can you impeach a county clerk?

[slammerkinbabe]

Hi, guys. I’m thinking of coming back to LJ for awhile. I’ve been doing a project of staying away from Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter for a couple months, to see if it helps with my concentration. More about that in a later post, maybe, if I feel like soul-baring. But I took August off from all social media and am now reintroducing LJ because I

Comments

[ganimede]

It'd be nice to see you back on LJ, I miss your posts!

I have a friend in Kentucky and he's been posting stuff about Kim Davis refusing to do her job so I've been following it with some interest. The thing that gets me is that apparently she can't be fired because she's elected? It seems like such an odd job to be elected for. But also, if you go to the office when it's her day off, you still can't get your marriage license because her son works on those days and obviously, he agrees with his mother. It's like it's a family business!

But you're forgetting the one vital point in all of this: religious convictions of these sorts do not respond to logic.

[slammerkinbabe]

I didn't know that about her son. Wow. That's really crazy. And, yeah, she can't be fired because she is in fact elected (I know, that threw me too), and when I asked in my subject line "can you impeach a county clerk," I later learned that yes, you can, but they probably won't. Because it's Kentucky. And people actually support this woman. Gaaaah.

I think you have to be a special sort of logic-free and attention-seeking to pull a thing like this, when the solution is so obvious (RESIGN. YOU CAN'T DO THE JOB.) There are Christian clerks who did resign after it became clear that legally they would have to give gay couples marriage certificates. Obviously I don't agree with them (heh) but I respect that they were willing to stand by their beliefs and live their faith in a sane way. This business of "I should be allowed to not do my job because JESUS!" is ridiculous.

[ganimede]

We don't really use impeachment here any more. There was a request to impeach Tony Blair a while ago but it was decided that it was an obsolete procedure. It seems such a bizarre and extreme thing to do to someone who is pretty much a nobody in the grand scheme of government. I know there's been talk of either fining her or sending to her to jail and you just know that if the latter happens, she'd be practically considered a martyr for her cause

[slammerkinbabe]

OMG THAT LAST QUESTION. That's perfect. Though don't Quakers sort of have Jesus? (I think Jesus would be pretty anti-gun myself, but that doesn't stop conservatives from writing articles like "Who Would Jesus Shoot

[ticktockman]

Yes, she can be impeached. In fact, because hers is an elected position, she can be removed ONLY by impeachment. Apparently she's got enough support in the state legislature to prevent that from ever happening. Because the voters will turn out an legislator who votes law over Christianity, apparently.

She wants to be a martyr and bask in the adulation while in jail. She (and her junior staff) have been ordered to come back to court Thursday morning and appear in front of the Judge who has already ordered her to do her job.

[ticktockman]

Hmmm... I left my reply window open for like ... forever ... so I didn't realize I was covering the already-been-discussed.

[slammerkinbabe]

That is the nicest thing to say! And I know, it's so nice to see long-time LJ friends still here, the people who made it feel like home back in the day

Welcome Back!

[gythiawulfie]

Yeah, impeachment... in Kentucky.... but that's what it is going to take.

Re: Welcome Back!

[slammerkinbabe]

I was very disheartened last night when I realized that the fines she is going to face are going to avail us nothing -- she can be fined in perpetuity because she can just have her supporters PayPal her money, and there are plenty of them to do it. And they won't impeach her. So yeah, this could just go on forever.