BREAKING: Kentucky clerk invokes ‘God’s authority’

[madamvlb]

MOREHEAD, Ky. — The latest on a Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses (all times local):

8:20 a.m.

A county clerk in Kentucky who is continuing to deny marriage licenses to gay couples says she’s doing so “under God’s authority.”

Rowan County clerk Kim Davis emerged from her office Tuesday morning after some couples were denied the licenses. She asked David Moore and David Ermold, who’ve been rejected four times, to leave. They refused, surrounded by reporters and cameras.

Ermold said: “We’re not leaving until we have a license.”

Davis responded: “Then you’re going to have a long day.”

Davis’ supporters whooped from the back of the room: “Praise the Lord” and “stand your ground.”

Others shouted that Davis is a bigot and told her: “Do your job.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the case, leaving Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses to gay couples. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time.

___

8:10 a.m.

A defiant county clerk in Kentucky has again refused to issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Tuesday morning, as Rowan County clerk Kim Davis’ office opened, two couples were denied licenses.

A deputy clerk told April Miller and Karen Roberts, who walked into the office trailed by dozens of television cameras, that no licenses would be issued and refused to make Davis available.

A second couple, David Moore and David Ermold, rejected a fourth time, are demanding to speak with Davis.

Ermold shouted: “Tell her to come out and face the people she’s discriminating against.”

Davis is in her office, with the door and the blinds closed.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the case, leaving Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses to gay couples. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time.












[link:http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2015/09/breaking-kentucky-clerk-invokes-gods-authority/|

[n2doc]

1. A judge needs to step in and jail her for contempt

Since the politicians are too afraid of the American Taliban to do anything

[malaise]

5. Why hasn't she lost her job yet?

Church and state do not mix

[MohRokTah]

8. She's elected.

Only the State Legislature can remove her, and that ain't happening.

The next thing is contempt charges and prison for her dumb ass.

[malaise]

14. Thanks

I just read that she's been married four times - I'm trying hard not to 'wee wee' up myself with laughter at that news - guess she's protecting the sanctity of all four of her marriages

[RKP5637]

26. Maybe she can switch jobs and be a judge in divorce court!

[malaise]

34. No no no

remember she imposes 'gawd's laws on the rest of humanity - they're different laws for her.

[brush]

31. I can see why she's been married four times

Extreme stubborness does not make for a good relationship.

[smirkymonkey]

61. I can't believe that she found 4 people stupid enough to marry her.

Must be slim pickings in that county.

[AlbertCat]

53. I just read that she's been married four times

THIS!


It negates any "god's authority" baloney. Her beliefs are NOT that uncompromising nor are they sacred to her. That argument is toast.

[dembotoz]

2. Bust her

[spanone]

3. then free her to go work for god

[Mike Nelson]

4. At this point...

...I think she wants to be jailed and become a heroine. She will receive tons of money in support and will never have to work again!

[LuvNewcastle]

17. I think so too.

Does she have one of those 'fund me' pages yet? She's getting her 15 minutes and she's going to cash in. This should have been stopped a long time ago. She's breaking the fucking law and denying people their civil rights. Seems like federal marshals should be able to arrest her for that.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. When she does get jailed she will get a gofundme in excess of a million dollars.

Hopefully the plaintiff will be able to seize those funds in the civil rights case.

[RKP5637]

27. I hope so, becasue that's what I think she's all about. She sees $$$$$'s rolling in and there

are plenty of stupid people to send her $$$$$'s.

[2naSalit]

44. And immediately following that

I would hope that the people she's afflicted with her personal beliefs, which have no place in her office, will sue her for every penny and then some.

[RKP5637]

45. I certainly hope so. Nonsense like this has to be stopped. I do wonder how much bias she has

against other more subtle things in her daily activities.

[2naSalit]

46. Indeed...

a zealot's range of bias is pretty vast. Grew up with zealots, it taught me that religion is basically a way to control a population who would rather someone else make their decisions for them.

As Mrs. Smith once told me, "If you want to gain control over a large group of people in a hurry, start a religion."

I am certain she's correct.

[RKP5637]

51. Definitely! Religion is all about politics and control of the masses, but so few seem to get it.

And today, we have Religion, Inc. Vast sums of money supporting the religious elite and tax free. What a racket.

[tblue37]

54. That is exactly what L. Ron Hubbard once said--and then he DID it! nt

[peacebird]

6. Fire her and hire someone willing to perform the job.

Then have her personally held responsible for all legal bills her bigotry has caused

[MohRokTah]

10. Firing her requires an act of the State Legislature. eom

[Orrex]

24. She can't be fired

And I fear that she would likely be reelected in a landslide, given the venue...

