In northeastern Kentucky, there's a county called Rowan.
In Rowan County, there's a town called Morehead.
Morehead, Kentucky, is a small town. It's home to Morehead State University, Cave Run Lake, and a vibrant arts scene. It sits on the edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest, so it's one of the first towns of the Appalachian Mountains as you head east in Kentucky.
There are lots of things happening in Morehead, Kentucky, but you'll probably only hear about one of them.
Morehead, Kentucky is also home to Kim Davis.
Kim Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, has been in the national spotlight since this summer when she refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples through her office in Morehead.
At least four other clerks across the Commonwealth joined Davis in opposition to the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, but for some reason, Davis has remained on the national stage since her original stand and subsequent legal battle.
In early September, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee even came to Kentucky for an "#ImWithKim Liberty Rally" outside the Grayson prison where Davis was held for five days. Huckabee also added an official petition to his campaign website.
Associated Press: Timothy D. Easley
In short, Davis' story still isn't over. A Kentucky federal judge ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses in late August, but Davis herself has not done so. Marriage licenses have been issued through the Rowan County Clerk's office, but only by Davis' deputies. Davis is currently questioning the validity of licenses issued through her office.
Kentucky is a state where I don't believe anyone predicted the Obergefell decision would have been well-received. Last March, a Bluegrass Poll revealed that statewide support for same-sex marriage had dropped to 33 percent, among some of the lowest numbers nationally.
However, state officials realize that the Constitution supersedes public opinion.
When the decision was released on June 26, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said this in a letter he sent to county clerks in the Commonwealth, alluding to the state's motto, "united we stand, divided we fall:"
While there are certainly strongly held views on both sides of this issue, I know that Kentuckians are law-abiding people and will respect the rule of law. After all, the things that abide us as people are much stronger than the things that divide us.
After all, the things that abide us as people are much stronger than the things that divide us.
I agree with Gov. Beshear. As a millennial as well as a lifelong Kentuckian, I believe that regardless of your position on the issue, our common bonds as Kentuckians and as Americans are more important than personal creed.
I grew up in Berea, a central Kentucky town that is home to the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. My hometown's historical progressivism has held steady for over 150 years, and while its tolerance was undoubtedly instilled in me, it's unique in the sense that it's also very much a place of conservative values.
Where I grew up, I was taught that even though you may not agree with or relate to everyone on a personal level, you are still to treat people with respect, dignity, and kindness, because as Christians and as decent human beings, that is what we are called to do.
I was taught that even though you may not agree with or relate to everyone, you are still to treat people with respect, dignity, and kindness.
This is a very Berea way of thinking, but I believe it's also a very Kentucky way of thinking.
Our Commonwealth pulls in the best pieces from the South, the Midwest, and the East Coast. Kim Davis is not one of those things.
In the end, regardless of your stance on any issue, and regardless of my stance on any issue, people are people. People deserve respect.
It's true that Kim Davis deserves respect, but her constituents do too.
Kentuckians are Kentuckians, and we're much better than a contentious woman in a denim skirt plastered all over Fox News.
I'll leave you with this, the motto of the college my hometown is founded on. This motto articulates and encapsulates a spirit that I as well as everyone else lucky enough to be from there carries with them:
God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.
God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.
United we stand, and divided we fall, y'all.
