America is known as the land of opportunity, the country
where dreams come true and its people are truly free from harsh government rules
that other countries are not. This is part of what makes America so desirable,
they don’t call it the “American Dream” for nothing. Many people and families
uproot their entire lives to come here for a better future and opportunity.
One aspect of freedom that is heavily sought after is
religious freedom. This is so important to people because in other countries,
you can be executed, severely tortured or exiled if you don’t practice the
religion you’re supposed to. To us Americans, this seems crazy and extreme
right? Here, people can practice any religion they want, believe in any God they
want or not one at all and there are no consequences. In the United States, it
is YOUR choice to practice what
religion (if any) you would like. This is because government and religion is
separate here. There is no nation religion and the separate of church and state
is one of this countries founding principles. This is why there is no praying
at public schools or any government department that tends to the public. However,
with the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages.
The media is going crazy about Kim Davis, a county clerk in
Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. I cannot
even count how many articles I have seen written about this situation, from
both people who support and don’t support gay marriages. Of all the articles I’ve
read, most are not supporting her and her decision to defy the government
orders. She has been ordered more than once by the court to do her job, and she
still refuses. The less popular side to this story say it is unfair to force
someone to do something that is against what they believe and against their
religion. But the other side says, no one is forcing her to CHOOSE to work
there. She needs to do her job or find somewhere else to work. People feel so strongly
about it that they started the trend #doyourjob on twitter.
Do all the Supreme Justices agree with same-sex marriage and
support it? Probably not, but for the country as a whole, should it not be
allowed because some people don’t agree with it? What about the people who don’t
believe in God? Should they be restricted from marrying someone of their
choosing because it offends another person? There are all commonly asked questions
and can be strongly debated either way.
A popular quote going around from the Washington Post is:
“Think of it this way. Someone who objects to war due to his
religious conscience has a right to be a conscientious objector and not serve
in the military, even were there to be a draft. But he does not have the right
to serve as a military officer, draw a paycheck from the military and then
substitute his own personal views of when war is justified for that of the
government. The same applies here.”
She has been found in contempt of court for following the
orders for her to do her job and continue issuing marriage licenses. She is
purposely and continuously going against the orders of the Unites States
Supreme Court. She has a hearing at 11:00 am on Thursday for the charges.
What do you think bloggers? She should be held in contempt
of court or should she be allowed to exercise her right of freedom of religion and
not issue these marriages licenses?
**UPDATE: After her court hearing this morning, she has been jailed until she and her staff begin issuing out marriage licenses again. Her attorney tried to get her off on fines but the judge still went with jail time because a fine would easily be paid from outside sources or sites without this issue being fixed. This is hoping she will agree to comply with the courts orders and decision to allow same sex marriages.
To read more about this situation and its updates, go to
these links and websites:
I like your comparison to a conscientious objector was going to add more comments, but nothing says it better than your correlation.
ReplyDeleteAspen, I love the quote taken from the Washington Post! Perfectly explained analogy. As discussed in another class that I am in, her defying the government, or should I say that job that she willingly swore into, can also be related to violating the First Amendment. In being a government employee, Davis represents the government, and by having her religious views interfering with her job can be roughly translated to the government supporting a religion (that's only if they let her refuse issuing these license). I think that's why those above her are cracking down and giving her an ultimatum of either to issue licenses to all or you need to get out.
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