I believe in religious liberty. That’s one of the things that makes the United States of America great. Another is that this nation is a democratic republic–the world’s greatest experiment at democracy. Thus, every adult citizen–no matter race, economic status, religion, or whatever–has a right to vote in elections for political office and the institution of many of this country’s laws. We also have three branches of government that wer established to ensure that no one sector becomes overbearingly dominant over others.
Kim Davis is a county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky. Last month, she disobeyed this new law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who so applied. Kim Davis is a Christian who is opposed to same-sex marriage, as I am. She claimed that for her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples would violate her moral conscience, which she believes takes precedence over the law of the land.
Some Christian leaders, many of them quite conservative politically, have come to Kim Davis’ defense. One is Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas. He is presently involved in a campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. president next year. Such support has bolstered Kim Davis in her disobedience to this law. She even served a few days in jail for contempt of court. Of course, as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court so ruled, we knew things like this were going to happen.
Many Christian and other organizations worked feverishly to influence the U.S. Supreme Court not to rule that same-sex marriage be legal throughout our land. One was the Mormon Church. Now, one of its twelve apostles/elders, Dallin H. Oaks, has spoken out this week at a gathering of Mormon leadership against county clerk Kim Davis’ act of her and her staff forbidding marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Oaks is a former Utah Supreme Court judge who also served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Oaks stated with obvious reference to Kim Davis without naming her, “Government officials must not apply these duties selectively according their personal references–whatever their source. A county clerk’s recent invoking of religious reasons to justify refusal by her office and staff to issue marriage licenses to same-gender couples violates this principle.” I agree.
When any federal, state, county, or city government official takes their oath of office, they vow to uphold the laws of that governmental entity. Thus, Kim Davis must have done this when she first took that job. Anyone knows that laws can change. Therefore, if some law changes during the tenure of a government official, and that new law is in conflict with that person’s moral convictions, that person then has a decision to make as to whether or not she or he will continue in that job. She or he does not have the right to remain in that job and disobey that new law due to that person’s moral convictions.
So, in my opinion, county clerk Kim Davis and those who support her in her violation of this law are in the wrong. Ms. Davis needs to quit her job or else carry out her work responsibilities according to law. Yet we all have the right to campaign in our country for what we believe are just and righteous laws. Although I think it was unjust that such an important social law that had so much history behind it was overturned by five justices who were not elected officials because that is how they interpreted one of the laws of our Constitution, we must abide by the law of the land. To do otherwise is anarchy.
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