Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth

In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.

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Fire Kim Davis Now

Rant Alert

If a Mormon barrista suddenly refused to serve coffee because caffeine is "against her religion," she would be fired.

If a tattooist converted to Orthodox Judaism and refused to tattoo anyone because the Torah forbids it, he would be fired.

So a county clerk in Kentucky refuses to issue marriage licenses because her form of Christianity forbids same-sex marriage, and they send the matter to court?

Kim Davis refuses to do her job, the job that taxpayers are paying her to do. Why she refuses to do her job is irrelevant.

The rule at the taxi stand at the Minneapolis airport has always been: If you refuse a fare, you go to the back of the queue.

A while back, some Sunni drivers claimed exemption from this rule on the basis that, since Islam forbids intoxicants, they should not be penalized for refusing passengers that were drunk or were carrying alcohol.

So how far does it go? Islam mandates modest dress, so I can refuse to accept a woman passenger because her arms are showing? Or because her head is uncovered? Or because her face is visible?

The airport authorities made the right decision. If you refuse a fare, you go to the back of the queue.

Rowan County, Kentucky needs to make the right decision too. 

If you can't do your job because of religious scruples, the honorable thing to do is to get out and to get another job. That I could respect.

Kim Davis refuses to resign, and she refuses to do her job. She has a perfect right to her religious views, but not on the public bankroll. If she won't do the public's work, she shouldn't get the public's money.

She should be docked of all pay retroactive to the day that she first refused to do her job, and she should be fired.

Effective immediately.

 

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Tagged in: homophobia
Poet, scholar and storyteller Steven Posch was raised in the hardwood forests of western Pennsylvania by white-tailed deer. (That's the story, anyway.) He emigrated to Paganistan in 1979 and by sheer dint of personality has become one of Lake Country's foremost men-in-black. He is current keeper of the Minnesota Ooser.

Comments

  • Raven J. Demers
    Raven J. Demers Tuesday, 01 September 2015

    I wish it were as simple as firing her. As an elected civil servant, the choices are: jail and impeachment, compliance, or resignation. She's refused the latter two, let's hope the proceedings on the former begin immediately.

    And I agree, she should have pay withheld from the moment she refused to do her job. It's rather like pharmacists who won't fill birth control prescriptions for women. Government and medical jobs are crucial to the function of our society, and there are certain laws, rules, and oaths that when taken on as one's job, supersede one's religious beliefs. It's even in the Bible!

  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch Wednesday, 02 September 2015

    Thanks for the clarification, Raven, and shame on me for not doing my homework. Life is so much simpler with easy answers. Too bad they're so rarely the right ones!

    Surely there must be some provision for continuing to do county business if an elected official becomes incapacitated. I'd say that Davis has incapacitated herself.

  • Raven J. Demers
    Raven J. Demers Wednesday, 02 September 2015

    I'm not certain they were prepared for this outcome, but the Supreme Court has denied her any grounds on which to continue this protest legally. If she doesn't comply, she can be jailed on grounds of contempt of court.

  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch Thursday, 03 September 2015

    Goddess bless separation of church and state.

    It really is the best idea anyone's had in the last 500 years.

  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham Tuesday, 08 September 2015

    On Sunday Kim Davis was still appearing in my newspaper. I decided to do a 40 day prayer challenge about it. Below is the prayer I've written:

    "God grant Kim Davis understanding of how her intransigence is harmful to same-sex couples.
    King David and Prince Johnathan grant Kim Davis visions of alternate realities where your love for each other is celebrated by Jew, Christians, Muslims and Pagans alike.
    Jesus and John grant Kim Davis visions of alternate realities where your love for each other is praised and celebrated by Christians, Muslims, and Pagans alike.
    Through hymnal and scripture guide Kim Davis to understanding the roles of gays and lesbians in society.
    God grant Kim Davis Job opportunities that do not conflict with her religious beliefs."

    As you can see I kept the law of three fold return and the principle of "As a man soweth so also shall he reap" in mind when I wrote it. I don't mind harvesting a return of understanding, vision, and job opportunities.

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