The most ridiculous aspect of the Kim Davis affair . . .

[markpkessinger]

. . . has been the suggestion that there was ever even a question of religious conscience at issue. Neither a marriage license, nor a clerk's signature on that license, represents anybody's approval of the marriage that may -- or may not -- take place under that license. A license is merely a certification that a couple meets the legal requirements for marriage under existing law. It is a certification of objective, legal fact, and thus no question of conscience ever even arises. The notion that certifying that a couple -- ANY couple -- meets a set of legal requirements in any way burdens the conscience of the clerk making that certification renders absurd the entire question of religious accommodation.

[Angry Dragon]

1. one thing you might have over looked

we are dealing with misguided idiots

[EEO]

8. Indeed.

Facts are not the type of currency they use.

[daleanime]

29. Hell yes....

[Maeve]

2. Oh, there you go, talking sense!

It never was about sense, logic or legality. It was always about feelings, beliefs and Gawd as interpreted by yahoos.

[Stryder]

15. And...

A big fat pile of Wingnut Welfare. In 3, 2, 1...

[AngryAmish]

3. Republicans are morons

Especially this one.

[markpkessinger]

5. Actually, she's a Democrat, sorry to say n/t

[SoCalMusicLover]

7. She Ain't No Democrat

She may have run as a Democrat, in order to get elected, but she is definitely not one of us.

My bet is she has her eyes set on another elected office, but this time running as a repub.

I'm also guessing she has quite a few views that would cause most Democrats to cringe with disgust.

[lunatica]

11. Well I cringe with disgust at one of her views as so many other do now

[nxylas]

22. Wishful thinking, I'm afraid

There are plenty of Dems, particularly in red states, who hold views that are barely distinguishable from those of Republicans. Some of them can be found on DU.

[markpkessinger]

40. Her views may not be typical of most Democrats . . .

. . . in fact, they might be downright reprehensible to most of us. But being a member of a political party in this country entails no litmus test of specific beliefs, and to deny that she is a Democrat is to engage in a "no true Scotsman" fallacy.

[uppityperson]

4. k&r

[hifiguy]

6. Of course. This is it in a nutshell.

But fundys see everthing through the crazyhouse kaleidoscope of a non-existent skywizard's incomprehensible psychobabble.

It's the equivalent of not giving out a driver's license to left-handed people because left-handedness is a mark of the debbil.

[Vinca]

9. The woman is a very expensive pencil pusher and little more.

If she truly believes she is right, she will forfeit her $80,000 a year job in the name of Jeeeeeeeezus.

[Scarsdale]

36. Belief

So, she is just fine commiting adultery, but not doing her job?

[Facility Inspector]

10. Public adminstration is not within the realm of the sacred or "holy."

If she holds such extremist fundamentalist views, she probably shouldn't run for PUBLIC, SECULAR office.

[wolfie001]

12. She's looking for a big go fund me payday!

She's a hypocritical idiot!

[markpkessinger]

16. GoFundMe has banned these kinds of fundraisers n/t

[wolfie001]

18. Thanks! That's great news!

But I'm sure the bible thumper brigades will help this fool out.

[rurallib]

20. interesting to know - would you know if right wingers have

another go to site for funders like these? I am really curious.

[nxylas]

23. If not, they may set up one of their own

I know they mostly preach that science is the Devil's work, but there's no principle they won't overlook if it helps "the cause". And the person who actually creates the site probably won't be a member of the Tealiban anyway, since web design requires education and creativity. It'll more likely be an opportunist seeking to make some "sweet, sweet bigot money".

[Nevernose]

21. "A big pile of sweet, sweet bigot money"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027131792

[wolfie001]

32. Yes, Savage hit that one outta the park! nt

[passiveporcupine]

13. this is all out war against secularism

And what happens in war? People die. And who usually does the killing. The religious fundies.

This has to stop. This started with our conservative supreme court and Hobby Lobby and it just has to stop.

[randome]

14. You'd think she was performing the marriage herself. What a loon.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[Raster]

19. You'd think she was going to be involved in the marriage herself. What a loon....

...however, given her past marital history, all bets are off.

[Raster]

17. Absolutely agreed. There was NEVER a religious component to trifle over.

Davis interjected her own religious fervor in an area that should have absolutely nothing to do with religion. If Davis and her little coven of snake-handling hillbillies do not want to welcome or marry a LGBT couple, they certainly do not have to. That is freedom of religion. However, if an LGBT couple wants to enter into a CIVIL marriage arrangement, they have the right to do so without Ms. Sanctity of Marriage interfering on moral grounds. That is freedom FROM religion.

