The Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage is legal in all fifty states as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment on June 26, 2015. Unfortunately, there are still people who misconstrue the ruling, meant to ensure the civil rights of same sex couples, as an attack on their beliefs. Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was willing to go to jail over granting marriage licenses to same sex couples. As a result, many in the Christian community, including Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee hailed her as a martyr.
Kim Davis was not a hero and was certainly not fighting for civil rights by denying them for others. In response to the ruling, Davis not only refused to marry same sex couples, but straight couples as well. As a result of this boycott, American couples could not exercise their right to marry. Davis punished innocent people for a court ruling that they ultimately had no control over.
Kim Davis used her identity as a Christian to justify her extreme behavior. It is true that Americans must not overlook citizens’ right to freely practice their religion and conform to certain beliefs. However, it is one thing to subscribe to an unpopular belief or practice, but it is quite another to let these beliefs hinder others’ civil rights and ability to live freely. Kim Davis has every right to believe that marriage is between one man and one woman only; however, she is not allowed to prevent others from exercising their constitutional right to marry someone of the same sex. It is not only the law of the land, but also a way to ensure that people are not oppressed because of factors that are simply out of their control (as people do not get to choose whether they are gay or straight).
Some conservative Christians even compare Davis to Rosa Parks. Ironically, however, Rosa Parks took a stand as part of a fight for civil rights, while Kim Davis took a stand against them. Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on the bus because of the systematic oppression of African Americans. Davis’s job is to sign marriage licenses; it is her responsibility, not an attack on her character or personal beliefs. If anyone is the oppressor in this situation, it is Davis because she refused to do her job simply because of her clients’ sexual orientation, thus denying them basic civil rights.
If Kim Davis has such strong moral qualms regarding the issuing of same sex marriage licenses, she should look for work elsewhere. She is certainly not the only one to ever dislike or disagree with a certain aspect of their job. Many teachers strongly believe that teaching to standardized tests limits students, yet they still carry on with lesson plans tailored to testing because they realize that it is a major method of judging both students and teachers throughout the nation. Many defense attorneys work to defend people who they knew were guilty, yet they continued to look for weaknesses in the prosecution or ways to obtain a lesser punishment for the defendant because ultimately, they needed to make a living.
Kim Davis is allowed to believe whatever she wants, as it is a right of American citizens to freely practice their religion. However, it is also a right of American citizens to marry whomever they choose, regardless of race, religion, or gender. People like Davis interfere with the lives and free will of American citizens and should be condemned, not praised. There are many other career options that do not require people to take part in same-sex weddings, and maybe Kim Davis should look into them.
Tally Briggs • Nov 3, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Really great article Lauren, but some corrections are in order.
1. County Clerks don’t “marry” anyone. They validate ID’s and issue the document the citizen requests (fishing/gun/hunting/marriage licenses, birth/death certificates.)
2. Kim Davis’s job is to issue the license, after validating you are who you say you are. She refused to issue Marriage Licenses, which are required to legally marry in the US. You sign the license, the issuing clerk (sometimes, depending on the state, not always) signs it, your spouse signs it, your witnesses sign it, and your officiant (the person who actually performs the ceremony, and is also licensed by the state to do so.) If you don’t send the signed license to the state capital for filing (then THEY issue/send you your Certificate of Marriage, making it legal) before the license expires, you’re not legally married.
Now my 2¢:
I can’t wait for the day someone like Davis explains what it was like the day she “chose” her “straight lifestyle”, and explain how she’s involved in any way with any gay wedding. I got a marriage license once that I never sent in and allowed to expire…. thankfully – then I was able to kick that loser to the curb when needed instead of spending money, stress, and time to divorce him. Point is – a license ≠ a marriage.
Kim Davis says she’s asking for a “reasonable accommodation.”
How is it a “reasonable accommodation” to deny fellow citizens their rights to a public secular/non-religious service, to not do your secular government job, and still get paid by the very citizens you’re denying rights and services too? That’s theft, and a sin.
Her job is to validate IDs, making sure that the person is who they say they are, then issue the document/license the citizen is requesting. That’s it. She’s not marrying anyone. She’s not validating anyone’s marriage, nor is it her place to do so. Her job isn’t with any church, it’s with the State of KY, which is part of the USA. The US GOV isn’t a religion/Church. The License for Marriage in the USA and in KY, has nothing whatsoever to do with any religion, and exists WITHOUT any religion being involved, since it’s got nothing to do with that whatsoever.
The Sacrament of Marriage is performed by a Church, you don’t need a license, the church in question must approve (not the government), and isn’t a legally binding contract (so without the state version of Marriage (the one that requires a license), it isn’t recognized by the government so there is no reason for divorce since you’re not legally married, and good luck trying to get a fair division of your property….. (which is the whole reason for marriage in the first place. Love is a very modern / last century addition to the entire institution of marriage.)
As you rightly pointed our, if Kim Davis’s faith was honestly her priority, she’d have quit her job when it came to the place where she felt her conscience couldn’t allow her do it. But her $80k paycheck and her media fame are far more important, as is her $$$$$ book deal. Kim needs to read Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, and take ALL of it to heart especially Matthew 6:6. (Why/HOW do so many “Christians” have so much hate in their hearts, and have so much desire to control other people?)
As for her “deeply held religious convictions regarding marriage as the union of a man and a woman”, where did she even get that? It’s not in the Bible. The Bible states a man must marry his wife’s widowed sister(s), and take her/their dead husband’s property thereby retaining that property for the tribe. PROPERTY. Many wives. It seems as though most of today’s “Christians” haven’t read the Bible, or lack the basic understanding of it, and history itself.
If you want a job that doesn’t require you to interact with people you don’t like or agree with, then you should find one that doesn’t involve working for the government or the public. Both of those jobs must follow laws that state you cannot pick and choose which members of the public/citizens you want to deal with. You must serve ALL, and you cannot use your “faith/religion” to deny anyone the service you’re paid to give. That’s called discrimination, and it’s illegal.
If your religion doesn’t allow you to do the job you’re hired to do…. you get a different job, not file for a religious accommodation to get paid to NOT do your job. Reasonable religious accommodations are for things like taking off for Yom Kippur, or wearing a head scarf…. you know, things that still allow you to DO THE JOB YOU’RE PAID TO DO. A Christian Scientist who doesn’t believe in any medical treatment, should never apply to be a licensed pharmacist, since they wouldn’t be able to do the job they’re applying for.