MARRIAGE: Kim Davis follows her conscience

There are those who advocate for Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to cease and desist from refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. After all, such marriages are now the law of the land. Shouldn’t a law be obeyed, notwithstanding a county clerk personal misgivings about such law? Many people think so.

But what of laws, or simply orders received from superiors, mandating that a person commit acts contrary to human decency? Should they be obeyed?

At the Nuremberg trials following World War II, high-ranking Nazi officials argued that they were not legally responsible for their actions, such as sending millions of innocents to the infamous gas chambers, when those actions resulted from “following orders.”

The Nuremberg tribunal did not buy it, and neither should we. Clearly, immoral, inhuman or evil actions should never be obeyed, no matter what the circumstances.

And so it is with Kim Davis’ refusal. The decision of the Nuremberg court sets a precedent for her refusal to obey a court order which is both immoral and shortsighted. Clearly it is good enough for Kim Davis. Good for her!

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "MARRIAGE: Kim Davis follows her conscience."