Posted on 11/16/2015 7:10:37 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Kim Davis and other county officials in Kentucky should not have to worry about violating their religious conscience by performing official duties much longer.
Less than a week after the title "governor-elect" was added to his name, Kentucky Republican Matt Bevin announced he would make sure that Davis and other county officials who don't want to sign gay marriage licenses would no longer have to put their names on the documents.
Davis couldn't be happier.
"I am ecstatic. He is such a genuine and caring person. I will be forever thankful that he came to visit me while I was in jail," Davis said. "At a clerks' meeting he hugged me and said he was praying for me. I am looking forward to his leadership as our new governor."
Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, the group that represented Davis in her internationally documented court battles against being forced to sign gay marriage licenses, said Bevin should be the best thing that ever happened to those in Kentucky who want to exercise their religious liberty.
"The election was not even close. The lopsided victory for Matt Bevin stunned most political pundits. There is no question that the issue of religious freedom and same-sex marriage played a role in the results. The people favor traditional values and marriage, and they are tired of the political elites represented by Governor Beshear who are out of touch with ordinary, God-loving citizens," Staver said.
"We look forward to working with Governor-Elect Bevin to accommodate the religious convictions of Kim Davis and other Kentucky clerks. Finally, we will have common sense and the Constitution prevail in Kentucky," Staver added.
Bevin promised to make the marriage license policy change official as soon as he takes office in December.
Davis spent five days in jail on a contempt of court charge after refusing to issue any marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
She was released from jail by U.S. District Judge David Bunning after agreeing to not interfere with the marriage license process in Rowan County, Ky.
Liberty Counsel attorneys have appealed Bunning's order to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. However, Bunning and the appeals court have consistently denied her requests for stays in the case.
It is unclear how Bevin's announcement and promised policy change will affect Davis' case in court.
But Liberty Counsel filed a comprehensive brief of nearly 100 pages before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals only a few days after Bevin won the Kentucky gubernatorial election.
In the lower court before Judge Bunning, Gov. Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway will soon file their opinion addressing whether the marriage licenses issued are valid.
Mat Staver said, "The upcoming filings from Gov. Beshear and Attorney General Conway are likely moot if not irrelevant in light of the soon-to-be-issued executive order from Gov. Elect Bevin."
No matter what happens with Davis' case in the judicial process, Staver said Bevin's surprising victory was a sign of support from the voters of Kentucky.
"The people of Kentucky have overwhelmingly spoken in support of Kim Davis and others who believe our nation should be a place where all people can live out their faith without fear of being put in prison," said Staver. "This is a day that our constitutional principles are being used as intended to protect innocent people from undue harm. This promise is a clear, simple path to resolving all the legal efforts on behalf of Davis."
However, it is yet to be seen if Bevin will actually have the power, by executive order, to change the way marriage licenses are handled in Kentucky.
Davis' attorneys repeatedly asked Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) for the same administrative change in the way marriage licenses were handled. However, Beshear maintained that only the Kentucky Legislature could remove the requirement that county clerks sign marriage licenses.
Bevin told reporters Beshear's argument that the change couldn't be made by executive order was "baloney."
"Gov. Steve Beshear could have resolved this marriage license issue a long time ago, but he chose to ignore the plea for help," Staver added. "Gov.-elect Bevin's impending executive order is a welcome relief for Kim Davis and should be for everyone who cherishes religious freedom."
Political pundits in Kentucky see Bevin's victory — he is the second Republican to win a gubernatorial election in the state since 1971 — as a sign of a conservative backlash and the strength of political outsiders in the coming 2016 elections.
"This is the chance for a fresh start, it truly is, and we really need it," Bevin told his supporters as he declared victory in Louisville. "I believe this offers us an opportunity to change the tenor of what has become expected in the world of politics."
It is time the Governors of these United States start telling its Federal Government to go suck an egg. If you don’t take their damned money, you don’t have to take their sh!t.
Just a band aid. What needs to happen is that the governors of the states need to tell the majority of liars on the supreme court to go F*** themselves.
The Word "Matrimony" is Latin. It means "Ceremony to create a Mother."
Two faggots cannot be joined in Matrimony, because neither of them can be a mother.
