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Marriage Clerk Targeted By ‘Gays’ Revolt -Governor ‘Unlawfully Picking & Choosing Exemptions’ Based On Religion
by Bob Unruh
A county clerk in Kentucky who has been sued for declining to issue marriage licenses since the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision now has turned the legal focus onto her own governor, Steve Beshear, for arbitrarily picking and choosing religious beliefs for exemptions from the law, and thus putting her in the position to be a defendant in the current case.
The new case filed by Kim Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, asks that Beshear be made liable for any damages that might be assessed against her in the marriage fight.
“Beshear is unlawfully picking and choosing the conscience-based exemptions to marriage that he deems acceptable,” says the complaint, brought by Liberty Counsel on behalf of Davis against Beshear.
“For instance, when Attorney General [Jack] Conway refused to defend Kentucky’s marriage laws, Beshear did not admonish Conway that ‘neither your oath nor the Supreme Court dictates what you must believe. But as elected officials, they do prescribe how we must act,’ but Gov. Beshear did so direct county clerks like Davis.”
The complaint also explains, “Beshear did not command Conway that ‘when you accepted this job and took that oath, it puts you on a different level,’ and ‘you have official duties now that the law puts on you,’ but he did deliver this command to county clerks like Davis.”
Further, “Beshear did not publicly proclaim that Conway was ‘refusing to perform [his] duties’ and failing to ‘follow the law and carry out [his] duty,’ and should instead ‘comply with the law regardless of personal beliefs,’ but he did make this proclamation (repeatedly) about county clerks like Davis.
“Beshear did not instruct Conway that ‘if you are at that point to where your personal convictions tell you that you simply cannot fulfill your duties that you were elected to do, then obviously the honorable course to take is to resign and let someone else step in who feels that they can fulfill these duties,’ but he did issue this instruction to country clerks like Davis … Beshear did not ominously declare that ‘the courts will deal appropriately with’ Conway, but he did so declare as to the ‘two or three’ county clerks who are not issuing marriage licenses.”
The issue raised in the complaint is that the state’s attorney general, Jack Conway, earlier had simply refused to defend the state’s marriage laws, which were challenged in court, because of his beliefs.
He said, “I can only say that I am doing what I think is right.”
Beshear simply hired outside attorneys to do the job to which Conway was elected.
But when the Obergefell decision was announced, Beshear ordered clerks to start granting same-sex “marriage” licenses even if it violates their religious beliefs. He said they should quit if they couldn’t do what he wanted.
Davis, who had pleaded with the governor and lawmakers to set up a special legislative session to protect her religious rights, simply declined to issue any licenses and has explained duos can obtain them from any of the 100 or so other officials in the state who can issue them.
Beshear, who did not respond to a WND request for comment on Wednesday, therefore, has granted one belief an exemption from law, but not another belief, the case points out.
“Gov. Beshear’s policies and directives are specifically targeting clerks like Davis who possess certain religious beliefs about marriage,” the case explains. “This targeting is demonstrated by the exemption Gov. Beshear granted to Attorney General Conway when he was unwilling to defend Kentucky’s marriage laws – after ‘pray[ing] over this decision’ – pursuant to Conway’s own personal beliefs and feelings about ‘doing what I think is right’ and ‘mak[ing] a decision that I could be proud of.’
“Beshear’s targeted and discriminatory marriage policy pronouncements constitute government-imposed pressure on Davis to act contrary to her religious beliefs, and expose Davis to potential liability if she refuses to compromise her religious beliefs and violate her conscience,” it explains.
“Governor Beshear is unlawfully picking and choosing the conscience-based exemptions to marriage that he deems acceptable,” said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel.
“In no uncertain terms, Governor Beshear’s policies and directives are intended to suppress religion – even worse, a particular religious belief,” Liberty Counsel’s complaint points out. “Thus, although Attorney General Conway was given a pass for his conscience about marriage without any threats of repercussion, clerks like Davis are being repeatedly told by their governor to abandon their religiously informed beliefs or resign.”
Read more at WND:
http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/revolt-marriage-clerk-targeted-by-gays-sues-governor/