[MuseRider]

7. Why does this woman have so much power?

Fire her bigoted, law defying ass.

What is it with all these people who arrest people for just about nothing these days (or shoot and kill them in the process) who are so afraid to remove a public servant who defies even a Supreme Court order?

PUBLIC SERVANT. PUBLIC Not only those you, you smarmy little 4 times married idiot (how is that for Gods law?), approve of. God belongs in your heart if you want that but not in the office of a public servant.

Ahh, I feel better now. I want to see a mug shot. We would certainly never have gotten to this place if she were gay and decided no one else could get married. Mug shot.

[MohRokTah]

11. She cannot be fired.

She must be removed by the state legislature. She's an elected official.

[MuseRider]

16. Thanks.

Missed that part, I sure hope they do something. If now what happens? Does Federal law become unenforceable? Just asking in general.

[RKP5637]

30. Good question! Do clerks get to decide which Federal laws to follow. Are they now

above SCOTUS? This reminds me so much of the sixties and all of the racism. It's really the SOS again.

[tanyev]

9. I find it interesting that no deputy clerk in that office has stepped forward and offered

to issue same-sex licenses. Ms. Davis has probably threatened to fire anyone that did that, but surely that would be another lawsuit that the county would also lose.

[Chan790]

12. ...or she hired like-minded toadies. n/t

[MohRokTah]

13. One has.

She refused because they would rubber stamp her name on the license.

She needs to be thrown in prison until such a time as she is willing to follow court orders.

[tanyev]

18. Ah, I see.

I wonder if Ms. Davis ever worries about how many adulterers, thieves and murderers have marriage licenses with her name stamped on them. People who have violated actual, y'know, commandments.

[smirkymonkey]

62. Yeah, where were her religious "values" in those cases?

What a hypocrite!

[dsc]

23. they can't without her permission

and apparently her grand mal hissy fit is over the fact her name is on the licences. Her name appears no matter which clerk gives the licence.

[HughBeaumont]

15. Local law enforcement is just as guilty for doing nothing.

This is defiance of not only your duties as an elected official, not only defiance of orders issued by your superiors AND your governor, but you're now defying the U.S. Supreme Court.

She's clearly, CLEARLY breaking the law on so many fronts and yet no one is doing anything about it because of an imagined onmiscient being and a twisted interpretation of a book that are somehow holding her hostage.

IS EVERYONE HERE FUCKING LOONEY TOONS?

"We can't arrest her because book. We can't arrest her because Sky Daddy." COME on.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

20. Local police can't do anything.

A federal judge will have to issue a contempt of court finding. I think it will be the US Marshalls that will have to locker her up.

[HughBeaumont]

40. This is such bullshit. She's breaking the fucking law.

Nice work if you can get it.

[Lee-Lee]

25. Local Law Enforrment can't do anything- that's the law

Next step is the judge in Federal Court to find he in contempt and order her fined or jailed or both until she complies.

Then, since it is Federal court, U.S. Marshals throw her in jail.

Local LE has no power to enforce Federal law or contempt charges from Federal court judges. At the most if the judge issued a warrant for contempt and sent it to the local LE the. They could arrest her and hold her for the Marshalls to come take custody- but most likely in this case they will send the U.S. Marshalls directly.

[HughBeaumont]

38. So, since a binding legal precedent is apparently too petty for a US Marshal to get involved . . . .

. . . you're telling me she's pretty much just going to get away with this???

[Lee-Lee]

41. No- you don't understand how it works

The process is ongoing.

The next step is her being found in contempt.

Once she is, then the Marshalls can act.

Until the judge finds her in contempt the Marshalls can't act.

[Volaris]

47. That way, her fellow crazies can claim that Obama had her persecuted

For her religious beliefs.
She gets to be a maryter, and Cruz and Huckabee get to ride that pony until they have hemorrhoids.

But I'll have that fight anyway, because Fuck Them.

[IDemo]

21. God's authority tweets back:

Titus 3:1 - Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

1 Peter 2:13-17 - 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

[WI_DEM]

22. She needs to be impeached

and I wonder if the state legislature would do that?

[SwissTony]

28. I know very little of the inner workings of the legal system at this level

but couldn't the relevant authority withhold some of her pay for not doing her job?

I'm not from the US, so I'm very much confused by how she can get directly away with this. I get the elected aspect and I get the contempt of court possibility, bu is there no direct way to "encourage" her?

