Kim Davis was just an average marriage license issuer in Ashland, Kentucky until gay marriage was declared legal nationwide on June 26. Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On Sept. 4, Davis was jailed then released four days later. Judge David Bunning stated that she could no longer prevent certifications of same-sex marriages. David Ermold and David Moore make up one of the several same-sex couples whose video of Davis’ refusal went viral, according to USA Today. Davis had argued with them, saying she wasn’t disrespecting them. Davis refused to issue licenses, citing “God’s authority” as her reason why. The couple also filed their own lawsuit against Davis for her refusal.  

Davis has the right to practice her own religion as afforded to her by the Bill of Rights, but she does have to do her job. She was elected as Rowan County’s clerk, and she should not be allowed to force her beliefs onto others nor bring it into her workplace. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that, “When a citizen enters government service, the citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom.” This statement is explaining that no matter an individual’s beliefs or ethnic background, they have to put all of it behind them. When they are working for the government they have to follow all of the laws, not only for the country but also for the state that they work for.

She does not have the right to enforce the laws that she agrees with and then oppose the laws that she does not. If the country were run that way, then there would be anarchy. On Sept. 9 with The Kelly File on Fox News Insider, Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson stated that, “the USA is a traditionally Christian built nation” but that, despite this, “legislators need to sit down and make sure that all rights of Americans are protected.”

Davis had to be elected for her position. Once she took the job as a government official clerk, she was sworn to follow the laws and the rules of the country even as they changed. Her personal feelings or moral standards should not be brought into her job, or any government job, for that matter.

Jailing her was an extreme action for the judge to take. The judge incarcerated her, stating that he would revisit the case at a later date. He wasn’t professional about his decisions. He didn’t have to send her straight into jail. Perhaps she could have gone on probation as a warning. If she continued to defy the law the judge could have laid her off from her position of power.

However, if the judge hadn’t gone to this extreme of a measure, then every other marriage license issuer could do the same to other same-sex couples. These couples should not be discriminated against by their clerk. Now that gay marriage is legal, many happy couples have tied the knot. Issuers do not have the right to issue licenses exclusively to couples of opposite sexes, even if they don’t believe in same-sex marriage just like Kim Davis. Davis turned a fairytale ending into a nightmare for same-sex couples. Now, she must work to issue marriage licenses so that couples can “live happily ever after.”