Kim Davis Is A Footnote To The Same-Sex Marriage Victory

Ken AshfordConstitution, Gay Marriage, Godstuff, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

I’m on vacation, but I am not completely off the grid.  I just have a higher bar (this week)n as to what interests me enough to blog about.

Checking in, I see not much has changed.  Trump is still testing the bounds of open bigotry.  Ho hum.

And I see that Kim Davis, who I wrote about last week, has achieved mainstream status.  She’s all over my Facebook.  Since I last wrote about her, she has been denied an appeal to the US Supreme Court, so basically, she has no legal recourse anymore, and she has to start issuing marriage licenses to gay and straight couples.

She is quite adamant about not doing it.  Her lawyers say it is “impossible” for her to do it.  Davis released a statement released yesterday in which she wrote: “To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience.”

Well, isn’t that special?

She has become the spokesperson for religious hypocrisy too.  Despite her claims to literal biblical interpretation, she was married and divorced three times — in 1994, 2006 and 2008, according to U.S. News & World Report.  She gave birth to twins five months after she divorced her first husband. The father of those twins was her third husband, according to the records.  Her second husband adopted the twins, the news magazine said.

CN_QfbGVAAAtPtbWell, isn’t THAT special?

It seems to me that if she is working under God’s authority, then God should provide her a salary, and the state of Kentucky should not.  Or, as many many many people have said, if she cannot do her job, she should resign (she is an elected official).  The religious objection is a serious one, but she’s misusing it.  Think of it this way. Someone who objects to war due to his religious conscience has a right to be a conscientious objector and not serve in the military, even were there to be a draft. But he does not have the right to serve as a military officer, draw a paycheck from the military and then substitute his own personal views of when war is justified for that of the government. The same applies here.

Today is D-day — Davis Day — as she has to return to federal court on a contempt charge.  She is facing fines and imprisonment.

CN_RmNXWIAAzGUBI can see why this has national media attention.  This is a conflict for which there is no middle ground.  No compromise.   On one side are five same-sex couples who want their licenses in their own county; on the other is Davis, who wants to be free to refuse them and send them elsewhere. A court could hold for the plaintiffs and order Davis to do her job, or it could hold for Davis and tell the couples to go elsewhere. Those are the only two options.

Her lawyers at Liberty Counsel are boneheads.  They made a grievous error in advising Davis to defy the court’s order. And God knows the firm is easy to mock. Its website features a statement by Davis that “to issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience”—and beneath it, a request for a $25 donation in exchange for a book in which “two nationally-acclaimed real estate entrepreneurs share biblical principles to revolutionize your work and family life, and give you the courage to stand up for what is right.”  When you look all that Liberty Counsel has done for Ms. Davis, you wonder if they have Ms. Davis’ best interests at heart, as opposed to their own.  Such is the state of religion today.

But back to Kim.  Guess what?  She loses.  And it is not because she is Christian.  It is because we are a nation of laws.  Not religion.  The two can co-exist, but if you think religion trumps law…. well, don’t complain when you get called the American Taliban.

UPDATE:  Via Facebook, a not-yet-published interview with Rowan County District Attorney Cecil Watkins:

Exclusive. Just conducted an interview with Cecil Watkins, the Rowan County Attorney. Watkins (who to my knowledge) hasn’t given any interviews.

Watkins indicates that Kim Davis “does not represent” Rowan County and is not representative of its inclusive values.

From Day One, Watkins told David I “will not and cannot support” you in her defiance of the law. Not only that he was clear he would not represent her as the law in the case of same sex marriage is clear.

While he has no stance on same sex marriage, well-established federal law must be followed.

Watkins wanted to emphasize several other things.

First that everyone who works at the courthouse has endured cursing as they enter the building. And it’s not just at her office. Everyone in the courthouse is scared to come to work.

Second that Liberty Counsel will leave Kim Davis high and dry when this charade is over. Watkins thinks the funds they raise off the case should go to Rowan County.

Finally and most importantly he has learned that deputy clerks would issue lawful marriage licenses. They are simply afraid to do so. And if Judge Bunning instructs them to do so . . . they will.

Davis has put, in the words of Watkins, her employees and everyone in the courthouse in a “terrible position.”

Watkins, in his role as the County Attorney, will be in court tomorrow for the hearing at 11:00 in Ashland. He is pictured being sworn in.

Ed. Note – The takeaways from the Watkins interview are clear. Davis is acting alone in her zealous mission. Her conduct has terrorized not just her staff but everyone that works in the courthouse. And all for a foolish mission aided by out of state charlatan lawyers trying to raise money for their “religious liberty” mission.

Shannon Ragland
Kentucky Trial Court Review

UPDATE: