thirty-eight) had a new definition forced upon them by judges who liked the new definition better than the old one.
When the Supreme Court invented a constitutional right to marry someone of the same gender in Obergefell, they overturned their own precedent from Windsor less than two years previously when they said states had the right to define marriage for themselves.
Whatever that is, it’s not the rule of law.
It’s not just about marriage laws either.
Did you know that it’s illegal for teachers to strike in Washington State? Doesn’t seem to stop them.
Or how about sanctuary cities who advertise the fact that they ignore state and federal laws on immigration?
The Supreme Court did what they thought was the right thing to do despite what the law said and Kim Davis is doing the same. Kim Davis is no more lawless than half of Washington DC, she just has less powerful friends.
We may have never fully left the world in which might makes right, but our desire to bear-hug might, because we like what it is doing so much, seems to be a new impulse.
Love or hate the result, but be intellectually honest enough to lose the indignation.
If you punch someone in the face, you may end up winning the fight. But no one is going to take you seriously if you ask, “How could you?” when they try to punch you back.