[Chan790]

32. I hate to be cynical...

but we're talking about Kentucky, a state that has elected jailors...41 of whom have no jails and get paid salaries up to $70,000 to sit at home and do nothing in case the state of KY decides to build a jail in their county. It's a known problem for more than a decade and the state legislature hasn't gotten around to passing a law to stop paying those jailors for not actually having a job to do that they were elected to.

I'm not holding out hope that they will pay-sanction Davis.

[SwissTony]

35. My god, I can hardly believe that.

Not that I doubt you. I just can't get my head around it.

And I now see that pay sanctioning seems unlikely.

[Chan790]

37. Really. It's kind of insane.

Jeanette Miller Hughes padded barefoot around her modest home on a recent weekday afternoon, wearing a stained, baggy shirt and leggings. The television blared “The Muppets” as Hughes babysat her grandchild.
...
Since being elected four years ago, Hughes has done very little as the county’s $69,000-a-year jailer.

She doesn’t even have an office, no place where she goes to work all day, every weekday. Nor does she have any regular responsibilities, despite her hefty paycheck. And hardly anyone seems to have noticed, or cared.

Hughes is the personification of a wasteful, nepotism-laced but little-discussed system that costs Kentucky taxpayers approximately $2 million annually. She is one of 41 elected county jailers across the state who don’t have jails to run. And she is the highest paid of them all.

http://kycir.org/2015/01/02/only-in-kentucky-jailers-without-jails/

[SwissTony]

42. I'm sorry, but I don't get this.

Why elect someone to a position that MIGHT be required, SOMETIME in the future? And do these people need to have any qualifications as jailer?

[Chan790]

52. Two answers.

1.) It's a position created by the KY state Constitution. The only way to not elect one for a given county requires the state legislature to vote to combine the position in a given county with the Sheriff's office. They don't do it statewide broad-brush as there are a majority of counties that have do have a county jail and the need for a jailor separate from the elected sheriff. It has to be done county-by-county or naming all such counties in an omnibus act that would have to be amended every year as counties either add or get rid of their county jail.

2.) None whatsoever. In most places in the US that have elected sheriffs, they also don't have any requirement to run. In both cases, there is training post-election for the position of the person elected. That's also pretty insane.

[SwissTony]

55. Oh, wow.

OK, different strokes for different folks.

But electing a sherriff with possibly no knowledge of the law...

Thanks for the comments. You've cleared up a few questions I've had for some time.

[RKP5637]

36. I don't get it either, how she can continue with this nonsense in defiance of

Federal law and The Supreme Court of the US, because an imaginary being and ancient ramblings are telling her otherwise.

[brush]

29. Time to find her in contempt, fine her and jail her. nt

[hifiguy]

49. Yep. She needs to get her ass cooled off

In the happy ol' slammer for about 90 days. But she will make a killing on gofundme. This woman should be sued into penury.

[marmar]

33. And I bet she's probably someone who claims to love the Constitution.......

....... except that separation of church and state part.

[lpbk2713]

39. This is hugh!!11!

Isn't this absurd enough of a display of malfeasance to get her replaced?

[CanonRay]

43. I do not understand why the judge does not find her in contempt

he can hold here there indefinitely, until she complies. Plus fine her daily. What's the hold-up?

[beac]

48. That's what I want to know.

She clearly has no intention to comply, thus is in contempt, and thus she should be sitting in a jail cell.



(Edited b/c I realized the judge is federal. Still don't understand the foot-dragging in tossing her bigoted, non-job-doing ass in jail.)

[Marr]

50. Let her collect a check from god then. /nt

[0rganism]

56. maybe time to get someone else authorized to issue marriage licenses there?

looks like Rowan county might need another county clerk pretty soon anyway. just a thought.

[Vinca]

57. I wasn't aware God had a checking account. Mabye He's on PayPal.

He must be the one paying her if she's not working for the people of Kentucky. (This lady needs to lose her $80,000 a year job ASAP.)

[steve2470]

58. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

King James Bible

And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

http://biblehub.com/mark/12-17.htm

Is this Bible verse relevant here ?

[NCjack]

59. Relevant? Yes, and several more are also. See message #21. /nt

"And they marveled at him." That is, they were shocked by an unwanted answer, because they did not want to pay the Roman taxes. Jesus could have said: "Go forth and subvert the Roman law. Become administrative clerks, and when asked for licenses for LGBT marriages, and for divorces and remarriages for anyone, you jam up the system really good, in my Name." Oops, strike that part about "divorces and remarriages" because the little clerk in KY needs to feel good about herself, so said Jesus.