Kim Davis and The All-Powerful Supreme Court

Did you know….

-The Amish are not required to complete the standard compulsory twelve years of education.

-Jehovah’s Witnesses are not required to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance, or in the production of war materials.

-Christian Scientists are not forced to have their children vaccinated or undergo medical procedures often required by state laws.

-The vast majority of states have a religious exemption for vaccines.

-Quakers are not forced to fight in wars.

-Conscientious objectors are exempted from the draft for both religious and nonreligious reasons.

-Muslims are allowed to wear head coverings in driver’s license photos.

Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (or RFRA) give religious objectors a statutory right to exemptions from certain governmental laws. Unless, that is, if the government could show that denying the exemption was necessary to serve a compelling government interest. The claimant must also show that the law they want an exemption from “substantially burdens” their beliefs.

In America, the right of conscience, the right to do what we believe is right, is something held sacred. Whereas in many (dare I say most) countries around the world, it is a right that is trampled on and discarded.

Its importance to Americans is demonstrated in the fact that the very first amendment to the Constitution was written specifically to protect this right. Our Founders could easily have decided to protect our right of habeas corpus, right to a jury, right to bear arms, etc. first. But they did not. They protected the freedom of religion and conscience first. That says a lot.

Kim Davis of Rowan County, Kentucky was elected to the position of County Clerk in 2014. She won the election on the Democratic ticket. Recently, she has spent time in jail for refusing to issue a marriage licenses to a same-sex couples.

Is she right in doing this? Or is she wrong? I think one thing that is plain is that she is an elected official, and technically part of the executive branch of government. Therefore she is responsible to the executive branch and to the people who elected her to the office of County Clerk.

Most people, I’m afraid feel very distant from this story, since it does not directly affect them at the moment. But this is a very dangerous position to take. A woman was just thrown in jail for exercising, with no immediate harm to anyone else, her First Amendment right to the free exercise of her religion.

Are we still living in America?

(Note: While this has been the top story regarding officials not issuing licenses to unions they have a deeply held religious belief against, Kim Davis is not alone.)

Jonathan Paine

@painefultruth76

painefultruth1776@gmail.com