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| Billboard in Tennessee |
The employees of the Decatur County clerk's office in west Tennessee have resigned from their positions over the Supreme Court's ruling recognizing that same sex marriage - now just called ‘marriage' - will be recognized nationwide.
Clerk Gwen Pope and employees Sharon Bell and Mickey Butler all resigned effective on July 14th.
The employees' decision reportedly results from clashes with their religious beliefs, according to WKRM.
Aww, is somebody having trouble clinging to their bronze age superstitions in the face of increased human rights in this country.
Here is my favorite part:
County Mayor Creasy said the county has not received any requests for same-sex marriage licenses as of Thursday.
So to be clear NOBODY has even requested a license for a same sex marriage, however the mere thought that they might be asked at some point to provide one is enough for these idiots to quit their jobs.
Damn that must really suck for them.
In my opinion if the duties of your job change in such a way that performing them is in direct conflict with your sense of morality or your religious belief, then yes you should quit and allow somebody who does not have a stick shoved that far up their butts to do it instead.
Seems simple enough to me.
Leviticus 25:44-46 (NIV)
ReplyDelete44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
LOL! Leviticus "Christians" following the Mosaic Law that was set for the Israelites, BUT, fails to follow the lessons that Jesus set for us, makes you a Jew wanna be, and NOT a Christian. Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Laws.
DeleteNo doubt they will find replacement workers FAST. These people will already be wondering how smart a move that was, losting benefits and probably good paying jobs. I hope they do not get re-hired. Some people act as though we are ALL gong to be getting married to someone of the same sex. What affact could it have one these bigots, I wonder? People have the right (finally) to marry someone they love, how does it affect those of us who are straight? NOT AT ALL. Live and let live, I say. These uptight religious morons must not be too happily married themselves is my take on this. Are they afraid their own husbands/wives will get the courage to leave them for a chance at happiness?
ReplyDeleteWhat *I* like in this whole thing: they all QUIT - so they are not eligible for unemployment. I betcha they did not think about that.
Deleteexcellent. Exactly the way this is supposed to be - can't or won't do your government job without favoritism, without personal prejudice, then resign. My guess is there are a lot of people who will b emore than wiling to provide legal services to all.
DeleteCutting off the nose to spite the face.
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that this Supreme Court decision has been having the effect of clearing out the religiously insane from our civil institutions and chasing them back to their caves, where they belong.
ReplyDeleteYou responded for me, Thanx.
Delete"Aww, is somebody having trouble clinging to their bronze age superstitions in the face of increased human rights in this country."
ReplyDeleteNah. They're not having a bit of trouble clinging to them. That's why they quit.
And I will bet even money they will apply for unemployment, too! Which of course, is contradictory. I mean, they QUIT because the government has ordered equality, right? If they file for UI, then they are ACCEPTING another thing the government ordered.
Of course, when they are refused, they probably will file suit claiming they HAD to quit because it had become a "hostile work environment". Yeah. Good luck with that if the courts are balanced. I certainly would protest any payment to these idiots too stupid to recognize this is a SECULAR country with SECULAR laws.
Salad bar xtians!
You know, I don't really have a problem with these people at all (in regard to them quitting their jobs, I mean). I do not support their views regarding marriage equality.
ReplyDeleteRealizing that they would not be able to bring themselves to carry out specific actions during the course of their jobs, they quit. They have the courage of their convictions.
I DO have a problem with the assholes that want the right to sit in judgment on their customers and decide which ones they will serve.
I DO have a problem with the jerks that expect to be paid while refusing to do their job.
I DO have a problem with the bigots that claim not being able to discriminate against certain people is discrimination and persecution against them.
I will save my contempt for them.
very well said, Nefer.
DeleteAnd in the private sector, I would suggest businesses be required to post the categories of potential customers they wish to discriminate against.
"No jews - No coloreds - No dogs" might encourage real christians and other people of good conscience to find another establishment in to spend their money. See how long the bigots actually stay in business.
Bravo, Nefer! Your comments are among the wisest and best written that this blog offers. I salute you!
DeleteNefer, I completely agree. The only thing that bothers me about these people is that they seem to expect/want their actions to be widely publicized and congratulated.
DeleteObey your conscience, or don't. Don't expect a personal ticker tape parade for doing so.
Ok, so they quit because they don't want to take the chance of possibly dealing with a same sex couple who wants to get married and they r morally against that. Private businesses say they should have the right to refuse service to gay people based on their moral beliefs. Their main argument is that u shouldn't get special rights for a choice u made. To them, gays having the same rights as everyone else is somehow a special right. Well, if they believe u should not have your civil rights protected, due to a choice that you have made, then lets take away the religious protections u receive sine religion is a choice. Or protections and special rights for ALL married couples since that is a choice.
DeleteActually they are wrong in believing that being gay is a choice one makes. Any more than straight folk chose to not be gay. If this was understood by all, there would be so much less I'll will and discrimination.
Delete- now just called ‘marriage'
ReplyDeletehttp://i1.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/biblemarriage.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=485%2C364
I wonder how their "Go Fund Me" pages are doing....
ReplyDeleteI see there are jobs opening..
ReplyDeleteWhat does the bible say about a woman lying with a woman?
ReplyDeleteDoes the bible have anything to say about group sex as long as there's only one man involved?
Does the bible forbid shepherds from having sex with their livestock?
No wonder the republicans are worried. Their bible wasn't specific enough.
Nothing,m No and No.
DeleteHow many obedient followers of the bible put their wife out of the house during the menses as instructed?
ReplyDelete5:40, I wonder how many of them even KNOW about that rule!
