Davis leaves jail, now she needs to leave office

A defiant Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk, Kim Davis, was jailed for contempt last Thursday after she repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, even after she was ordered to do so by a federal judge.

This came in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling that state governments can no longer keep same-sex couples from marrying and must recognize their unions.

Davis’ case emphasizes the tension between a person’s right to express their religious freedom and the protections that gay couples now have against discrimination.

Davis has made it clear that she will continue to violate the judge’s order and that imposing fines on her will not be sufficient to force her to comply. The court is taking the case against Davis seriously because by letting it slide, it would be setting a dangerous precedent that would allow other elected officials to think they can choose to honor their religious beliefs over their oath of office.

While jailed, Davis turned down an offer by U.S. District Judge David Bunning of the Eastern District of Kentucky to avoid being held in contempt on the condition that she agree to allow her deputies to grant licenses to same-sex couples.

She was released after five of her six deputies, the single holdout being her son, began issuing licenses to same-sex couples. Davis was warned by Bunning not to interfere with the duties of her deputy clerks.

Kentucky law states Davis cannot be fired because she is an elected official. To be removed she must be impeached by the state legislature or convicted of a crime.

It is important to note that Davis was not put in jail for possessing or even expressing her religious beliefs. She was jailed because she broke the law, imposed her beliefs on others while performing her official public duties, and continued to do both when she was ordered by the court to cease.

The first amendment to the constitution grants religious freedom to U.S. citizens, including Davis. It also gives citizens the right to exercise freedom of speech.

Consequently, Davis has every right to disagree with same-sex marriage, and she has the right to do so publicly. But, she does not have the right to impose her beliefs on others while performing the duties of her publicly held office. When she did that, she failed to separate church and state.

She is a government official, and therefore, must keep her religion out of her job. The uproar that has followed her jailing and release is out of proportion.

If Davis were an atheist who was refusing to issue marriage licenses to Christian couples because the union of Christians was against her lack of religion, then Christians would react the same way the courts and the homosexual community supporters are now reacting to Davis.

Kim Davis does not have the authority to decide who has the right to be married and who does not. In fact, if carrying out the duties of office is so morally conflicting for Davis, she should step down from office, and leave the position to someone who can fulfill the obligations they were elected to perform.