[4lbs]

24. Holy crap! She earns $80,000 a year as a county clerk!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Davis_(county_clerk)

In 2014, Bailey chose not to run for re-election, and Davis ran for the clerk office as a Democrat. She defeated Republican John Cox in the November 2014 election, becoming the Rowan county clerk. As county clerk, she receives an annual salary of $80,000.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-clerk-same-sex-marriage-kim-davis-turbulent-marital-history/

County taxpayers pay Davis $80,000 as the elected clerk. Staver said Tuesday that she does not have a fortune squirreled away somewhere to pay whatever punishment Bunning hands down. But she also refuses to resign.



Wait, she makes $80K a year in Kentucky and she doesn't have money saved away?

It's not like she lives in NY, CA, or Hawaii. $80K in Kentucky is like $120K in any of those 3 states!

https://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/

Kentucky has the 5th lowest cost of living as of 2015. New York, California, and Hawaii are in the top 5 highest.

[TNNurse]

33. I cannot help but focus

on the fact that a county clerk in KY makes $80,000. What does the governor make? What do school teachers, cops, firemen make???What other jobs in the state pay that???

[madamvlb]

34. Maybe the churches in Kentucky ask for more tithing.

[whatthehey]

25. You're forgetting the defining rule of current US culture; IOKIYAC

[yardwork]

26. I disagree.

Anybody can have a religious belief about anything. That's the First Amendment. Any person in the U.S. has a right to believe any fool thing they choose, and they have a right to call it their religion.

The point here is NOT whether Kim Davis has a genuine religious point or not. She gets to choose her personal religious beliefs.

Where Kim Davis is wrong is in refusing to do her job. As an elected official, she has an obligation to carry out her duties. If she can't do so in good conscience, then she must resign.

[markpkessinger]

38. That isn't what I said . . .

I never denied that she has a particular religious belief, nor that she has a right to hold it. What I said that is the act of certifying a set of facts as being true under the law does not in any way burden those beliefs.

[yardwork]

39. I realize that her claim is illogical, but that's beside the point.

She has the right to claim that it's against her religion to turn the door knob of the front door. She doesn't have the right to get paid to refuse to do her job. Really, this has nothing to do with religion. It's about whether or not a couny clerk can decide which parts of her job to refuse.

Applying some kind of religious test to her beliefs takes us down the wrong road. Sure, her stated beliefs appear to be illogical, hypocritical, and senseless. But that doesn't matter.

[Liberty Belle]

41. Yep, imagine if everyone refused to follow laws they didn't believe in, like these:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027138701

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

27. You are a true sage

Why don't they do their job, and trust that Jesus will, if he cares sufficiently to do so, prevent the marriage from happening. Or maybe Jesus, who is the epitome of wiseness, wants them to have free will, so he can throw them in the fires of hell. Who the fuck are you to decide what Jesus, or God, intends?

[randys1]

28. This mindset wants the White House...you all know that, I hope

[gratuitous]

30. You're clearly overlooking Hezekiah 14:12-15

"And the elect who endure to the end shall be shewn into the pleasure of the master (not that way, you perv!) who will welcome them, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Wait, what's this? You signed the marriage certificate for a same-sex couple? Go to Hell! I said "Adam and Eve," not "Adam and Steve"! Your entire life of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, clothing the naked, and ministering to the sick and imprisoned? Window dressing, Stupid! The whole thing turned on whether people used their sexyparts correctly. How could you have fucking missed that? Enjoy eternity in Hell."

It's pretty cut and dried.

[RKP5637]

31. Exactly! It means the requirements and paperwork have been completed. Her notions

are ludicrous. ... but observations demonstrate she has flawed logic to begin with, hence her conclusions are flawed too. In short, she has made a damn fool of herself. And, she has crappy legal counsel.

[Scarsdale]

35. Objection

Some couples might see it as a sign of doom, that the person issuing their license had failed at marriage several times.

[nichomachus]

37. I was a clerk in the Family Law division of the county court

I handled and filed paperwork for divorces, restraining orders, child custody cases, etc.

I never once saw myself as somehow being a party to any of those situations. I was merely a clerk doing my job. My feelings about a divorce, restraining order, or child custody arrangements had nothing to do with it.

As long as the people involved met the legal requirements and had crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's, my job was to file the paperwork. Period.