Kentucky: Kim Davis’ 15 Minutes
While County Clerk Kim Davis was in jail this past Labor Day weekend for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, her lawyer released this statement:
“She’s not going to resign, she’s not going to sacrifice her conscience, so she’s doing what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, which is to pay the consequences for her decision.” Mat Staver, one of Davis’ attorneys and founder of the Florida-based legal group Liberty Counsel. (Chicago Tribune)
(photo courtesy of MASEtv.com)
Read the full story from the Chicago Tribune here.
I’m not sure that Mat Staver remembers, but MLK wrote from a cell where he was imprisoned for the nonviolent protest of segregation. Kim Davis (Kentucky County Clerk,) was put in jail over Labor Day weekend for the refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses as federal law requires.
Read: refusal to acknowledge the separation of church and state.
Read: Using a position of standing to exert illegal power over a people.
When MLK was questioned about his stance on interracial marriage, he commonly stated, “Races don’t fall in love and get married, Individuals fall in love and get married.” I don’t think Dr. King would have disregarded LGBT folks as individuals, so Mat Staver – that’s quite a stretch and I haven’t done my morning yoga yet.
Where I will jump is in gratitude for the couples that are getting to celebrate their now legal unions. And while I know we will continue to see clerks, judges and other people speaking out against the recent SCOTUS ruling, let’s tip a hat today and celebrate. Raise a glass to the fact that while Kim Davis gets a little quality reflection time, Kentucky couples are heading to the courthouse.
Kim Davis has since been released and we will continue to watch, knowing that legal recognition of gay families supports healthy children and healthy development.
Congratulations on moving forward, and stay tuned to see how Kentucky addresses this challenge.
Skye Bigari is an educator, community organizer and regular contributor to Fertility Source Companies LGBT blog.
Email Skye at: [email protected]