padib said:
Well, good question. Either way they have options. However in one case, the clerk changing jobs is a radical change in her life. It's not an easy option and perhaps she considers her position as a means to make her preference matter, so losing her job puts her in a tough spot in more than one ways. Changing clerks is not an issue. The couple were there to make a statement. Also, the clerk ended up being jailed. Bottom line, I think that harmony failed here big time. @JWein. She was denied the right to act according to her beliefs. She is persecuted. |
I think its time to add some context:
a:) Kim Davis mother was the county clerk before her. Her son is a deputy county clerk in the same office. She won't retire because she is keeping the seat warm for her son. (My BF is from Louisville so I got me plenty of scoop on that lady). Her salary is $80K per year. The average salary in that county is just under $26k per year. So yes - there is no way she is going to give up her golden goose. Her religion isn't THAT important to her :)
b:) She has already been discussing paid speaking engagements with hate groups like NOM and the FRC. She's going on the martyr gravy train kids. Mark my words she will make a fortune.
c:) She was sued by 2 straight couples and 2 gay couples. Yes the gay ones could have driven a hundred miles to the next clerks office and hoped for a license there - but that sets a terrible precedent. Why should an extra burden be placed on a gay couple that wants to marry in a CIVIL ceremony (that parts important) in order to accomodate one persons bizarre and self serving interpretation of their religion. Keep in mind that there is NO widespread religious support for Kim Davis (people like Mike Huckabee do not qualify as a credible religious/spiritual leader). She most certainly does not represent all christians and she is in no position to speak on their behalf.
Now with respect to "religious freedom" and this fake narrative that it is in someway being attacked . The only way that holds up is to misrepresent what freedom of religion actually means as defined in US law. She has the freedom to think and worship any way she likes. But freedom of worship does not give anyone the right to impose their religion on others or take away their civil rights. The courts have ALWAYS been very consistent on this point - for at LEAST the past 50 years. Kim Davis, Mike Huckabee etc have no factual or legal basis for claiming that their religious rights have been trampled on. The whole "persecuted christians" thing is an effort to avoid being held accountable in a court of law for the damage that their prejudicial actions have caused down through the years. The religious right is TERRIFIED of the lgbt community. They have demonized them for so long and they assume that the lgbt community will hunt them down in return.
But the actual reality is this - we don't give a damn who they pray to. They just can't use it as a cudgel to create real harm in peoples lives.
Finally - Kim Davis (all 4 of her marriages were sacred apparently) can't be fired. She's an elected official. Its a small community and that family have had the county clerk position on lock down since long before her mother died. She can be impeached however. And this terrifies her. Not just because of her own loss of income - but also because that job has been treated like a family title and it would put her sons claim to it in jeopardy.
niallyb
