Jailed Christian County Clerk Just Had A HUGE Victory That No One Realized

Shae Weatherall

In a stunning outcome, a U.S. District Court Judge has sent a Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses due to her personal religious objections to gay marriage. The outrageous penalty was levied against her on Thursday, in spite of her attorney’s suggestions for compromise.

According to USA Today, the decision to send the Rowan county clerk to jail — in lieu of fines — was made by Judge David Bunning. The judge determined that Davis wouldn’t be sufficiently pressured to comply by mere monetary penalties.

Bunning agreed and said fines for Davis, who makes $80,000 a year, would not be enough to ensure that she would follow his orders. He also raised concerns that supporters, whom she said are raising money for her, would pay any fine he levied against her, hampering its force.

This nightmare for Kim Davis started back in June when the Supreme Court ruled to assert their authority over all individual states by mandating that same-sex marriage would be legal throughout the entire country. Her religious beliefs prevented her from actively condoning gay marriage by issuing licenses, so she made the decision to not issue any marriage licenses at all.

Kim Davis being harassed by the media. (Image via Google)

Since then, she has been sued by four couples — two gay and two straight — in an effort to force her to abandon her religious convictions instead of those couples merely traveling to the next county over to obtain their marriage licenses. Judge Bunning initially ordered that Davis or her deputies must issue the licenses, but he granted a stay on his ruling so Davis could file an appeal. Bunning’s stay expired this past Monday, and the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to renew it. When Davis reached out to the Supreme Court on Monday, the justices in Washington also refused to intervene.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul weighed in:

Kim Davis and her attorneys have suggested several compromises to the situation — all of which were rejected. According to CNN, some of those suggested options were allowing other officials to issue marriage licenses in the county, distributing marriage licenses at the state level, or changing marriage license forms to remove Davis’ name.

However, it seems that with pressure from special interest and anti-Christian groups, the court decided Davis would either fully comply or face prison indefinitely. The Christian Post reports that Judge Bunning has indicated that Kim Davis will remain behind bars until she agrees to begin issuing marriage licenses again with no personal stipulations.

It seems clear that an example is being made of Kim Davis out of fear that more individuals in her position may decide to stand up for their own religious objections as well. She was emotional during her testimony while pleading her case in court. Her personal religious justifications weren’t enough to convince the judge, although he also claims to have deep religious beliefs.

“Her good-faith belief is simply not a viable defense,” said Bunning. “Oaths mean things.”

I’m not sure God would completely agree with him when it comes to choosing between an “oath” to man and an “oath” to God. Although Ms. Davis is saddened by the outcome in Judge Bunning’s court today, she is standing firm and has so far refused to give consent to five of her deputies to issue marriage licenses with her name attached, despite those deputies telling the court they would comply in her stead. The legality of those licenses, if issued, may be called into question later.

“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience,” said Davis earlier this week.

“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,” Davis asserted.

Kim Davis with one of her attorneys. Image via Google

There’s no telling how long Kim Davis will remain incarcerated, but one of her attorneys, Mat Staver, maintains that she wears no shackles.

“Kim Davis is being treated as a criminal because she cannot violate her conscience. While she may be behind bars for now, Kim Davis is a free woman. Her conscience remains unshackled,” Staver said in a statement. “The tragedy is that there are simple ways to accommodate her convictions. Just remove her name from the marriage licenses. That’s all she has asked from the beginning. Today’s events will escalate this debate to a new level.”

I would certainly agree that this debate will gain momentum. Kim Davis is an elected official. Shouldn’t the people in her county decide whether or not her personal beliefs coincide with theirs? Instead, we have a tiny percentage of our population ruling over our masses and forcing other people to “respect” their choices while at the same time they are refusing to respect any one else’s. There were compromises available, but they were spat upon in favor of publicly persecuting this Christian woman and trying to force her to abandon her core beliefs.

Kim Davis has now become a martyr in the Christian community, and whether her opposition realizes it or not, she’s already won.

h/t [The Christian Post]