Kim Davis is not a martyr. 3 September 2015.

Today, Kim Davis, the clerk in Kentucky who has been refusing marriage licenses to same sex couples, was jailed on charges of contempt of court. All over the world of social media I've been seeing people refer to her as a "martyr", and a "modern day Rosa Parks". These statements astound me, to be quite honest, because she is not a martyr.  I want to be clear that it is unfortunate that she is in jail and I'm not making light of the situation or poking fun at her.  However, this is the price you pay when you violate the law.  I want to examine this situation, as well as some common arguments I've heard so we can fully approach the situation and understand it as it actually exists.

"Why couldn't the same sex couples just go to a different county?  Why can't someone else just give them their license?"

This is a two parter, so we'll break it down and discuss each question.

First, people have asked why the same sex couples couldn't just go to another county.  The couples who live in Rowan County are taxpayers.  Part of the money they pay in taxes to the county funds the county clerk's office and pays the salary of Kim Davis.  It would be silly for them to have to pay taxes to one county clerk's office and then drive to another county for services.

Next, people ask why another member of the staff couldn't just give them a license.  Today it came to light that deputy clerks in Rowan County would issue the marriage licenses, but they were afraid of their boss.  Aside from that, as the overseer of the Rowan County Clerk's Office, Kim Davis was not allowing anyone to issue marriage licenses.  So that wasn't even an option to same sex couples in Rowan County.

"Kim Davis went to jail for exercising her rights to religious freedom!"

This one is a little easier to explain.  We have to look at it in two parts, however.

First - Kim Davis is free to worship however she sees fit, in whatever church she sees fit, to whatever deity she sees fit.  This is protected by the First Amendment's "Free Exercise Clause".

Next, Kim Davis is an elected official who took an oath to uphold the law.  The law of the land is that same sex marriage is legal.  People have said, "But we voted against same sex marriage in Kentucky!"  This is irrelevant, however, as the Supreme Court held that same sex marriage is legal based on the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution states that Constitution trumps state law.  Kim Davis was allowing her personal beliefs to affect her job, and her job is to uphold the Constitution, not the Bible.

Kim Davis went to jail because she violated a court order.  She was ordered by the court to issue marriage licenses, an order she ignored and was subsequently jailed for. In Kentucky law, she is guilty under law 403.760 - which is "Contempt of Court". She is not going to jail over a violation of her religion, she is going to jail for breaking the law.

"She's a modern day Rosa Parks!"

Of all the things I've read today, this is the most ridiculous.  Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a full bus in 1955.  This eventually led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  Rosa Parks was standing up to racial discrimination and is a true hero in the fight for equal civil rights.

Kim Davis used her position to discriminate against U.S. Citizens based on her personal prejudice.  There is a drastic difference between a civil rights hero and a woman who used her personal prejudice to discriminate and deny equal rights to couples.  One fought for equal rights, one denied them.  There's really no comparison between the two.

"She's a martyr!"

This is one that I've hear the most today, and this is one that is farthest from the truth.  I'm a Catholic, and I have a deep respect for martyrs of our faith.  A martyr is someone who suffers persecution or death over their faith.  People are saying because she was jailed over her Christian faith she's a martyr, and that she is being persecuted.  However, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Kim Davis is not standing up for the Christian faith.  She is discriminating based on personal prejudice.  There are over 600 things listed as sins in the Bible, and she has never turned anyone away over any of those things.  I've written in the past on how I do not believe homosexuality is a sin, and many scholars and theologians hold a similar view.  If Kim Davis were truly standing up for her faith, she would be turning everyone away, because we all sin.  We are all guilty of something.  Someone is not a martyr if they use the Christian faith as a weapon to hurt, discriminate and/or demean another of God's children.

"How should Christians respond?"

I can't speak for all Christians, but I am going to pray for Kim Davis.  It is my prayer that God will open her heart and her mind, and she will grow to love all people.  Discrimination is not a Christian tenant, and I do not know where or how she came to believe that it was, but I am going to pray for her.  It is my hope that during her incarceration she will reflect on this through prayer, and God will speak to her heart and help her understand that all people are equal in God's eyes, and that there is no need to discriminate against anyone.