In an an amazing display of Poor Oppressed Christian nonsense, Kentucky county clerk Casey Davis has claimed that he will die in order to maintain his right to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. I don't know if Davis honestly believes that anyone is going to kill him over this issue, or if he's just being overly dramatic. Whatever the case, though, when you think about it his stance is pretty ridiculous.
In fact, Davis has every right to tell a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license that he considers homosexuality sinful. That's not at issue. What's at issue is that regardless of his beliefs, he cannot refuse to issue a license to them if they don't agree with him. This is where the Poor Oppressed mindset always gets muddy. They're allowed to talk about their beliefs all they want, they just can't force others to conform to them.
Which, for anyone who might be thinking otherwise, is absolutely not how Supreme Court rulings work. They can overturn legislation, at both the state and federal levels, whether or not that legislation has been voted on.
Actually, nobody needs to fight or die over this. Davis just needs to quit his job if his religion prevents him from performing his duties, which include issuing marriage licenses to all couples who can legally marry. I've never really understood how this is somehow not obvious to absolutely everyone. The same issue comes into play when pharmacists refuse to dispense contraception based on religious beliefs. They either need to fulfill the requirements of the job, or find another one.
From a "theological purity" perspective, it surprises me that they think God would really care whether they personally issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple or dispense birth control. As long as they work in offices that perform those functions, they still are supporting systems that according to their literal interpretation of Christianity are sinful. While I realize that having to find a new job requires some work, it's far less work than fighting or dying or becoming a martyr.
But the Poor Oppressed Christians don't think that way. They don't believe anyone deserves religious rights or freedoms except for them, and take exception whenever they aren't allowed to force their beliefs onto others who do not share them. That's apparently the only "religious freedom" that they find acceptable.
“When you stand for what’s right and when you tell someone of the danger that they are in, and I think that when a person lives a lifestyle of sin whether it’s homosexuality or drunkenness or drug addiction or adultery or thievery or any kind of sin that you continue in or live in, you are endangering yourself of spending eternity in Hell,” Davis said. “So in my view of what the Bible says, when you’re truly loving someone, you stand and you lovingly tell them, ‘This is not the way to Heaven, this is not the way of right.’”
In fact, Davis has every right to tell a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license that he considers homosexuality sinful. That's not at issue. What's at issue is that regardless of his beliefs, he cannot refuse to issue a license to them if they don't agree with him. This is where the Poor Oppressed mindset always gets muddy. They're allowed to talk about their beliefs all they want, they just can't force others to conform to them.
He argued that the U.S. Supreme Court lacked the authority to overturn Kentucky laws that were approved by a majority of voters — and he said he was willing to become a martyr over this “travesty.”
Which, for anyone who might be thinking otherwise, is absolutely not how Supreme Court rulings work. They can overturn legislation, at both the state and federal levels, whether or not that legislation has been voted on.
“Our law says ‘one man and one woman’ and that is what I held my hand up and took an oath to and that is what I expected,” Davis said. “If it takes it, I will go to jail over — if it takes my life, I will die for because I believe I owe that to the people that fought so I can have the freedom that I have. I owe that to them today, and you do, we all do. They fought and died so we could have this freedom and I’m going to fight and die for my kids and your kids can keep it.”
Actually, nobody needs to fight or die over this. Davis just needs to quit his job if his religion prevents him from performing his duties, which include issuing marriage licenses to all couples who can legally marry. I've never really understood how this is somehow not obvious to absolutely everyone. The same issue comes into play when pharmacists refuse to dispense contraception based on religious beliefs. They either need to fulfill the requirements of the job, or find another one.
From a "theological purity" perspective, it surprises me that they think God would really care whether they personally issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple or dispense birth control. As long as they work in offices that perform those functions, they still are supporting systems that according to their literal interpretation of Christianity are sinful. While I realize that having to find a new job requires some work, it's far less work than fighting or dying or becoming a martyr.
But the Poor Oppressed Christians don't think that way. They don't believe anyone deserves religious rights or freedoms except for them, and take exception whenever they aren't allowed to force their beliefs onto others who do not share them. That's apparently the only "religious freedom" that they find acceptable.
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