Same sex marriages in USA still a battle for many

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Why don't they just fire this bitch in Kentucky?
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Despite Supreme Court ruling, same-sex marriage conflicts continue

By Ryan Nobles, Linh Tran and Laura Ly, CNN

August 17, 2015

(CNN)For some Kentucky couples -- and couples across America -- the battle for same-sex marriage is far from over.

For the first time, a Kentucky county clerk is appealing an order to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite the Supreme Court ruling requiring her to do so.

On Monday, Federal District Judge David Bunning ordered a temporary stay on the issuing of marriage licenses by the Rowan County Clerk's Office while the appeal is pending, according to court documents.

David Moore and David Ermold are one of at least four couples who were refused a marriage license by the Rowan County Clerk in Morehead, Kentucky.

They been together for the past 17 years and have lived in Rowan County for the past 10 years. They attempted to get a marriage license twice, first in July and for a second time in August. They recorded both of their attempts and posted them to social media.

The footage shows the couple presenting the clerk's office with a letter from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and a copy of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June.

"This is how gay people are treated in this country, this is what it's like, this is their experience, this is how it feels," Ermold said in an emotional statement after being denied for the second time.

Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk, believes it is within her First Amendment rights to deny the same-sex licenses based on her religious beliefs. She has vowed to continue to deny them, despite being ordered to do so by Beshear and a federal court judge.

"Our form of government will not survive unless we, as a society, agree to respect the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions, regardless of our personal opinions. Davis is certainly free to disagree with the Court's opinion, as many Americans likely do, but that does not excuse her from complying with it," Bunning's August 12 order reads.

Davis filed an appeal on Bunning's order the same day it was issued, according to Liberty Counsel, a litigation organization that is representing Davis. She also stopped issuing marriage licenses to anyone, gay or straight. The organization believes that forcing Davis to issue same-sex marriage licenses would be a violation of her religious convictions.

"My Kentucky constitution that I took the oath to uphold in January stated that marriage is between one man and one woman. And that is the constitution that I have vowed to uphold," Davis told CNN affiliate WSAZ.

"This is a much bigger battle than one small county or two small counties that are standing up for what they believe in."

Meanwhile, the ACLU is representing four couples -- two gay and two straight -- who were denied licenses after Davis decided to stop issuing them all together.

"[Davis] is a public servant, and she's supposed to serve all of the public. It's a part of her job to issue marriage licenses, and issuing marriage licenses doesn't mean that she endorses anybody's marriage," James Esseks, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & HIV Project at the ACLU, told CNN.

Esseks believes Davis is among a "handful of resisters."

"National polling shows that most people in this country feel that same-sex couples should be able to get married and are fine with it," Esseks said.

While the overwhelming majority of same-sex couples can easily obtain marriage licenses, the pockets of resistance that still exist could lead to a new round of court battles that impact how the Supreme Court's ruling is implemented around the country.

Other cases in the United States

In Alabama, 13 of the state's 67 counties have stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether. State Sen. Greg Albritton has proposed a bill that would take the state out of the marriage business by getting rid of licenses issued by probate judges. Instead, couples would enter into marriage contracts that they would file on their own with a probate court.

But gay couples are fighting back as well.

In Granbury, Texas, Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton were initially denied a license by Hood County clerk Katie Lang in July.

"The religious doctrines to which I adhere compel me to personally refrain from issuing same-sex marriage licenses," Lang said in a statement. "I am grateful that the First Amendment continues to protect the sincerely held religious beliefs of public servants like me."

Lang eventually allowed a deputy to issue the license, but Cato and Stapleton sued for damages. Their attorneys announced Monday afternoon that Hood County had settled with them for $43,872.10. They had waited 27 years to get married, according to their lawsuit.

As for Ermold and Moore, they are prepared to take their fight to the end, confident that their patience will eventually be rewarded.

"We waited for years to get married, we've been together forever and we waited," said Ermold. "He (Moore) wanted to wait until it was legal and recognized in all the states."

Story and video: http://us.cnn.com/2015/08/17/us/same-se ... index.html

[Gaybutton]

Supreme Court Rules Against Clerk in Gay Marriage Case

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Aug 31, 2015

By CLAIRE GALOFARO Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, and the clerk will arrive at work Tuesday morning to face her moment of truth.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will have to choose whether to issue marriage licenses, defying her Christian conviction, or continue to refuse them, defying a federal judge who could pummel her with fines or order that she be hauled off to jail.

