Tag: Kim Davis

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Justice Scalia: Public Officials Have To Do Their Job Or Resign

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Many feel the only path forward for Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis is to resign her post so she, not the state, can accommodate her religious beliefs.

Jonathan Adler, of the Washington Post, has found a surprisingly high profile judge who agrees that public officials cannot decline to perform their duties based on the official’s personal view of morality.

That judge? No less than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

In 2002, Scalia explained that if he were to conclude that the death penalty is fundamentally immoral, he should no longer serve on the bench:

[I]n my view the choice for the judge who believes the death penalty to be immoral is resignation, rather than simply ignoring duly enacted, constitutional laws and sabotaging death penalty cases. He has, after all, taken an oath to apply the laws and has been given no power to supplant them with rules of his own. Of course if he feels strongly enough he can go beyond mere resignation and lead a political campaign to abolish the death penalty” and if that fails, lead a revolution. But rewrite the laws he cannot do.

The upshot being that public officials don’t get to rewrite the rules of their duties.

While Scalia has not addressed the specific issue of Kim Davis’ refusals to do her job, he noticeably did not dissent from the recent denial for an emergency stay when requested by Davis’ lawyers.

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MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki Takes On County Clerk’s Lawyer Anti-Gay Mat Staver

I watch Hardball every day. Right before this segment aired, Kornacki teased Staver’s appearance. I tweeted to Hardball that there better be someone to present the LGBT perspective on this continuing story.

Turns out we didn’t need anyone other than guest host Steve Kornacki, who appropriately handled anti-gay Liberty Counsel lawyer Mat Staver.

Staver repeatedly stated Davis’ “religious freedom” must be “accommodated.”

Kornacki didn’t hold back, citing Davis’ clear hypocrisy.

“If she says she has a moral and religious objection to same-sex marriage I think it raises the question, does she have a moral and religious objection to a divorced person getting re-married? Does she have a moral and religious objection to someone who’s engaged in premarital relations getting married? Where does this end?”

Watch below.

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Dan Savage On County Clerk Kim Davis: “This Is About Someone Hypocritically Cashing In”

Columnist and LGBT activist Dan Savage appeared on MSNBC last night to share his thoughts regarding the ongoing – and hypocritical – refusal by Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

This appearance came shortly after US News and World Report published shocking revelations that Davis, who has been divorced three times, actually gave birth to children fathered by her third husband while she was married to her first. It gets very complicated I know.

Via Raw Story:

“I think Kim Davis is waiting to cash in,” Savage told MSNBC. “I predicted from the beginning that she would defy all the court orders, defy the Supreme Court, she would ultimately be held in contempt of court, lose her job, perhaps go to prison for a short amount of time. And then she will have written for her, ghost written books. She will go on the right-wing lecture circuit and she’ll never have to do an honest day’s work ever again in her life.”

“This is about someone hypocritically cashing in, and she is a hypocrite,” he added.

Savage referred to the defiant clerk’s statement complaining that courts were asking her to “violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage” — which the columnist dismissed as ridiculous.

“This is a woman who’s been divorced three times and married four times,” he said, reading from the US News & World Report article that pointed out Davis “gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband, (and) they were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second husband.”

“She’s now onto her fourth husband,” Savage said. “Jesus Christ himself in scripture condemned divorce, called it adultery and forbids it. Jesus Christ himself in scripture says not one word about same-sex marriage.”

I’ve written here on The Randy Report for sometime that while folks are paying attention to the surface of this story – the issuance of marriage licenses – this is actually about Davis looking for a windfall of money via crowdsourcing campaign by anti-gay haters as we’ve seen in the past with pizza makers, florists and bakers. Along the way, Liberty Counsel and other haters get a new face of martyrdom in Davis.

Davis and her full office of deputy clerks have been summoned to federal court Thursday morning regarding possible contempt of court charges.

The American Civil Liberties Union, advocating on behalf of a male same-sex couple repeatedly denied a marriage license by Kim Davis’ office, is asking that U.S. District Judge Bunning not jail Davis but levy fines significant enough to compel her compliance.

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John Corvino: “Religious Liberty Is Not A ‘Get Out Of Your Job Free’ Card”

John Corvino pens a guest op-ed for the Detroit Free Press on the current mess Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis has created for herself.

Some highlights:

As a gay-rights advocate — and a gay man myself — I support her right to live in accordance with her religious convictions, even if that means not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

What I don’t support is allowing her to continue collecting paychecks for an $80,000 a year state job which she declines to perform. If her conscience renders her unable to issue marriage licenses to those legally qualified, then the right thing for her to do is resign.

[snip]

In asking the court to grant Davis a religious exemption, her attorneys compared her to a conscientious objector being forced to go to war, for example, or an opponent of capital punishment being forced to participate in executions.

But these analogies fall flat. Unlike the conscientious objector, Davis is not being drafted into service against her will. She has chosen a job that requires her to grant licenses in accordance with civil law. She is no longer willing to do that.

[snip]

Private citizens are free to express their religious views about homosexuality — however hypocritically and inconsistently — and to practice their faith as they see fit. But religious liberty is not a “get out of your job free” card.

