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| Move over, we've got another one! |
I like to do my research, so I'm looking at her Wikipedia page as I write my article to make sure I bring you guys all the real facts.
Kim Davis is [was?] the Chief Deputy Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky. Her job's responsibilities includes issuing marriage license to couples intending to marry. Because not all of us young people are married yet, let me clarify how the marriage process works in the United States.
When two people want to get married, they must apply for a marriage license. They fill out some forms regarding themselves, their status (if a citizen or an alien), and a little information about their parents. You then have a small conversation with a clerk to verify your information and then they will process it. You should receive your license in the mail afterward. This is where people that intend to marry get caught if they aren't allowed. Say, for example, someone between the ages of 15 and 18 without their parent's consent (those age limits varies by state) wouldn't be allowed to marry. Until recently, same sex marriages were also not allowed, so they often got denied at this point in the process.
Once you have your license, you have 60 days to get married by an officiant, justice of the peace, priest, reverend, judge, etc. These people fill out your license, sign it, and then send it off to get you your certificate. Once you have that certificate, your marital status has officially changed from single to married.
So you can see where Kim Davis fits into the entire scheme of things, stopping same sex couples from getting married in Kentucky when they are totally allowed to now. That's the big beef. But let's take a look at this from both sides.
Christian Hero Kim Davis
Kim Davis believes so profoundly that she is a good Christian. Who are we to argue with that? Does she go to church every week? Does she pray every night? Maybe, maybe not. We shall not judge for only He can (or something like that, I'm not particularly religious).
Point being, Kim Davis believes that her God does not want same sex people getting married, so she is only doing what she thinks God wants her to do. She believes that nobody, not even the government, should force her do things that specifically goes against her religious beliefs. Specifically, the first Amendment of our US Constitution declares that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
As you can see, that is a pretty strong statement, so you can understand why people are rallying for her. Her followers believe she is standing up for your first Amendment because her and her followers believe that the decision to allow same-sex marriage violates it.
Dumb Lazy Bitch Kim Davis
So who are the people that are against Kim Davis and why?
Well, this goes back to my rant about modern developers. You can't change the company you work for if you're low on the totem poll, but you can change yourself to adapt, else you can change who you work for. So if you want to be a successful employee, do the job you were hired to do, or find another job. Kim Davis doesn't seem to be doing either, so this mess is what ensued.
There are a lot of controversial issues that are dependent on the outcome of this one, and one of them is women's rights to abortion. Why do I say that? Because this issue with Kim Davis is a much larger one. It's not just about same sex marriages and why Kim Davis won't issue marriage licenses to eligible couples.
The Separation of Church from State
One of the biggest reasons why a couple of Englishmen packed their bags and moved to the America was because England does not have a separation of Church from State. If you ask anyone from England what the official religion of England is, they will answer "Christian."
If you ask any natural born citizen of America what the official religion of America is, they will also probably answer "Christian," because my fiance asked me, and that's what I said.
But that is wrong. America has no official or national religion. We have the separation of Church from State.
What does that mean? Well, like the first Amendment states, our government must respect any establishment of religion and cannot prohibit the free exercise of it.
So is that what is happening here? Is the government really prohibiting Kim Davis from exercising her religion? That's a big yes-or-no question, so answering either one definitively requires a lengthy reason to back it up.
But let's back up a minute. I did say that this is bigger than Kim Davis. So let me elaborate on that.
Kim Davis believes her first Amendment was violated, so she reacts by not issuing the marriage licenses to eligible couples. Well, according to the ruling that was passed this year that allowed these previously ineligible couples to become eligible couples, Kim Davis is now violating that by refusing to do her job. Please note that in that article, it says, "thereby requiring all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples." as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Kim Davis deliberately broke the law and was jailed for it.
But here's the big point that a lot of people seem to be missing. Kim Davis isn't just fighting for her own rights to religion; she's fighting for everyone's right to religion to be held higher than anyone's civil rights.
If she wins, then crap like this could follow.
