Posted on 11/10/2015 12:37:23 PM PST by wagglebee
FRANKFORT, KY, November 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - On December 8, Kentucky will have a new governor, and Kim Davis will have a chance to do her job without denying her faith. Governor-elect Matt Bevin has promised that he will change the state's marriage forms, removing the name of the county clerk entirely - the reform Davis had pleaded with state lawmakers to enact before spending five days in jail.
Davis, the clerk of Rowan County in eastern Kentucky, is a born again Christian who believes participating in a same-sex "marriage" would make her guilty of a major sin. Before the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision imposing gay "marriage" on every state in the country, Davis said she petitioned every elected state official in Kentucky to grant her a religious accommodation.
No one replied, she said - including the current Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, and Jack Conway, the Democratic candidate for governor in 2015.
Davis said she would not stop other employees from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but she wanted her name removed from the form, since it implied her personal consent.
But Gov. Beshear refused to accommodate her, ordering her to violate her sincerely held religious beliefs or lose her job.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning sent Davis to jail for five days for contempt of court.
When Kim Davis was released from jail on September 8, Matt Bevin was one of the people who visited her - along with Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz.
Last Tuesday, Bevin became the third Republican governor of Kentucky in 50 years. He told Laura Ingraham that he owed his popularity to his principled stand supporting life and religious liberty for people like Kim Davis.
Speaking with reporters last Friday, Bevin said, "One thing I will take care of right away is we will remove the names of the county clerks from the marriage form."
"We will take the names off those forms. We will do that by executive order. We will do it right out of the gate," he added.
Bevin alluded to other politicians who said the forms could not be altered without legislative action. "The argument that that cannot be done is baloney. We've already changed those forms three times for crying out loud," he said.
Davis sent word through her attorney that she was overjoyed at the development.
"Kim Davis and Liberty Counsel applaud Governor-elect Matt Bevin for his leadership in protecting the rights of conscience of all County Clerks," said Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel, which directs its legal efforts to preserving religious liberty.
"It is refreshing to have someone with the integrity, character, and concern of Matt Bevin leading the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Gov. Steve Beshear could have resolved this marriage license issue a long time ago, but he chose to ignore the plea for help," he said.
"Governor-elect Bevin's impending executive order is a welcome relief for Kim Davis and should be for everyone who cherishes religious freedom," he concluded.
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Half-measures are often worse than nothing.
Agreed. Still, I’m glad for her.
What's she been doing since she got out of jail? She's still county clerk. She hasn't signed any marriage certificates. They're still getting issued.
Pope Benedict warned that "relative morality" was the worst threat of our days. The Panzer Pope was so very, very correct. But then, he was said, by his contemporaries, to have a TOWERING intellect and a backbone of tempered steel.
> “We will take the names off those forms. We will do that by executive order.”
What a CLOWN. The requirements are specified by law. The Executive does not make law.
Governor-elect Bevin should stand by the laws of Kentucky. The USSC has no authority to declare what the law of a state is.
SO very, very true, as people will cite the half-measure as half consent. Then what's so wrong about going JUST A LITTLE farther?
Really? There is no law in the USA now except those Obama agrees with. Gov. Bevin has the authority to change this form. Obama does not have the authority to change God’s institution of marriage.
Really? There is no law in the USA now except those Obama agrees with. Gov. Bevin has the authority to change this form. Obama does not have the authority to change God’s institution of marriage.
About time.
“About time” for what?
Kim Davis was elected a Democrat. Has she learned her party designation and learned her lesson?
You don’t think a Dem. Governor would have made this accommodation do you?
> Gov. Bevin has the authority to change this form.
The Legislature has the authority, not the Governor.
As much as we would all love to see sea change by fiat, perhaps by Divine Intervention, sometimes we have to be satisfied (for now) with incremental change. That is how the libs have been doing this for decades.
A week ago Bevin was hailed as the new Reagan, and now he’s being called names here. Some of you guys really shouldn’t post very often here.
I agree it's not enough.
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