On June 25, the United States Supreme Court made the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that said, "The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. Same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry." Kentucky is one of the four states mentioned specifically in this case, along with Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
So why should this still be a topic of conversation? Because Rowan County, Ky. Circuit Clerk, Kim Davis, still refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
This story initially began soon after the ruling when Governor Beshear sent out a letter to clerks encouraging them to begin the process of issuing these licenses immediately. Kim Davis refused marriage licenses to four couples, two being same-sex. She stated she could not issue licenses to anyone (supposedly in order to be fair to all) due to her strong religious beliefs. She is currently involved in numerous lawsuits due to this choice.
On Thursday, a same-sex couple, William Smith Jr. and James Yates, attempted for the third time to receive a marriage license from Davis' office and were denied once again. This happened even though a federal appeals court ruled against Davis on Wednesday, denying her the right to refrain from issuing marriage licenses.
Another thing Kim Davis refuses to do is resign as Rowan County Circuit Clerk. Here's the issue with this: She took an oath stating she would perform the duties required of her which include, according to the Kentucky Duties of Elected County Officials on page 54, the issuing of marriage licenses along with filing and recording of all marriage certificates.
If your religious beliefs render you unable to perform your sworn duties to your fellow people, county, state, and country then you need to resign. Otherwise, you subject yourself to the possibility of being held in contempt of court, which I would hate to see for Ms. Davis.
I commend those who stand up for what they believe in, but this has been taken way too far. I'm hopeful that the Kentucky state government will do the right thing and pave the way for the rest of the country in assuring these equal rights continue to remain available to all United States citizens as determined by the Supreme Court. We'll just have to keep a watch on Kentucky to see how it ends.
