SCOTUS orders thrice-divorced KY county clerk to issue marriage license

[Belsnickel]

(09-03-2015, 09:00 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote:

I know this man, as a former SCOTUS clerk, knows that he is completely full of shit. But apparently none of that matters if it means you can pander to a group for some votes.

A friend of mine expressed my thoughts quite well last evening.

Quote:Regarding the situation in Kentucky....A government official attempting to implement their interpretation of theology in civil law is not a matter of religious liberty. It is the exact opposite of that. The First Amendment serves as a protection against an establishment of religion by government authorities over their citizens, as well as to protect a citizen's free exercise of their faith. As a government official, the clerk has the right to believe that same-sex marriage violates her religious faith, but she does not have the right to use the power of her office to enforce that faith on others.

Let's flip it, and hypothesize a scenario where a Muslim clerk refused to issue a marriage license to an interfaith couple unless the non-Muslim member converted to Islam. Or a practioner [sic] of New Age beliefs refuse to issue a license to a couple because their astrological signs don't align. Most people would justifiably call for that clerk to be removed from their office. The actions of the clerk in Kentucky are the exact same.

If she was a private marriage officiant, or pastor, and refused to marry a same-sex couple, she would be in her rights. If she operated a bakery or a floral shop, and she felt participating in a same-sex wedding violated her religious beliefs, then I would support her (though I know many people, and quite a few courts, disagree with me on that). But as a public official, she took an oath to uphold the laws and constitutions of the U.S. and Kentucky, and SCOTUS has interpreted the 14th Amendment to protect a homosexual couple's right to marriage. If she doesn't agree with it, she should have resigned her position.