If she just prays hard enough, her higher power may make all this go away. Of course, she doesn’t have a prayer’s chance in hell so either:
Her God thinks she’s wrong and He is ignoring her pleas
OR
Her God has a wicked sense of sadistic humor and will enjoy seeing her roasted over the coals of the legal system because…freedum.
LD
YES! I was wondering when straight and gay couples would sue on the basis of the due process clause against these counties for halting all marriages.
However - and IANAL - what I don’t understand is why they don’t include the state, rather than the county, as the primary defendant. For instance, in Alabama over a dozen counties have halted all marriages, using language in state law that says they “may” issue licenses rather than “shall” do so. It seems to me that sueing the county simply exposes the action to dismissal on standing grounds. County officials can simply note that they didn’t write state laws, and that they are following that law properly. It is that language in state law that is unconstitutional, and thus Alabama is the proper defendant.
Any legal scholars here who can clarify this?
Here’s the example for KY JesusBigot Davis to follow ASAP! Former Decatur, Co, Jesusland, Tennessee County Clerk Gwen Pope and her office buddies Sharon Bell and Mickey Butler simply could not cotton to all this gaysort of behavior, so they up and quit. Grabbed their purses and walked their tightazzes’ right out the door. And good on ’em for doing so, as three assholes sitting in a small town county clerk’s office refusing to do their jobs as some sort of homage to Bigot Jesus and his Daddy BigSkygod would get real tedious, real fast. And they avoided a legal nightmare for themselves.
Love it! They did the right thing and hit the road…props to em’…and good riddance to bad trash.
Bonuses:
Jobs creation!
Rooting out more bigots from government! Win/Win!
More of this, please.
She’s an elected official so my guess is that getting rid of her is not as simple as just showing her the door.
"It is my deep conviction and belief that God ordained marriage
between a man and a woman. I can’t be a part of this."
Then beat it loser.
jw1
The start of the sovereign clerk movement.
Republicans didn’t get their way, and now they’re acting like petulant children, stomping their feet, holding their breath, and threatening to take their marbles and go home.
My advice to public sector Christian conservatives who deem that their warped interpretation of Biblical law trumps Constitutional law and therefore cannot stomach the recent decisions of the SCOTUS – quit your taxpayer-funded jobs, scurry on home, lock the doors, pull the blinds, and never come out again.
This is EXACTLY the same thing that happened after segregation and miscegenation were outlawed. You always have fundamentalist holdouts who refuse to evolve even after Federal rulings. Just more of the same.
Haven’t read the suit, but as an added bonus, Miss Clerk may not be covered by governmental immunity or insurance, which often excludes intentional acts, and thus may be personally liable for damages. Heh. Maybe jeezuz will cover her legal fees.
I’m a computer programmer - I personally believe that while I’m coding someone should be spoon-feeding me gelato while John Frusciante noodles in the background. However, I continue to perform my duties, as its irrational of me to force this belief upon others who depend on me to do my job.
IANAL either, but…
This looks like a well formed lawsuit, with no standing issues. They have named plaintiffs who are harmed by the behavior of the defendant. Other class members are others wanting to marry in the county.
Dunno about the punitive damages; foolish statements from senior elected officials may give her cover.
But a judge will order her to issue licenses; if she refuses then (a) she is in contempt land, which the Judge’s Son says is a very bad place to be (especially if the judge is a bit of a power-mad bully, as many are), and (b) she may start the punitive-damages meter running.
My guess is that the poo hasn’t yet hit the ventilator for the bigot. She gets one “free” trip to the courtroom (of course her lawyers will cost somebody). After that, she will need a large umbrella and and anti-fecal deoderant.
They also want a Go Fund Me page to rake in the rube $$.
And if they refuse to quit …
They should be FIRED …
Preferably from a cannon!
Well, this is a mess if ever I saw one.
They probably can’t fire her because she is most likely elected. But they can’t jail her for refusal to issue a license because she’s got a valid free exercise of religion claim. But there probably is some mechanism to remove someone who refuses to do the work, I guess. But they probably can’t remove her because of her religion either. A judge will most likely order he to issue the licenses, but he may not be able to do that. If he tries to order it, she’ll refuse, and they will counter and claim that order is illegal.
In the meantime we are going to get at least one man to sue for over his right to polygamy.
Everybody is right, but nobody thinks that anybody is right.
Yep, this is a mess.
They can’t fire her. Unless there’s an impeachment procedure in Kentucky for elected officials, the solution is mandamus from a state court of jurisdiction or from the federal district court. And if she doesn’t comply, arrest her ass for contempt. That’s the better solution, anyway.
“It is my deep conviction and belief that God ordained marriage between a man and a woman.”
Irrelevant and not terribly interesting.
It is my deep conviction that you are going to lose, and lose big. Good luck with that future lien on your house!.
This clerk and any other clerks who fail to perform their duties should be fired on the spot, their religious beliefs should have no bearing in the performance of the duties they were hired to perform.
You think they’d get five members of the Supreme Court to say that? They might, but I’m betting Kennedy wouldn’t appreciate her defiance of the order required by what he set out in his opinion in Obergefell. And I’m not at all sure Roberts would be happy with an explicit attack on the power and majesty of the Court. So I count it at least 6-3, and possibly higher. (I wouldn’t expect anyone to be surprised at how Breyer and the three wise women would see it.)
Just get mandamus from federal district court. They call it an extraordinary writ because it is. It requires a strict threshold be surpassed to issue one. Very limited circumstances. This is exactly the kind of situation for which it was created. It’s a slam dunk, shooting fish in a barrel, and all the ways you can say it. It will issue.
Once that is in hand, if she violates the court’s order, send federal marshalls to escort her to new digs.
Sharia law Christian style…