"She's going to have to think and pray about her decision overnight. She certainly understands the consequences either way," Mat Staver, founder of the law firm representing Davis, said on Monday, hours before a court-ordered delay in the case expired. "She'll report to work tomorrow, and face whatever she has to face."

A line of couples, turned away by her office again and again in the two months since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation, plan to meet her at the courthouse door.

"Wow, wow, wow, I can't believe it, we might finally be able to get a license tomorrow," April Miller said Monday night, shortly after the court's decision. She has been denied twice to marry her partner of more than a decade.

Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses in the days after the landmark decision. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her, arguing that she must fulfill her duties as an elected official despite her personal religious faith. A federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses, and an appeals court upheld that decision. Her lawyers with the Liberty Counsel filed a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday, asking that they grant her "asylum for her conscience."

Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the 6th district, referred Davis' request to the full court, which denied the stay without comment. Kagan joined the majority in June when the court legalized gay marriage across the nation.

If Davis continues to turn them away, the couples' attorneys can ask a judge to hold her in contempt of court, which can carry steep fines or jail time.

Dan Canon, an attorney representing the couples, said he hopes Davis will simply hand his clients licenses on Tuesday, and the controversy will end. Davis behind bars is not an outcome they are hoping for, he said.

"But if she continues to defy the court's order, we cannot let that continue unaddressed," he said Monday night. "It all depends on what happens tomorrow."

Meanwhile, a couple that had been turned away went to Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins to ask that she be charged with official misconduct, a misdemeanor defined by state law as a public official who "refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law or clearly inherent in the nature of his office." The crime is punishable by up to a year in jail.

Watkins cited a conflict of interest and forwarded the complaint to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, whose office will decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor, generally a county attorney from a surrounding jurisdiction, who would decide whether to file charges.

As the clock wound down for Davis on Monday, the tension intensified between dueling groups of protesters outside her office window on the courthouse lawn.

Hexie Mefford has stood on the lawn waving a flag nearly every day for more than two months. The flag is fashioned after Old Glory, but with a rainbow instead of the red and white bars.

Mike Reynolds, protesting in Davis' defense, shouted at her that he found the flag offensive: He is an Army veteran, he said, and they had desecrated the American flag. The two groups roared at each other. Davis' supporters called on the activists to repent; the activists countered that their God loves all.

It was a marked difference from the cordial protests that unfolded there every day since Davis declared she would issue no licenses.

Rachelle Bombe has sat there every day, wearing rainbow colors and carrying signs that demand marriage equality. One particularly hot day, Davis, the woman she was there to protest against, worried Bombe would get overheated and offered her a cold drink. In turn, Bombe said she's checked in on Davis, whose lawyer says she's received death threats and hate mail, to make sure she's holding up despite the difficult circumstances.

"She's a very nice lady, I like her a lot," Bombe said of Davis. "We're on the opposite sides of this, but it's not personal."

On Monday, Davis' supporters stood on the grass and sang "I am a Child of God."

The marriage equality activists chimed in after each refrain: "So are we."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/reck ... g-33439188

[Gaybutton]

[lvdkeyes]

She is not doing what she is paid to do. FIRE her. Simple.

[Gaybutton]

FIRE her. Simple.

Unfortunately not quite so simple. According to the articles I've been reading, she can't be fired because she's an elected official. What I don't understand is, if she truly believes her religious principles, why she isn't being pressured to resign or doesn't resign voluntarily. My guess is the real reason she doesn't resign is because she doesn't want to give up her $80,000 per year job - paid primarily to sit on her ass.

Maybe the courts will remind her about separation of church and state. She's church, but her employment is state.

No question in my mind how this will play out. She'll lose in court, will still refuse to issue marriage licenses, and be forced to either resign or face fines and jail.

I think she's going to the wrong church. She belongs with:


The Good Reverend Phelps

[Alex]

If she continues to disobey court orders, my guess is that it's only a matter of time until she will be found in contempt of court. That's a criminal matter and chances are that it will then be possible to remove her from her position somehow - either by court order, administrative action or impeachment. It will probably pay off to have popcorn ready, watching these videos is almost better than watching The Donald.

[Gaybutton]

watching these videos is almost better than watching The Donald.

In that case, here's another one I think works well with this topic: