Free Republic

Yesterday, Rand Paul articulated a path forward after Obergefell that would provide equal treatment under the law while preserving the free exercise of religion, which is to get government out of the marriage business. “All Americans have the right to contract,” Paul wrote, and enforcing contracts falls clearly within the purview of government. By defining social constructs, Paul warns, creates “a danger that a government that involves itself in every nook and cranny of our lives won’t now enforce definitions that conflict with sincerely felt religious convictions of others.”Indeed, and this is one reason among several that I have...

A local judge contends the U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage has derailed Tennessee's ability to determine what constitutes divorce — leaving one Signal Mountain couple married against their will. Hamilton County Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton denied the divorce petition last week after hearing from seven witnesses and going through 77 exhibits. Among several reasons he cited in rejecting the couple's divorce, one was the Supreme Court's June ruling. Atherton said the Supreme Court must clarify "when a marriage is no longer a marriage." Otherwise, he contended, state courts are impaired from addressing marriage and divorce litigation altogether. "The conclusion...

I stand with Kim Davis! I will not comply! Free Republic is and always will remain a pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-constitution, pro-liberty site. The recent SCOTUS ruling against marriage is a travesty against God, country and constitution. It is a shot against Christianity. The government has now officially declared war on Christianity and against individual Christians. Kim Davis is the first casualty who was actually jailed, but will not be the last. The Marxist/fascists have now taken over our government from the top down and will attempt to stomp out all resistance and the black-robed nazi judges will do their...

A judge in Tennessee told a married couple seeking a divorce that he could not grant one for them, arguing that the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision left him unclear as to when a marriage ends. "The conclusion reached by this Court is that Tennesseans have been deemed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be incompetent to define and address such keystone/central institutions such as marriage, and, thereby, at minimum, contested divorces," Hamilton County Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton wrote when denying the divorce petition, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He said that the Supreme Court needed to declare "when...

Kentucky clerk jailed for refusing to issue gay marriage license

I thought it would be interesting to look at the laws by which elected County Clerk of Rowan, Kentucky was elected to abide by. The County Clerk does much more than just issue marriage licenses. This document, Duties of Elected County Officials details the various duties. Concerning marriage licenses this is what it says:The county clerk issues marriage licenses (KRS 402.080) and files and records all marriage certificates (KRS 402.220 and 402.230). Military discharges may also be recorded in the county clerk’s office (KRS 422.090). On or before the 10th day of each month, the county clerk reports to the...

Marriage quality, gay rights and “love is love” are common refrains that the Left uses in order to dismantle traditional marriage as we know it. Heritage Foundation marriage scholar Ryan T. Anderson’s latest book, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, serves as an answer to many of these arguments. Anderson quoted Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ oral arguments to make one of his major points, namely that “You’re [gay activists] not seeking to join the institution, you’re seeking to change what the institution is.” Anderson pointed out four harmful consequences of radically changing the definition of...

In a bid to reign in fraternization between young men and women, authorities in the picturesque state of West Java in Indonesia have decided to impose an early curfew of 9pm. If any couple is caught dating after the curfew, they will be punished by being forced to marry each other. This unconventional law will be implemented from September 2. Local government in Purwakarta decided that instead of throwing teenagers into jail, or extracting a fine from them, it was better that they learn the harsher truths of life early on. Moreover, such teens may get what they ultimately desire;...

A federal judge has ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and her deputies to appear in his courtroom Thursday and explain why Davis should not be held in contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage licenses. Shortly after opening her doors Tuesday, Davis told two same-sex couples who asked for marriage licenses that she would not issue them, despite a federal court injunction ordering her to do so. (snip) Davis, an Apostolic Christian, has refused to issue any marriage licenses in Rowan County since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage June 26. U.S. District Judge David Bunning issued...

The Kentucky county clerk facing potentially stiff penalties for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses has been married four times, raising questions of hypocrisy and selective application of the Bible to her life. The marriages are documented in court records obtained by U.S. News, which show that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis divorced three times, first in 1994, then 2006 and again in 2008. She gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband. They were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second. Davis worked at the clerk's office at the time of each divorce...

