>> Rowan clerk Kim Davis cites “God’s authority”
Une employée municipale du comté de Rowan, dans le Kentucky, a réitéré son refus de délivrer des documents de mariage à des couples homosexuels, ce mardi 1er septembre, invoquant sa foi chrétienne. Elle maintient sa décision malgré une injonction de la Cour suprême.
“Je suis prête à faire face aux conséquences”
Kim Davis, greffière du comté, est la responsable du bureau délivrant aux couples désireux de se marier le document indispensable pour célébrer une union. Elle refuse de délivrer les documents administratifs devant les caméras des journalistes qui accompagnaient les couples venus demander à nouveau les documents. “Nous ne délivrons pas de licence de mariage aujourd’hui”, dit-elle à un couple, dans une vidéo filmée dans le bureau de la ville de Morehead par un journaliste du Courier-Journal.
“En vertu de quelle autorité ?” lui demande un des hommes, qui hausse la voix et l’accuse de discrimination : “Nous payons nos impôts !”
“L’autorité de Dieu”, lui répond Kim Davis, qui demande ensuite en vain au couple, entouré de journalistes et d’amis, de s’éloigner du guichet.
“Mes convictions ne peuvent pas être séparées de moi-même. Je suis prête à faire face aux conséquences, de même que vous ferez face aux conséquences le jour du jugement”, lance la greffière. Il serait peut-être temps de penser à congédier cette personne qui refuse de faire son travail ? Dieu devrait pouvoir gérer son salaire.
Rappelons en effet que les couples de même sexe ont gagné le droit de se marier dans chaque Etat américain le 26 juin dernier, lors d’une décision historique de la plus haute cour du pays.
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>> Defying the Supreme Court, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis said she was acting “under God’s authority” and continued to deny marriage licenses Tuesday morning to gay couples whose lawyers filed a motion to find her in contempt of court.
“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience,” Davis said in a statement published on the website of her lawyers, Orlando-based Liberty Counsel.
“It is not a light issue for me,” she said. “It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience. I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s word.”
The contempt motion, which asks that she be fined rather than jailed, is to be heard Thursday in U.S. District Court by Judge David Bunning, who previously ordered Davis to end her policy of denying licenses to all couples to prevent issuing them to gays and lesbians.
“The law is clear and the courts have spoken,” Steven R. Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “The duty of public officials is to enforce the law, not place themselves above it.”
Lawyers for Davis at the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel did not respond to requests for comment, and it is unclear whether Davis is following their advice or her own.
The Supreme Court on Monday denied her last-ditch effort to stay the injunction, prompting at least three couples to return to the courthouse and request licenses early Tuesday. But all were refused. One exchange turned heated after a deputy clerk refused a couple that demanded to speak with Davis in person.
David Moore and his partner, David Ermold, confronted Davis over the counter for more than five minutes, accusing her of discrimination and bigotry and arguing that her religious beliefs have no place in a government office.
Supporters of the couple packed the room, and when Moore and Ermold said they were not leaving without a license, Davis told them they would have a long day before walking back toward her office. That’s when Moore shouted for someone to call the police.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” he yelled. “Everyone in this office should be ashamed of themselves. Is this what you want to remember? Is this what you want to remember — that you stood up for this? That your children have to look at you and realize that you are a bigot and that you discriminated against people?”
Davis returned and told the couple “I’m willing to face my consequences, and you all will face your consequences when it comes time for judgment. It’s plain and simple.”
Moore and Ermold asked under who’s authority she was denying the forms, and she replied “under God’s authority.”
