Religious freedom sometimes requires freedom from other people's religion.
SEP 6, 2015
Letter of the week: Kentucky clerk should do her job or quit
First Published 3
hours ago •
Updated 3 hours ago
I'm dismayed to read of the legal
antics of Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk recently in the news for refusing
to issue marriage certificates to anyone in her county because she opposes gay
marriage on religious grounds.
It's incomprehensible she feels free to elevate her
beliefs above the civil rights of those she was elected to serve. As an elected
official, she's legally obligated to execute her largely ministerial duties
without prejudice or passion. If she can't do that, she has a very simple
remedy: resign. Instead, she's on a quixotic quest in federal court to impose
her religious views on the people of her county.
If Davis were to prevail in the courts, what's next? If a government official
such as a county clerk can deny basic governmental services to constituents
based upon religious belief, where does it all end? Will some Bible Belt
bureaucrat next decide Mormons shouldn't receive a building permit for a chapel
because they believe in scriptural authority other than the Bible?
There's a really good reason why the First Congress
adopted the First Amendment with its Establishment and Prohibition Clauses.
When government interjects itself into religion, both are abased. A wall of
separation between government and religion is the only viable way to preserve
the integrity of both.
If only Davis understood this most basic principle of
American government.
Grant C. Price
Spanish Fork
No comments:
Post a Comment