The very meaning of the word rebukes the fools.
Mark Bevin should mobilize the Kentucky National Guard and have the stinking judge arrested. He should also go and arrest those thug marshals that took the Christian woman to jail in shackles. They should get the EXACT treatment.
I couldn't agree more.
English is a very good language with a lot of expressive and forceful words. Why do you need that? Serious question.
RE: If you don’t take their damned money, you don’t have to take their sh!t.
Ahhh... But what about the money Kentucky SENDS to Washington DC?
Two cases happened last year that the media and government treat totally opposite.
A ruling on ‘gay marriage’ somehow made new “law of the land” that all 50 states had to follow.
A ruling on ‘concealed carry’ somehow is NOT “law of the land”
We should ALL start claiming that ‘concealed carry’ is now allowed in all 50 states the same way they said ‘gay marriage’ is
Have you ever seen a movie called "From the Hip"?
In it, the young lawyer (played by Judd Nelson) has to explain to the judge why his client called the plaintiff an "@$$."
My reasons are exactly like that. No other expression quite captures the nuance of meaning that is intended.
You’re just gonna have to chalk that up to tribute paid to a tyrant, frankly. Count your blessings it’s just money in the form of taxes.
The REAL damage this Federal Government does to our future is the imposition of BS regulations and requirements that are unfunded, unfounded and illegal in my opinion. The only reason they are effect is that the threat of withholding Federal dollars forces the states and local entities to comply. Dept of Education, HHS, et al are toothless tigers if the threat of withholding is off the table. Look at what the Dept of Education has been able to do to our children via withholding threats.
The real problem besides the carrot and stick is that there are too many state & local politicians who just love that money...love it, love it, love it. They are lazy unprincipled uncaring fools who have lied to get where they are and don’t give a damn about our childrens’ futures.
The good, responsible public servant in these places is damned hard to find; each good state level and county level bureaucrat could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand.
No other expression quite captures the nuance of meaning that is intended.
That is just sad.
It is a minor bit of "sad" floating in a massive ocean of "sad."
It is sad that the nation has come to this point where it is a reasonable and necessary to tell the supreme court to "go f*** themselves."
I keep wondering why we are still discussing gun control when the Second Amendment is perfectly clear, has been understood for over 200 years and it's a right given to us by God. Yet they, daily, keep trying to read into it something that just isn't there. Just as finding abortion in privacy rights. I guess as long as I torture and kill a 2 year old behind closed doors, it's not really anyone's business. Marriage is not discussed in the Constitution and the ninth and tenth Amendments cover whose jurisdiction it is, on items not specifically discussed in the Constitution. Public school is not discussed, but religion is. It's says Congress shall make no law,..., but yet they did. Christianity is the only religion not allowed in school by laws, yet kids are being taught the pillars of Islam and dress in ME garb every year. Do we have freedom of speech to say Islam is a worship of Satan and his prophet, or is that "hate" speech? We now have hate crimes as if some crimes were worse than others. If I kill someone for $20 or kill them because they are Muslim, is one worse then the other? Apparently so.
The original intent of the Constitution has been lost for a hundred years. To pretend we can't change things is just a lie from the devil as it's proved every day that is IS changed all the time.
The answer seems to be a Constitutional Amendment, which is very hard to get, that SCOTUS judges should stand for election every 6 years or so. Newt Gingrich had an inventive solution of cutting their pay out of the budget. Just stop paying 4 of the 5 judges and see how long they last. This is the power the congress has had from the beginning but they are told they can never use the power they have. They are the closest to to the people and would hear first about someone that is unhappy. If they heard from their voters that ObamaCare was not popular, they could say, well you can out vote us but we won't finance it. At some point they would have to relent. Same with gay marriage. Same with gun laws. Everyone that voted for restrictive gun laws were quickly sent home, but they still send another bill up for a vote. If they started to withhold money, the bills would dry up.
It's time to dump the SCOTUS and start over with Christians that are patriots or they will soon be deciding cases based on Sharia overriding the Constitution. I'm sure even atheists would rather live under Christian principles that Islam. Living under atheist rules ends up with atheists hung right next to the Christians.
Loretta Lynch will be on this one real quick.
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