DeleteNever heard that one! Anyone know the verse? I don't own a Bible.
DeleteOld Testament - Leviticus 15:19
DeleteNew International Version
"'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
dowl
Thank you, 6:33am! Wow!
DeleteI agree with you, let the bigots leave their positions to be filled by those who aren't uptight¬-right.
ReplyDeleteComplete morons. But I'm sure they are happy being poorer and dumber.
ReplyDeletePlus they get to show off how pious they are!!!
DeleteWill they collect unemployment or are pensioning out? Poor lil babbies. *snort* & *sigh*
ReplyDeletedowl
When slavery was outlawed after the Civil War, the Southern population was outraged, and the religious leaders predicted apocalyptic results for our country.
ReplyDeleteWhen the telephone was first beginning to be more available, preachers and pastors ranted about it as the "instruments of the Devil"
Women got the vote, and many religious fanatics said it was contrary to doG's will, and that the USA was done as a "democracy"
When Jim Crow laws finally were ruled illegal in the 1960's, schools were integrated, the same crowd of religious nutcases
went ballistic and caused riots, murder, and were incensed.
Homosexuals have existed in all cultures, many species, and throughout history, yet these Bronze age cretins still refuse to acknowedge gays as having human rights based on their ancient books based on the scratchings of shepherds from 2000 years ago.
Globally speaking, the wealthy countries could move their resources into initiatives that would benefit all humans, but instead
our humans are in love with religion, money,. and war, and the machinery of war and defense, and the fantastic wealth that many enjoy is spent on the .0001%
I don't foresee much hope for the human race in general, at least not for another 1,000 years.
Right now, if we had a sane, rational, cooperative form of government, we could solve most of the big problems of hunger, lack of education, and health care for the entire planet.
Maybe by then, the obvious benefits of technology will lessen the influence of the remaining religious fanatics of this worlds.
And as government employees who refuse to honor the legal divide between church and state, who insist on bringing religion with them to work, they damned well SHOULD resign.
ReplyDeleteNo job, no paycheck. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if this is the last we hear from them and they're not requesting a severance package or any type of financial compensation, then I respect their decision and wish them the best; to each their own. However, I doubt that's going to be the case. What I suspect will follow is them following in the footsteps of other faux cause de celebres on this issue, jumping on the Family Research Council tour bus, doing speaking engagements at CPAc conventions, going on Faux News, etc, all to complain as to how gay marriage has ruined their livelihood and the need for religious freedom protection; they love gays and have no problem serving them, just they can't participate in something in direct contrast with their conscious (never mind all the second, third fourth marriages they've no doubt signed off on). Essentially, they're signing on to fifteen minutes of fame as poster children for a right wing cause, hoping to gain whatever they can before being pushed aside for the next tale in Christian persecution.
ReplyDeleteIf a Mormon was hired as a waiter and then refused to serve customers coffee, tea or alcohol because of sincerely held religious beliefs, I wonder how long it would be before that man would be fired. How is this any different?
ReplyDeleteIt's not.
DeleteIf you're hired for a job and you refuse to perform that job - for whatever reason - you don't get to keep it. You're not a hero for quitting a job you refuse to do.
I have spent most of my career in corporate communications, and I have yet to work in a position that has not required me to sacrifice my convictions in some way. I didn't expect, as an English major, to regularly face ethical dilemmas at work, but I have been asked to lie to customers, change language to mislead prospective customers, and issue communications defending actions that I personally find indefensible.
ReplyDeleteSo the cynical part of me wants to tell these people to go fuck themselves. It must be nice if you can afford to take a moral stand (even if the moral stand you choose to take is bigoted and asinine). Those of us with student loans and dependents sometimes cannot.
It's still a choice, 7:36. It's just a matter of where you draw the line. It's likely that if they asked you to do somethign that was directly tied to murder, you wouldn't. Or that would be directly harmful to someone you know. In some way you've assuaged your conscience about the wrongs you commit for a paycheck. Hope it's a big enough one. If not, well, it makes you not just a prostitute, which anyone who works for a wage is, but a cheap one at that.
DeleteYou have to give them props for resigning, which, IMO, is the correct thing to do when you don't feel you can do your job.
ReplyDeleteI think they're overthinking their job by refusing to give out licenses, but it's a free world and they're entitled to their beliefs as long as those beliefs don't infringe upon the law.
IF, those clerks had half a brain between them, they should have waited until a couple actually came in to apply for a license. On the bright side; because they quit, they can't collect unemployment.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how hunters would feel if a Vegan refused to issue hunting licenses?
Saw a sign on FB today: "If you don't like gay marriage, blame straight people. They're the ones who keep on having gay babies."
ReplyDeleteWords to live by, eh?
If every bigot and racist would quit their jobs it would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAll 3 of them? That's some small office. My guess is one elected clerk (which will cost the county money to have a new election) and two part-timers.
ReplyDeleteLet them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are plenty of prospective applicants that would love to apply for and accept a full time job with benefits and a pension.
Anyone else remember Nathanial Abraham -- not the murderer, but the 'biologist'? He was hired by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute as an evolutionary biologist and after being hired refused to do 90% or so of the work because he didn't believe in Evolution. They fired him and his several attempts at legal redress went nowhere. Last I heard of him he was teaching Biology at Falwell's Lament (aka Liberty University). This article made me think of him.
ReplyDeleteTennessee's one of the most beautiful states in the country. Lotta history there, friendly people, plus Nashville and all. My hat's off to everybody who can enjoy all the pluses while sucking up the minuses that go along with living south of the Mason Dixon Line.
ReplyDelete