Posted on 09/10/2015 8:21:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Kim Davis is out of jail, but she never should have been there to begin with.
In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court required all states to recognize same-sex marriage, putting Mrs. Davis, head clerk of Rowan County, Ky., in a difficult position. In Kentucky, marriage licenses bear the name and invoke the authority of the head county clerk, making Mrs. Davis, in her view, a participant in a union to which she objects on religious principle. One day after the Court’s ruling, she stopped issuing marriage licenses entirely. A lawsuit followed, charging her with violating the law as interpreted under the Supreme Court’s ruling. A federal court directed her to issue all licenses, notwithstanding her objections. When she refused, U.S. District Judge David Bunning held her in contempt of court, and, rejecting several less spectacular alternatives, ordered her to jail. The Supreme Court rejected her appeal.
The sequence of events that led to Mrs. Davis’s imprisonment was predictable and entirely avoidable. The Supreme Court’s decision to assume to itself the ability to redefine marriage circumvented the legislative process by which accommodations for conscientious objections could have been developed. By redefining the responsibilities of public officials such as Mrs. Davis without offering protections of conscience, the Court foreordained clashes such as this.
States can and should find ways to accommodate public officials with religious objections to facilitating same-sex marriages. The United States has a long history of accommodating conscientious objectors, among them public officials. The coercive binary on offer from Ms. Davis’s critics — that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or resign — is a false choice.
#share#Some states have already shown how a state can simultaneously give same-sex couples the benefits the Supreme Court has conferred on them and accommodate public officials who object to participating in that right. In North Carolina, officials — magistrates responsible for performing weddings, or registers of deeds responsible for issuing licenses to couples — who notify a superior of a conscience-based objection can recuse themselves in the case of same-sex marriages, and the state guarantees that another official will fulfill their responsibility. Hawaii has avoided problems by setting up an online system for issuing marriage licenses.
Such solutions are available to all states, including Kentucky. Similarly, Kentucky could simply amend its marriage licenses so that they no longer bear the name of the clerk from the issuing county. To accommodate the Supreme Court’s marriage edict, Kentucky has amended licenses to read “Party 1” and “Party 2” instead of “Bride” and “Groom.” Why not accommodate Mrs. Davis and others like her?
Yet Kentucky governor Steve Beshear has shown little interest in such solutions. In June, when a clerk in Casey County refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the governor demanded that clerks either dispense licenses or resign, and he refused to call a special session of the state legislature to resolve the issue. He has not budged on either position during this latest battle, suggesting that Kentucky lawmakers will not have an opportunity to resolve this issue until the next legislative session begins in January.
Neither Kentucky legislators nor those of any other state should be duped by Governor Beshear’s false choice. There is a simple solution available to secure both the judicially imposed right of same-sex couples to wed and the right of conscience of public officials. Common sense and a willingness to compromise can safeguard both the orderly administration of law and religious freedom.
Well, for once, a level-headed analysis from National Review. I use to read that magazine for articles like that.
Yeppers. I’m very disgusted lately with the lib articles from Nat Rev (and Townhall too).
But this one seems reasonable.
FOX News thinks just the opposite, that she should be jailed for being a bigot.
Pray America is waking
Reject illegitimate dictates. A court can not declare what a State’s law shall be.
The objectives of this evil isn’t to obtain the licenses, even though having a Christian jailed for refusing is a perk for them as well as ruining the lives of Christians who refuse to serve their abomination. The final and prime objective is to force any and all churches to perform these abominations before the Holy Altar of The Almighty that is supposed to be consecrated to worship of The One Creator. Satan will stop at nothing less.
Meanwhile, with the approval of progressives everywhere, teachers’ unions repeatedly ignore court orders and go on strike.
How hard is it to understand that the USSC can, constitutionally, only render opinions? They cannot, again constitutionally, make or change laws. Has anyone even considered that the nine black-robed supremes cannot even come close to agreeing with each other on important issues? Do their numerous five to four decisions deserve more than passing comment? Are the four wrong and the five right? The fact that all nine are lawyers is enough to give me pause regarding any decision they make. The correct response, if any, to a USSC decision should be a legislative review of the relevant laws and constitutional issues in dispute followed by any legal remedies deemed appropriate by congress.
SOURCE:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/5-surprising-facts-about-kim-davis-144913/
Kim Davis Doesn’t Oppose Issuing Gay Marriage Licenses; Only Opposes Having Her Name on Them
Although many people believe that Davis’ demand for her office to refrain from issuing all marriage licenses is because she doesn’t want to issue gay marriage certificates at all, Davis only has issue with with having her name and title as authorization on same-sex marriage certificates and does not oppose issuing same-sex marriage certificates that don’t include her name on them.
Mat Staver, who heads the Liberty Counsel law firm that represents Davis, recently told CNN that if the state allowed for the clerk’s office to issue marriage licenses that did not include her name anywhere on them, Davis’ issue would be settled.
“She has asked for one simple accommodation for her faith, not just for her but all the other clerks in Kentucky that are similarly situated, that is, remove her name and title from the marriage certificates,” Staver said. “That is all she is asking for. She will issue the certificates but she doesn’t want her name and title on it, because that, her understanding and mine, is authorizing something that is contrary to her Christian values and convictions, authorizing it contrary to God’s design for marriage.”
“So that is where the conscience rub is and the clerks association has offered that same remedy for all the clerks,” Staver continued. “That would be the simple fix, rather than jail, Kim Davis who has been a faithful servant of the people, the judgeship should just simply order the marriage licenses to remove her name and title and that would solve the matter.”
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