Carly Fiorina says that while we need to passionately protect religious liberty, it is inappropriate for a Kentucky county clerk to continue to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses against a court order, because she is a government worker. Carly says the clerk needs to do the government’s will and issue the licenses or quit and move to another job where religious liberty is more paramount. She says it inappropriate for this clerk to practice civil disobedience as a government employee. Listen:

There comes a time in every person’s life where they have to decide what they stand for and what they believe in. What is the line that you just won’t cross, no matter the consequence? Many people never consider that question until they are forced to. For Christians, it is an easy choice. They answer to a higher power than the government or the courts. For Kim Davis, that day came a while back when she was asked to issue marriage licenses for gay couples. The Supreme Court just recently trashed the Constitution and in a move that violated First...

In my opinion, only God can truly answer this question. Spouses are encouraged to spend extended time in the Word and obedience to it, as well as extended times of prayer and fasting, and seeking godly counsel. All destructive relationships and toxic counsel must be severed as you seek to answer this question. Many great bible teachers are divided on this issue. Some believe that remarriage to another is never allowed unless one of the spouses dies, but others suggest that it is permissible when adultery and abandonment occur. Much of the controversy centers on Matthew 5:32 where Jesus says,...

More than 500,000 Catholics, including many senior clerics, have signed a petition calling on Pope Francis to reaffirm traditional teaching on marriage and the family after months of confusion over his supposed liberal stance on the issue.

ROWAN COUNTY, KY, August 27, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- A federal appeals court has ordered Christian clerk Kim Davis to provide same-sex “marriage” licenses, but she’s refusing to give in. Davis, a Democrat, says that her Christian beliefs will not allow her to issue licenses for same-sex “marriages.” Despite pressure from Democrat Gov. Steve Beshear, a lawsuit from the ACLU, and two federal court rulings, Davis has refused to issue any licenses while the matter is still working its way through the courts. However, the Sixth District Court of Appeals said Davis must issue the licenses. While critics say Davis must follow the law as a...

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky County Clerks Association will propose removing clerks’ names from the document in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. Overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage has prompted Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and two others to deny licenses to all couples, drawing a federal lawsuit against Davis as well as calls to change the licensing process. Leslie County Clerk James Lewis, chairman of the association’s elections committee, told reporters Tuesday that his group is drafting “a simple solution” to the matter. “You would have the county and the county seat listed...

Republicans are happier and more stable in their marriages than Democrats, according to a study released Monday. W. Bradford Wilcox, a prominent sociologist at the University of Virginia, released the analysis finding that Republicans are more often married, less likely to be divorced, and happier in their marriages than Democrats.

Two Hard Sayings in One Day – A Homily for the 21st Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • August 22, 2015 • Today’s readings feature two “hard sayings,” one on the Eucharist, the other on marriage. One is hard because it defies our sensibilities, the other is hard because it is out-of-season and politically incorrect. The first hard saying is Jesus’ insistence that the Eucharist is actually His Body and Blood and that we must eat His true Flesh and drink His true Blood as our true food, as our necessary manna to sustain us on our journey...

TORONTO (Reuters) - Love lives and reputations may be at risk after the release of customer data from infidelity website Ashley Madison, an unprecedented breach of privacy likely to rattle users' attitudes towards the Internet. Hackers dumped a big cache of data containing millions of email addresses for U.S. government officials, UK civil servants and high-level executives at European and North America corporations late on Tuesday, the latest cyber attack to raise concerns about Internet security and data protection. The hacker attack has been a big blow to Toronto-based assignation website firm Avid Life Media, which owns Ashley Madison and...

Republicans are more likely to be married, less likely to divorce, and are more likely to be happy in their marriage than Democrats, sociologists W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger have discovered. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans are married, compared to 40 percent of Democrats; 41 percent of ever-married Republicans have been divorced, compared to 47 percent of ever-married Democrats; and, 67 percent of married Republicans say they are in "very happy" marriages, compared to 60 percent of married Democrats, they reported for Family Studies, the blog of the Institute for Family Studies. The research looked at 20 to 60 year...