Posted on 11/06/2015 12:44:57 PM PST by SeekAndFind
LOUISVILLE (Reuters) - Kentucky Governor-elect Matt Bevin said on Friday that when he takes office in December he will order changes to the state marriage license form to appease clerks who have objected to issuing licenses to same-sex couples.
"One thing I will take care of right away is we will remove the names of the county clerks from the marriage form," Bevin told reporters in the Capitol rotunda.
Bevin, only the second Republican elected governor in Kentucky since 1971, said he would make the change by executive order.
It is unclear what impact his order would have on the case of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for five days after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, making Kentucky a focal point in the long-running debate over gay marriage in the United States. Davis met with Bevin the day she was released from jail.
Davis, 50, took steps to remove her name and office from the forms when she was released. She also had repeatedly urged current governor Steve Beshear, a Democrat, to remove clerk names from the form or provide another type of relief so she would not violate her Apostolic Christian beliefs.
Beshear has said he had no authority to relieve county clerks of their statutory duties by executive order and the issue could be addressed by the state legislature, which reconvenes in January.
Attorneys for Davis could not be reached immediately for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Neither does, according to the power ceded to the Supreme Court by the U.S. Congress.
Well said.
Don’t know. But the Governor can certainly lead the way.
Congress is limited to the constraints of the Constitution. They have no authority over marriage in the state of Kentucky. Unlike the court, however, they at least have the ability to gain such power through the Amendment process.
Well put. I was going to welcome you to FR as I don’t recall running across you, then I checked out your handle date. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.
One thing I would add to your excellent observation was that governments derive their power from the OBEDIENCE of the governed. Not their consent.
Great plan, except for one thing. If I remember correctly, Kentucky Law REQUIRES the name of the county clerk on the document.
It will have to be changed by the Kentucky state legislature, and then the governor will get to sign it after that, but I don't think he can legally just do it himself.
Of course nowadays, all sorts of end runs around the law have become common place. "Gay marriage" for example, is a willful defiance of correct law by the courts and a willful defiance of the expressed will of the people.
Me too.
RE: except for one thing. If I remember correctly, Kentucky Law REQUIRES the name of the county clerk on the document.
Well folks, if we are to STRICTLY follow Kentucky law, then we ought to know that Kentucky Law DOES NOT RECOGNIZE and SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITS same-sex marriage.
So, who’s violating Kentucky Law? Certainly not Kim Davis.
And he's already pissing on that leverage. Instead of this remove the names garbage, he should have been forceful and made it clear no further licenses would be issued.
And I like this approach as well. DO NOT GRANT THEIR WRONG DECISIONS ANY RESPECT.
Deliberately undermine them every step of the way.
Yes! Instead, he's doing the typical Republican crap and backing away from those that elected him, already. What a sham!
Well while we're on the topic of Kentucky Marriage law, I seem to recall that only the Female can apply for a marriage license.
That pretty much stops are the faggots right there.
Bevin is trying to sidestep a conflict over same sex marriage.
I think public officials who don’t want to participate should not be forced to.
Bevin is trying to accommodate that, but will it be enough for those who want gay marriage?
They seem pretty militant and determined to force everyone to go along with them.
I have called the establishment of gay marriage a pathway to tyranny and I am not backing away from that notion.
At some point Matt Bevin and others will show themselves to be defenders of freedom of folks who cave in.
Governor Mike Pence of Indiana and Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas folded quickly under big corporation pressure and backed away from religious freedom laws earlier this year.
The kind of religious freedom law the GOP in those states caved on is the one Kim Davis cited in her defense in court.
He needs to fight this with the Constitution. If he caves I would start referring to him as “Door Matt” Bevin.
I’m among those who have said all along that the document should be issued in the name of the state or county, not the clerk. The person filling the slot at the time is an individual holding the office, not the office itself. If she or he cannot in conscience fulfill all the duties of the office, then do not run for it, or resign if things change in the middle of a term. Otherwise, you do the things required of the OFFICE you hold.
Which indicates he entirely lacks the qualifications of a true leader. Typical spineless wimp republican.
All this does is lampshade the problem.
The problem is a matter of whether or not federalism still exists, or if we are all mere thralls of the Potomac Gentry.
So far, the State governments have not been eager to make a stand.
You’re calling the governor elect a coward before he takes office. Give him a week or two, he might have something else up his sleeve that he does not want to prepare the leftist mutts for.
Don’t be so nasty till someone deserves it.
His initial step is all icing and no cake. He needs to know that those among us who are paying attention will not be fooled by sound-good, do nothing actions. It’s Tenth Amendment time, not “remove the clerk’s name from the form” time.
Wait till he’s actually governor. Give him that much. He may have that in mind but does not want to give them advanced notice of his proposed actions.
We can all criticize him then if he fails You have to treat this as a war..and good warriors use tactics and don’t play there hands till the time is right
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