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County Clerk Kim Davis: Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Would Send Me To Hell

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has released this statement about her current predicament (of her own making) regarding her failure to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Via Liberty Counsel:

“I have worked in the Rowan County Clerk’s office for 27 years as a Deputy Clerk and was honored to be elected as the Clerk in November 2014, and took office in January 2015. I love my job and the people of Rowan County. I have never lived any place other than Rowan County. Some people have said I should resign, but I have done my job well. This year we are on track to generate a surplus for the county of 1.5 million dollars.

“In addition to my desire to serve the people of Rowan County, I owe my life to Jesus Christ who loves me and gave His life for me. Following the death of my godly mother-in-law over four years ago, I went to church to fulfill her dying wish. There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I am not perfect. No one is. But I am forgiven and I love my Lord and must be obedient to Him and to the Word of God.

“I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. 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. I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will.

“To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s Word. It is a matter of religious liberty, which is protected under the First Amendment, the Kentucky Constitution, and in the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Our history is filled with accommodations for people’s religious freedom and conscience. I want to continue to perform my duties, but I also am requesting what our Founders envisioned – that conscience and religious freedom would be protected. That is all I am asking. I never sought to be in this position, and I would much rather not have been placed in this position. I have received death threats from people who do not know me. I harbor nothing against them. I was elected by the people to serve as the County Clerk. I intend to continue to serve the people of Rowan County, but I cannot violate my conscience.”

It’s worth noting that on many occasions Davis has issued marriage licenses to folks who have been divorced, which is also a no-no in the Bible. She has no problem ignoring some tenets of the Bible, but her focus on same-sex marriage is almost an obsession.

It’s clear her decision to discriminate against same-sex couples is about her personal animus for LGBT folks, and not her “deeply held” religious beliefs.

Davis has been summoned to a federal court hearing on Thursday morning, along with her full squad of deputy clerks, on possible contempt of court charges.

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Kentucky: ACLU Files Contempt Of Court Motion Against County Clerk Kim Davis

The ACLU has filed a contempt of court motion against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for her refusal to follow the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Last night, Davis ran out of legal options when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene. Davis is now bound by the ruling by U.S. District Judge Bunning to begin issuing marriage licenses.

The motion specifically asks that Davis not be thrown in jail, but be fined. Clearly the visual of Davis being incarcerated would give the haters the martyr they are dreaming of.

From the motion:

Plaintiffs do not seek to compel Davis’ compliance through incarceration. Since Defendant Davis continues to collect compensation from the Commonwealth for duties she fails to perform, Plaintiffs urge the the Court to impose financial penalties sufficiently serious and increasingly onerous to compel Davis’ immediate compliance without further delay.

According to the AP, Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a federal court hearing this coming Thursday at 11am where she may be found in contempt of court.

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Video: Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis Defies SCOTUS, Continues To Deny Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples

Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court denied County Clerk Kim Davis’ request for an emergency stay on the ruling by a federal judge which compels her to do her job and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Continue reading “Video: Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis Defies SCOTUS, Continues To Deny Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples”

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SCOTUS Says “No” To Kentucky County Clerk – Must Issue Same-Sex Couples Marriage Licenses

The U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis’ request for a stay on a federal judge’s ruling that would require her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Via the Courier-Journal:

“The application for stay presented to Justice (Elena) Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied,” the order said.

Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the 6th district, referred Davis’ request to the full court, which denied the stay without comment.

A stay issued earlier by U.S. District Judge David Bunning expired Monday.

In a separate development, the Kentucky attorney general is mulling whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether she violated the state official misconduct statute when her office refused to issue a license to a Rowan County gay couple.

Official misconduct is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 365 days in jail.

Done and done.

Do your job, Kim Davis.

UPDATE:

The Human Rights Campaign issued this statement:

“Ms. Davis’ choices are clear: she must either choose to follow the law or resign her public position. A public official’s personal religious opinion does not give her the privilege to trample over the rights of others. Freedom of religion is important, and Ms. Davis has the fundamental right to believe what she likes. But as a public servant, she does not have the right to pick and choose which laws she will follow or which services she will provide. We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied the stay.”

And the ACLU had this to say:

“Today the U.S. Supreme Court resoundingly affirmed that government officials must carry out the duties of public office. By refusing to simply issue a form, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has prevented our clients, four loving couples, from obtaining marriage licenses in the county where they live and pay taxes. Davis has no basis for any further delay in denying couples the freedom to marry.”

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News Round-Up: August 31, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• It’s time for Monday Men At Work (see above)

• The gay couple in Rowan County, Kentucky, who have been denied a marriage license three times have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the county government and County Clerk Kim Davis.

• A man with a 19″ penis says it makes working and having a social dating life impossible.

• Fox and Friends host Elizabeth Hasselbeck doesn’t understand why the #BlackLivesMatter movement hasn’t been named a “hate group.” Seriously.

• Five HIV+ men offer advice to their younger selves about surviving and thriving post-diagnosis.

• Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis is running out of time and options in her fight to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Time to do your job, Ms. Davis.

• Ellen DeGeneres announces GapKids x ED, a new collection for Gap Kids that is for every girl no matter “whether they skateboard or dance, wear dresses or jeans, build forts or paint rainbows, or everything in between.”