Judges denying marriage licenses are in criminal contempt
By Guest Voices
Kentucky county clerk denies same-sex marriage licenses Source: WKYT - Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis denies same-sex couples marriage licenses, despite Supreme Court court rulings.
West Honeycutt is a board member of Equality Alabama, an LGBT advocacy organization.
By West Honeycutt
Kentucky clerks must issue same-sex marriage licenses, and, therefore, so must Alabama's.
I've said it all before. I suppose, today, I'll say it again.
Perhaps I'll even repeat myself several more times in the coming days, but I shouldn't have to.
Because, once again, the Supreme Court has resoundingly done it for me. But if we really need to make this more clear...
And yet today, some Alabama probate judges still stand firm in their respective Courthouse Doors, and in their own ignorance.
Supreme Court be damned, some of our judges know better.
Here's looking at you, Washington County Probate Judge, Nick Williams, who went so far as to ask the Alabama Supreme Court to issue a "landmark ruling" against marriage equality. In his 18-page brief, he failed to cite even one honest legal opinion which grants the court that authority. And I won't even get started on his asking Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore to throw down the gauntlet, himself, on this issue.
Does Judge Williams not understand the way precedence and stare decisis work? I would at least hope that someone bearing the title "judge" understood this most basic principle of jurisprudence. We do pay them handsomely, after all, to do their job.
Meanwhile, today in Kentucky, defiant clerk Kim Davis is still refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples, citing God's authority.
Anyone see orange in her future?
How long will it take before Judge Williams offers the citizens of Washington County the same freedoms afforded those everywhere else? We are a nation still governed by laws, aren't we?
Never mind that these judges hold a public office, charged with following the law and serving the whole public (gay or straight); never mind that they are only advancing a stereotype that has plagued this state for decades (that we are stuck in our ways, unfriendly to those who think differently); and never mind that they are fighting a fight that they know good and well they will lose...
These judges must invoke our forlorn state motto and dare to defend their rights... to be an embarrassment to the state... again...
Talladega, Alabama's own Ricky Bobby once said "if you ain't first, you're last." And we like to see how perilously close to dead-freaking-last we can rank in just about everything - especially if it pertains to LGBT rights.
Rolling Stone Magazine says we're the second worst state for LGBT people to live in. That should attract new companies to bring jobs here, shouldn't it?
The Transgender Law Center placed Alabama as one of the worst states for transgender people. That looks good on our state resume, right?
And despite the request of our favored son, Apple CEO Tim Cook, workers can still be fired in the state simply because their employer found out they are gay. Really encouraging our out-of-state college students to stick around post-graduation, aren't we?
Let me be clear, I'm not advocating that anyone be forced to violate their religious beliefs. I'm asking that they do the job taxpayers are paying them to do.
I'm not asking that anyone do anything wrong or illicit. I'm asking them to follow the law they are sworn to uphold.
If Alabama's probate judges do not want to marry gay couples, that's perfectly OK.
They can resign today, right now, and they'll never have to. No one will think any less of them.
But to shirk their responsibilities, play hooky from work, and still draw a paycheck? Well that just seems criminal.
West Honeycutt is a spokesperson for Equality Alabama, an organization dedicated to advancing equality for LGBTQ Alabamians where they live, work, learn and play.