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Appeals court upholds order that holdout Kentucky clerk issue marriage licences to gay couples


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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/27/appeals-court-upholds-order-that-holdout-kentucky-clerk-issue-marriage-licences/

 

MOREHEAD, Ky. –  A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling ordering a Kentucky county clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis objects to same-sex marriage for religious reasons. She stopped issuing marriage licenses the day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state bans on same-sex marriage.

Two straight couples and two gay couples sued her. A U.S. district judge ordered Davis to issue the marriage licenses, but later delayed his order so that Davis could have time to appeal to the 6th circuit. Wednesday, the appeals court denied Davis' request for a stay.

"It cannot be defensibly argued that the holder of the Rowan County Clerk's office, apart from who personally occupies that office, may decline to act in conformity with the United States Constitution as interpreted by a dispositive holding of the United States Supreme Court," judges Damon J. Keith, John M. Rogers and Bernice B. Donald wrote for the court. "There is thus little or no likelihood that the Clerk in her official capacity will prevail on appeal."

April Miller and Karen Roberts were one of the gay couples who sued Davis. Miller read the ruling on her phone in the living room of the house they share down a country road on the outskirts of Morehead. Roberts, her partner for more than a decade, peered over her shoulder, smiling, humming, tears welling up under her glasses.

The news flashes across their TV screen and they hugged, and their hug turned into a brief slow dance on the living room rug. The phone started ringing, but they ignored it for a minute.

 

They felt vindicated, they said. They got out the boxes holding their matching wedding bands, bought days after the Supreme Court's decision in June. They are simple white gold bands, ringed in diamonds.

"One step closer," Miller said. "We might be able to get married in September."

Mat Staver, an attorney for Davis, said he was disappointed with the ruling. He said he plans to discuss options with Davis, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The court of appeals did not provide any religious accommodation rights to individuals, which makes little sense because at the end of the day it's individuals that are carrying out the acts of the office," Staver said. "They don't lose their individual constitutional rights just because they are employed in a public office."

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The KY governor already ordered all clerks issue licenses to gay couples in accordance with the supreme court ruling.  Why is this still going on?

That is why I posted the article because I am trying to figure out how this woman still has a job.  It isn't like they can't find someone else to do the same thing. 

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That is why I posted the article because I am trying to figure out how this woman still has a job.  It isn't like they can't find someone else to do the same thing. 

 

Because if they fire her there's going to be another huge idiotic shitstorm about relijus freedumbs and the war on christians (not being allowed to dictate how everyone else lives)

It's interesting to me how relatively new religions like Mormonism or the modern Krishna movement etc are generally considered kooks but we're expected to defer to others.  IOW why do people think their choice of arbitrary superstitious belief system is superior? Why do people feel entitled to this level of deference and why are we as a society so willing to appease them?  How is "the Bible says" a logical argument for or against anything where our laws are concerned?

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What are the other options?  Never really thought about this but what if someone gets elected Sheriff and decides they'd rather drink beer on their boat all day, every day? Nothing to do but wait for the next election?

 

Anyway in this case prosecuting someone for their stupid fucking bigotry sincerely held religious beliefs seems like career suicide for a politician.

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SCOTUS denied her petition for a stay. 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/31/436431204/kentucky-clerk-s-request-for-a-stay-is-denied-by-u-s-supreme-court

 

Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk in Kentucky who has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, lost her bid for a stay Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court denied her application.

As is often the case in such rejections, the decision came without comment: "The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied."

The court's one-line order did not mention whether any justices dissented.

The request for a stay stems from a lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four couples who say in their complaint that Davis "adopted a policy and/or practice of refusing to issue marry licenses to any couple, same-sex or different-sex, even though they are otherwise legally entitled to marry."

As the Two-Way has reported, "a district judge had ordered her to start issuing the licenses, but Davis filed an appeal and the judge said she could wait until Aug. 31 or for a decision from the U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals — whichever came first."

 

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UPDATE: http://news.yahoo.com/clerk-issue-gay-marriage-licenses-court-ruling-083217111.html

 

MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — A county clerk in Kentucky has again refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, invoking her religious beliefs and "God's authority" — this time in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against her.

On Tuesday morning, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office denied the licenses to at least two couples. At first, Davis was in her office with the door closed and blinds drawn. But she emerged a few minutes later, telling the couples and the activists gathered there that her office is continuing to deny the licenses "under God's authority."

Davis asked David Moore and David Ermold, a couple who has been rejected four times by her office, to leave. They refused, surrounded by reporters and cameras.

"We're not leaving until we have a license," Ermold said.

"Then you're going to have a long day," Davis told him.

From the back of the room, Davis' supporters said: "Praise the Lord! ... Stand your ground."

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http://wtop.com/lifestyle/2015/09/will-clerk-issue-gay-marriage-licenses-after-court-ruling/

 

MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — A county clerk in Kentucky who invoked “God’s authority” Tuesday for defying the U.S. Supreme Court on gay marriage has been summoned by a federal judge to explain why she should not be fined or jailed for contempt.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning moved swiftly after Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis insisted yet again Tuesday that her religious beliefs prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis turned several couples away and then retreated into her office, where her door and blinds were closed to the raucous scene outside.

Davis then issued a statement refusing to resign or concede her position.

“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision,” her statement said. “I was elected by the people to serve as the County Clerk. I intend to continue to serve the people of Rowan County, but I cannot violate my conscience.”

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She's an ignorant fool.  That federal judge is not going to play any games or even listen to any of what her lawyers would call the merits of their case.  The case is over, and if she's willing to refuse to obey a federal court order, that judge will take about one second to decide to throw her in jail.  

It really is disheartening to see someone in the government promulgate the belief that her own opinions, not the law of the land, dictate how she should carry out her duties.  When thinking of the ultimate ramifications of that, the mind reels.

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