Attorneys from Liberty Counsel for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, claim she is like a conscientious objector in wartime.
'“Like a noncombatant who cannot shoulder a rifle, a county clerk who cannot issue” same-sex licenses “can still faithfully and devotedly serve this country, and their county,” lawyers for Kim Davis argued in a pleading filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.'
Said lawyers miss the fact that (a) COs generally only get to object when they are being drafted, not when they've volunteered for the armed forces or when all of a sudden they get sent off to war, and (b) COs don't get a pass on service or don't get to just do the parts of being a soldier they enjoy, but instead are set to (unarmed) scut work, or doing things like being stretcher bearers under fire.
The CO analog for Ms Davis, then, would be, "So you now cannot uphold your required job duties? Fine. Here's a mop and a bucket; the bathrooms need cleaning."
'She said that even if she had a deputy issue a license to a gay or lesbian couple, her name would appear on it, which would equate to her approving it. “That searing act of validation would forever echo in her conscience,” her lawyers said in their 40-page argument.'
Which is ludicrous, of course, because nobody is asking her to approve of any marriage she signs off on. "Hmmm, no I don't think it will last, request denied. Oh, a mixed-race couple? Definitely not on the approval list, so denied. Oh, they make such a lovely couple, request approved." That is not the job of a county clerk.
Ms Davis is being asked to certify that the license application is correct under the law. Which a properly filled out marriage application between a gay couple is, under the law. Whether you agree with the SCOTUS Obergefell ruling or not, it is the law.
'Davis said the plaintiffs could obtain marriage licenses from any one of the more than 100 county clerks who are issuing them in accordance with Gov. Steve Beshear’s order to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision requiring states to allow same-sex marriage. “This case is not about whether plaintiffs can obtain a Kentucky marriage license,” Davis’ lawyers say. “They can. Instead, this case is about forcing an individual county clerk … to authorize and personally approve same sex marriage,” which they describe as an “authoritarian invasion and intolerant coercion.”'
Which is fundamentally saying, "Why should my restaurant be forced to serve blacks? They can get their food from some other place, can't they? Why should I be required to hire women? There are plenty of other jobs out there."
The filing also asserts that "Requiring Davis To Affirm A Definition Of Marriage Contrary To Her Religious Belief Violates The Religious Test Clause." Fundamentally this is saying that a government official's religion allows them to trump the definition of any law they disagree with. "Murder only applies to human beings; forcing me to believe that American Indians are human beings who can't be killed on a whim is violating my religious freedom." "I don't think Baptists are truly Christian, and Christianity is the only valid religion, so I will approve people getting fired because they are Baptist."
Of course, the Liberty Counsel filing also puts "scare quote" around the term "marriage" any time it refers to people of the same sex. Jerks.
The full filing can be found at the bottom of this article: http://goo.gl/hcSU86
Filing defends clerk in same-sex marriage fight
Rowan Co. clerk who refuses marriage licenses to gays likened to ‘conscientious objector’
If she's going for a CO status; just do to her what was done to CO's during WWI & WWII and throw her in jail for the duration.
+Stan Pedzick Only if she refused to perform any duties whatsoever. COs in WWI were only imprisoned if they refused to work in the military at all. Similar COs in WWII served in the Civilian Public Service (CPS). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector#United_States)
That's the state suit she's pursuing against the Governor.
Meanwhile the federal judge in the suit against Davis by people she refused to marry has granted a preliminary injunction ordering her to resume her duties. The defendant intends to appeal the order to the Sixth District Court.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0QH2OF20150812?irpc=932