Posted on 02/09/2016 2:13:04 PM PST by wagglebee
ROWAN COUNTY, Kentucky, February 9, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) - A federal judge has turned down the ACLU's attempt to force Kim Davis to violate her conscience while issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Although Governor Matt Bevin granted a religious accommodation for the county clerk to issue altered marriage licenses to homosexuals, the ACLU brought a lawsuit seeking to force Davis to issue the old forms with her full name on them.
"There is absolutely no reason that this case went so far without reasonable people respecting and accommodating Kim Davis' First Amendment rights," said Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, who is defending Davis. "Today's ruling by Judge Bunning rejected the ACLU's request to hold Kim Davis in contempt of court."
Kim Davis is a born again Apostolic Christian who refuses to issue marriage licenses bearing her name to homosexuals, because doing so would imply her consent and participation in something the Bible deems sinful. "It's a Heaven or Hell decision," she said. Davis contacted state legislators and former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, seeking a religious accommodation that would alter the form but allow her office to recognize gay unions, to no avail.
Ultimately, she spent six days in jail last September after Judge Bunning held her in contempt of court for refusing to issue the unamended forms.
"Those who are persecuting Kim Davis believe that Christians should not serve in public office," Senator Ted Cruz said after her arrest.
When she was released last September 8, presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Cruz showed up to wish her well.
"Lock me up" in Kim Davis' place, Mike Huckabee said. "Let Kim go."
When Davis returned to work last September 14, she allowed other employees to grant new certificates that did not have her name on them.
Deputy Rowan County Clerk Brian Mason said that Davis “confiscated all the original forms, and provided a changed form which deletes all mentions of the County, fills in one of the blanks that would otherwise be the County with the Court’s styling, deletes her name, deletes all of the deputy clerk references, and in place of deputy clerk types in the name of Brian Mason, and has him initial rather than sign.”
Matt Bevin, the Republican who would be elected governor that November, promptly granted Davis an accommodation and signed the first new regulation on abortion in a dozen years shortly after taking office.
But the ACLU sued to force Davis to issue the old certificates, anyway. Judge Bunning wrote that would be unnecessary.
"There is every reason to believe that any altered licenses issued between September 14, 2015, and September 20, 2015, would be recognized as valid under Kentucky law, making re-issuance unnecessary," wrote Judge David Bunning, a Republican whose father Jim Bunning, was a baseball great and former U.S. senator. "Under these circumstances, the court finds that Plaintiffs’ request for relief is now moot."
Since returning to work, Davis has met with Pope Francis and attended President Obama's last State of the Union address.
"From the beginning we have said the ACLU is not interested in marriage licenses. They want Kim Davis' scalp," Staver said. "They want to force her to violate her conscience. I am glad the court rejected this bully tactic."
Exactly. The left is no longer satisfied to simply get their way, they now want true Christians to be forced into violating deeply held beliefs.
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Woo Hoo!
Didn’t have to go to the supremes.
Go Kim!
Truly, this is very good news.
great news.
ACLU go and get stuffed and move over to N Korea.
Didn’t Trump say this wasn’t the right job for her? Good thing he didn’t pick this judge.
Amazing that we’ve sunk so far that we’re celebrating over this.
However, I’m becoming more and more certain that the only real way to turn this around is at the local level. Live with Christ-like values and teach them to your children. Be like Christians in Roman times; teach them how to live in the world but not be of the world.
In the first century, you could often tell that someone was a Christian by the lash marks on their back. We may be going back to that time.
It’s not enough to be forced ti accept their lifestyle. No, you must be forced to participate in their perversion, too.
Is the ACLU screaming “separation of church and state!” and protesting any of the recent cases of schoolchildren being told to recite the Islamic profession of faith as part of their schoolwork? Just wondering.
When the people with brains take the reins, outfits like the ACLU will be declared a subversive organization and ordered to disband!
There are many others who, when ordered to disband, will be declared non grata and if they persist will be sentenced to prison at HARD LABOR.
Industry and personal beliefs will be held much higher than perverts in the LGBT gaggle. Knock the perverts down from their government-provided pedestal.
Way to go Kim!!! There is still a Church and State law in this Country...and it’s great there is still someone in authority that knows this and better still believes it.
Good news. But actually, I think the left is all about forcing people to violate their beliefs - at least forcing traditional Christians. Getting what they want - gay marriage, whatever is secondary. The main thing with the left is forcing people to conform a certain way or be silenced. There must not be any room for private conscience in the New Socialist Order - all must conform.
Source: Wikipedia
I guess for the ACLU, protection depends on whether or not one belongs to the correct group of citizens.
so the leftist gop “judge” bunning caved. that’s good. i guess all the letters and phone calls did some good.
Sad, but true. You would think he would have had this amount of sense in the first place, before he put Kim in jail. Not feeling good about our whole judicial system these days, especially when you have a judge, like this one, who is so easily swayed.
BTTT!
“easily swayed”
right. you nailed the problem. a competent judge just applies the law with appropriate mercy. that’s what’s missing.
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