Terry's Peeps wrote:
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis on gay marriage licenses: ‘It is a Heaven or Hell decision’
By Abby Ohlheiser
September 1
Kim Davis, the county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a Supreme Court ruling against her request to be excused from doing so, said at the Rowan County Courthouse on Tuesday that she was acting “under God’s authority.”
In a statement released through her attorneys, Davis further explained her decision to defy the high court.
“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience,” Davis said. “It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision.”
The statement was posted to the Web site of the Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal aid group that is representing Davis.
The full statement reads:
I have worked in the Rowan County Clerk’s office for 27 years as a Deputy Clerk and was honored to be elected as the Clerk in November 2014, and took office in January 2015. I love my job and the people of Rowan County. I have never lived any place other than Rowan County. Some people have said I should resign, but I have done my job well. This year we are on track to generate a surplus for the county of 1.5 million dollars.
In addition to my desire to serve the people of Rowan County, I owe my life to Jesus Christ who loves me and gave His life for me. Following the death of my godly mother-in-law over four years ago, I went to church to fulfill her dying wish. There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I am not perfect. No one is. But I am forgiven and I love my Lord and must be obedient to Him and to the Word of God.
I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience. I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s Word. It is a matter of religious liberty, which is protected under the First Amendment, the Kentucky Constitution, and in the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Our history is filled with accommodations for people’s religious freedom and conscience. I want to continue to perform my duties, but I also am requesting what our Founders envisioned – that conscience and religious freedom would be protected. That is all I am asking. I never sought to be in this position, and I would much rather not have been placed in this position. I have received death threats from people who do not know me. I harbor nothing against them. I was elected by the people to serve as the County Clerk. I intend to continue to serve the people of Rowan County, but I cannot violate my conscience.
Davis is an Apostolic Christian who says that she is opposed to same-sex marriage — and that being forced to issue same-sex marriage licenses as part of her duties as clerk would violate her religious liberties.
So far, federal courts have disagreed, including a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Davis had until Tuesday to begin issuing marriage licences to all eligible couples who asked for them. She requested a stay from the Supreme Court on Friday; it was refused Monday, as The Post previously reported.
The legal battle is the highest-profile of several to emerge since the Supreme Court’s June decision to grant the right to marry to all couples in the United States, regardless of sexual orientation.
Abby Ohlheiser is a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post.
Seacrest would be smart to avoid this thread from now on.
That's an open and shut case right there.
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