‘It’s absurd’: Rand Paul blasts Kim Davis’ jailing over gay ‘marriage’
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has been arrested and
taken to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples this
afternoon. After repeatedly refusing to give such a license to gays and
lesbians, a federal judge found her in contempt of court and sentenced her to
jail time rather than assessing a fine.
As she was escorted out of the courtroom to jail,
homosexuals began chanting, "Love won! Love won!"
As the scene played out, her U.S. senator,
Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul, said the decision was unwarranted,
violated religious liberty, and would further polarize the country on the issue
of same-sex "marriage."
"I think it's absurd to put someone in jail
for exercising their religious liberty," Sen. Paul, R-KY, told CNN.
"If you want to convince people that same-sex 'marriage' is something
that's acceptable I would say try to persuade people" instead of using
state force.
He also warned such heavy-handed tactics would
backfire on LGBT activists. "If we're going to use the federal government,
and we're going to get involved in every state and locality, you know what's
going to happen? It's going to harden people's resolve on this issue,"
Paul added. "There's going to be no open-mindedness on this."
"I think it's a real mistake to be doing
this," he said.
He said if state force continued to be exerted
against Christian believers, "I think what's going to happen as a result
of this is states and localities are just going to opt out of the marriage
business completely."
U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning - a George
W. Bush appointee and the son of former moderate Republican Senator Jim Bunning
of Kentucky - had ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses to homosexual
couples but was repeatedly rebuffed.
"The court cannot condone the willful
disobedience of its lawfully issued order," Judge Bunning said in issuing
the arrest order. "If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders
they follow, that's what potentially causes problems."
Bunning ordered Davis imprisoned, rather than
imposing a fine, because he said her fellow believers would take up a
collection and pay her fine.
Similar tactics were applied when Christians who refused
to participate in same-sex "marriages" tried to raise funds via
crowdfunding platforms.
Paul's rivals for the 2016 Republican nomination -
Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, and Marco Rubio - have also voiced their support
for the now-incarcerated Davis.
"We should seek a balance between government's
responsibility to abide by the laws of our republic and allowing people to
stand by their religious convictions," Rubio said yesterday. "There
should be a way to protect the religious freedom and conscience rights of
individuals working in the office."
But her opponents say they demand nothing
unreasonable of her. ACLU attorney Heather Weaver said, "Its not
making someone a martyr to ask someone to do their job and follow the
law."
Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie,
Lindsey Graham, and Carly Fiorina have agreed that clerks who have deeply held
religious beliefs must enforce the law. Christie underscored his resistance to
finding any accommodation for public officials.
The prospect of jail does not frighten Davis, a
born again Christian, who says iron bars cannot separate her from the Savior
Who dwells in her heart, nor does prison compare to the punishment that she
believes awaits should she participate in legitimizing sin.
"I've weighed the cost and I'm prepared to go
to jail," Davis told Fox News yesterday. "This is a
Heaven-or-Hell issue for me and for every other Christian that believes. This
is a fight worth fighting."
