Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, September 05, 2015

Kim Davis' Attorney Compares Her To Jews Living In Nazi Germany, Invokes Images Of Gas Chambers

An attorney for Kim Davis, who was jailed Thursday after being found in contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, compared the clerk's situation to the one Jews were faced with in Nazi Germany.

Mathew Staver, who is currently serving as head legal counsel for Davis, made the comparison on the "Crosstalk" radio show Wednesday, RightWingWatch.com reported.

"[Davis is] there to do a duty, a job and the job duty was changed," Staver argued. "Does that mean that if you’re Christian, don’t apply here? ... What happened in Nazi Germany, what happened there first, they removed the Jews from government public employment, then they stopped patronizing them in their private businesses, then they continued to stigmatize them, then they were the ‘problems,’ then they killed them."

Staver doubled down on his Nazi Germany comparison on Thursday on "Washington Watch," a radio show hosted by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, going so far as to invoke images of gas chambers while doing so, RightWingWatch.com noted.

"Back in the 1930s, it began with the Jews, where they were evicted from public employment, then boycotted in their private employment, then stigmatized and that led to the gas chambers," Staver told Perkins. "This is the new persecution of Christians here in this country.”

"You cannot obey something that is contrary to God's law," Staver continued. "And we would easily say, well, what would happen if the government forced you to turn over a Jew in Nazi Germany? All of us would say we wouldn't do that, we wouldn't listen to that. Well, we're about ready to walk into the moment.”

Davis, who was taken into custody on Thursday, is expected to remain in jail for at least a week while her lawyers appeal the ruling.

"They’re not gonna let her out and she’s not gonna bow... I promise you that," Davis' husband, Joe, told the press Thursday. He also argued that his wife had been put in jail "illegally" and vowed to "ask [Kentucky Gov. Steve] Beshear to do his job or step down."

Carter County jailer R.W. Boggs told WKYT that Davis wouldn’t be receiving any special treatment while incarcerated, Towleroad reported.“My job is to keep the door locked until the judge tells me to unlock it. As far as we’re concerned, it was just another day in the neighborhood,” he said.

Boggs added, “It’s a day in jail -- breakfast, lunch, dinner and daily activities. It’s not glamorous, it’s not exciting. It’s jail.”

Meanwhile, the Rowan County clerk's office began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, including James Yates and William Smith Jr., who, thanks to Davis' refusal to serve them, had to apply six times before finally receiving their license.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Noah Michelson

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