In the old days it was separate and unequal, separate water fountains, etc etc etc. All enforced in the south by a mentality from the independent christian (anything but) churches, and the southern Baptists. Some of the worst people in this nation, and those whose forbears gave us slavery and segregation.

To hell with them. We are not going to open the door to the Christian version of Sharia law, after having such a struggle to close it down over a hundred + years.

Excellent idea. It’s like how religious freedom is so dear to these people like Manger displays at Christmas and such but man if a Satanist wanted to do something they’d be the first to object.

Tom in Long Beach

Tom in Long Beach

I work in the private sector, and I deal with a LOT of people I DON’T want to deal with. Sometimes, people are just mean, or stupid, or incompetant, but I deal with them because it’s my job.

I get over it, and so should you.

Do your job. You have an obligation to FOLLOW the LAW in Iowa. If you can’t do that, then you should resign. Same with anyone in any case.

Equal marriage is here to stay in Iowa. If you don’t like it, then don’t marry someone of the same gender. It’s the law of the land in Iowa now. If you can’t give out marriage licenses to same-sex couples, then quit your job.

For better or for worse, the government decided that same-sex marriage should be legal in Iowa. This is a FACT, and another fact is that county clerks have an obligation to follow Iowa law.

First of all, let’s give the county clerks of Iowa some credit. The article states:

“A spokesperson for the department said that it had received an inquiry from at least one clerk asking if the ruling applied throughout the state or just in Polk County, where the original court challenge to the Iowa law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was filed.”

Please note. At least ONE inquiry has been received. No County Clerk has, thus far, indicated they will NOT issue marriage licenses to same sex couples because of their religious beliefs. You are creating a scenario which has not yet occurred.

Secondly, what concept of separation of church and state do you not understand? “The other week they were on the right side of the law,” and this week, as a government official whose salary is paid by all gay and straight taxpayers, they should STILL be on the right side of the law. And, the law is that same sex couples will be issued a marriage license.

If your last comment, “understanding and respecting us” is true, you must be a lesbian.

As a Senior gay man who has lived through Stonewall, the AIDS Epidemic, and the gay rights struggle since 1969, I say, “With friends like you, who needs enemies.” You are the enemy. You cannot have studied the history of the gay rights movement. You are obviously young and naïve–unless, you are a straight woman posing as gay. Every one of your comments is based on a false premise and an insult to the informed GLBT Community. If you can’t recognize the “I’m a California Doctor, forced to choose between my faith and my job” for the bulls**t it is, you are really, really ignorant. (Perhaps I should have used stupid, but I am trying to rein in my anger.)

We have talked, talked, and talked for the last 30 years. Virtually every major religion has a GLBT organization, such as the Catholic organization Dignity. These groups have been talking, talking, and more talking, and they have had no impact on any church’s teachings. In fact, with respect to the Catholic Church, they are more intolerant now than in 1980. It will be 600 years, if ever, before the Catholic Church changes its teachings. See Copernicus and Galileo. Get a clue, woman.

YES! IF any county clerk refuses to issue a marriage license according to the law, they are BIGOTS! Remember Anita Bryant?? Remember Harvey Milk? Remember the White Night Riots?? Remember Matthew Shepard? Remember Carl Walker-Hoover?? Remember Eric Mohat and all the others??

Uncomfortable? How ridiculous and insulting can you be?

We might say of the butcher that handling pork is an essential part of the employment s/he accepted. Well, issuing marriage licenses is not only an essential part of the employment these clerks have accepted — it’s also commanded by STATE LAW that such licenses not be denied on the grounds that the parties are of the same sex. The butcher’s employer requires that the butcher handle pork – but the clerks’ employer AND THE LAW require that the clerk issue marriage licenses without reference to the gender of the parties.

You’re absolutely right, Caitlyn, that religious liberty is an important value in our society. But the central question is: how far does that liberty extend in the first place – what is the scope of the matters that are included in “religious liberty”?

Refusing employment to someone otherwise willing and qualified, simply because of what she believes and practices on her own time, absolutely infringes on her religious liberty. But once she’s hired, requiring the employee to perform the essential functions of her job is not discrimination – it’s simply requiring her to hold up her end of a freely entered bargain. It doesn’t impact the employee’s religious belief or practice; it impacts the ability to unilaterally modify her job requirements and/or impose her beliefs upon others who rely on the performance of her job – and this isn’t something she had a “right” to do in the first place.

There’s a right to belief and free exercise; there’s not a right to force everyone else you come into contact with (e.g. employers) to believe and exercise with you.