Kim Davis, court clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, has defied the governor’s and judge’s orders. She claims her personal beliefs trump the rule of law. She’s wrong, it’s the other way around; this article in The Atlantic explains why it has to be that way.
It begins with the story of a Marine OCS candidate 35 years ago. The job of a Marine is to wage war and kill our country’s enemies. He decided he couldn’t personally do that. Fine, but he couldn’t stay in the Marine Corps, because that’s what the job is.
Like that Marine, Kim Davis volunteered. America doesn’t conscript people into its military anymore, and no one is forcing Davis to be a court clerk. It’s a job she requested. Part of the job is issuing marriage licenses. As a court clerk, she has to do that. If she can’t or won’t, then she shouldn’t be a court clerk. It’s as simple as that.
But there’s something deeper here. She doesn’t get to change the law. We can’t allow her to ignore a Supreme Court ruling in her county, as she carries out her official duties, or to defy the lawful order of a judge. She is an outlaw, and like all outlaws, must be brought within the law, because a basic principle of our civilization is that no one is above the law.
This principle isn’t incompatible with the religious freedoms guaranteed to her by the First Amendment. She has a right to believe and worship as she chooses. But she doesn’t have a right to be a court clerk. Because the one conflicts with the other, it’s time for her to leave that position. If she doesn’t, then it’s time to enforce the court order by holding her in contempt and throwing her in jail, just like any other contemnor, until she complies with the order.
The rule of law requires it, and the rule of law — not religious liberty — is what’s at stake.