Christian Post author Wallace Henley draws a provocative comparison between Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Davis has been the subject of scrutiny, and more recently arrest, after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Henley observes:
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks had three choices. First, she could have complied with the city code, and moved to the rear of the bus. Second, she could have gotten off the bus and refused to re-board, as she did in 1943. On that occasion, the same driver demanded that, after paying her fare at the front, she exit, and walk outside to the rear entrance. Third, in 1955, Rosa Parks could have refused to budge because of her convictions. That is what she did.
Kim Davis had the same three choices. She could have complied with the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, which had been affirmed by Kentucky governor Steve Beshear, and issued the licenses to homosexual couples. Or, Davis could have gotten “off the bus” by resigning her county clerk position. Third, she could have followed the example of Rosa Parks, and refuse to budge. Which is what Davis did.
Many may bristle at the comparison. It does hold up in one key way though. When government asserts itself past what a population is willing to bear, civil disobedience will eventually manifest. Kim Davis’ protest only became necessary, in her judgment, when the Supreme Court overruled the will of the people in her state, the same people who elected her. So whom does she serve? The Supreme Court, or her constituents?
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