If you’ve been anywhere near any news anything lately you’ve seen, heard or otherwise been subjected to the ongoing saga of Kim Davis. She’s the County Clerk from Kentucky who has recently been in the news, been arrested and been released because she won’t issue Marriage Licenses to same sex couples.
Ms. Davis has taken her stand because of her religious beliefs. Basically, she considers same sex marriage a sin and won’t issue a marriage license for it. She’s been told that she has to by pretty much everyone up to and including the Supreme Court but By God (literally) she’s going to stand her ground and not do the job she was elected to do.
If I did that – refused to do my job whatever the reason – I’d be fired….and rightfully so. Because I’m paid to do X and if I refuse to do X because I’ve found religion or smoked too much dope or decided that I just don’t want to, then I should be fired. Why? Because I’m not doing the job I was hired to do. You know…like Kim Davis.
As an Elected Official, Davis can’t be fired. However, the good people of Rowan County might want to consider a recall election or impeachment. Whatever recourse the local laws make available, she should be brought to task and relieved of her position because she is refusing to do her job. Period. End of statement.
“But wait!”, you cry. “What about her religious freedom?” What about it? Her religious freedom is NOT BEING INFRINGED UPON!!!!! She’s free to believe anything she wants. However, she is NOT free to impose her religious beliefs on anyone else. That is a violation of the other persons Constitutional Rights because she is imposing her religion and beliefs on them. So the person who is violating the 1st Amendment is…Kim Davis.
Of course, the thing that really pisses me off is that Kim Davis and everyone else who is losing their collective shit about same sex marriage uses the Bible to justify their prejudice…and they do it by being very selective on which Bible verses they quote.
Leviticus 20:13 says, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them.”
Of course, they seem to miss some other verses like…
Romans 7:2-3 which says, “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.”
Did I mention that Kim Davis has been divorced three times?
Then, of course, there’s Exodus 20:14 which states, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Did I mention that Kim Davis conceived twins out of wedlock? With her fourth husband? While married to her first husband?
Davis and her supporters seem to be okay with all of that but they don’t like same sex marriage? People who live in glass houses…nope, never mind. I don’t want to get into that whole ‘stoning harlots’ thing. Better if we just let that one go.
I’m reminded of something my father told me. Dad was a Lay Minister in the United Methodist Church. At the time I’m talking about he was also a Regional Sales Manager for an Encyclopedia company. Along with running his Region and training the new sales people Dad made his own sales calls.
One day he made a call at the home of a small, back-country preacher. While talking the Preacher’s wife, Dad mentioned that he was a Lay Minister. The wife was very disappointed that her husband wasn’t home because he was such a great Biblical Scholar – entirely self taught. Apparently he could prove using Scripture from the Bible that Heaven was located at the North Pole.
When Dad related this story to the rest of the family at dinner he said, “You can prove anything with the Bible if you’re willing to quote scripture out of context.” Dad wasn’t wrong. I’ve seen it done over and over. But he missed something. You can also justify any prejudice using the exact same technique.
