Court Clerks and Gay Marriage

[Yagi-Atama]

I disagree. There is no gray area. An 80 yr old man, and an 18 yr old woman are both of legal age to get married, therefore she would also be obligated by law to grant the license, much the same way she is obligated to grant the license to the lesbian couple. The law is the law. She has no legal leg to stand on. I also do not see the clerk as brave, I see her as a bigot.

But that's what I'm saying: the law is the law, yes, but precisely the reason she's brave is because she stood up to that law for what she believed in. I'm also not sure how to react to you saying there's no problem with 80m/18f; some would say that's borderline pedophilia but whatever.

Also it's aggressive to accuse someone of being bigoted just because they don't want to wed a lesbian couple without knowing anything about the person. She might have been a bigot, sure, I'm not denying it. But then she could have had all kinds of reasons for that choice- not least the risk of domestic abuse.

[Siz]

Irrelevant, in all respects. Unless you could guarantee with 100% certainty that a relationship would degenerate to abuse you can have no opinion on the choice of others. And don't forget that a few people choose to live in a relationship that the majority of people would consider abusive. The clerk was not within her rights (as defined by her contract) to refuse to carry out the ceremony. If she has a moral issue it is with her employers, not the couple.

It's very relevant, so I take a neutral approach the clerk's choice: on the one hand it was his/her job to marry them, so taking matters into her own hands and refusing to do so was definitely something... daring, to say the least. But at the same time, I can respect that the clerk was willing to be defiant for something s/he thought was obviously right.

For an example if, say, an eighty year old man and eighteen year old woman were brought before the clerk and that clerk refused to marry them out of concerns from a moral point of view, could you really blame the clerk in that circumstance? On one hand you can say "that evil clerk not doing his/her job!" but on the other, I think you can certainly respect the clerk's bravery.

The point is, it's not her decision to make. Is she now to be enabled to contradict the law as she sees fit? That's called Anarchy.
I see no bravery there, only judgemenal, arrogant piety. Bravery would be marrying the couple in accordance with the law despite her personal misgivings. And then she can take it up with the people responsible with making the law... and good luck with that!

[Siz]

I disagree. There is no gray area. An 80 yr old man, and an 18 yr old woman are both of legal age to get married, therefore she would also be obligated by law to grant the license, much the same way she is obligated to grant the license to the lesbian couple. The law is the law. She has no legal leg to stand on. I also do not see the clerk as brave, I see her as a bigot.

But that's what I'm saying: the law is the law, yes, but precisely the reason she's brave is because she stood up to that law for what she believed in. I'm also not sure how to react to you saying there's no problem with 80m/18f; some would say that's borderline pedophilia but whatever.

Also it's aggressive to accuse someone of being bigoted just because they don't want to wed a lesbian couple without knowing anything about the person. She might have been a bigot, sure, I'm not denying it. But then she could have had all kinds of reasons for that choice- not least the risk of domestic abuse.

And she knows nothing about the love between the hypothetical 18yo and 80yo, or the two lesbians. She's absolutely a bigot, however you dress it up.

[Tank]

Please note Mr Yagi-Atama has been banned for trolling.

[Asmodean]

Please note Mr Yagi-Atama has been banned for trolling.

Is swiftly decapitated. And, apparently, that there makes Tank all cheery-like.

And Asmodean, he approves 

[Sandra Craft]

Please note Mr Yagi-Atama has been banned for trolling.

And just when he was beginning to see the wedge, too.  I was hoping to find out when the possiblity of domestic abuse because legal cause to deny marriage licenses.

[Tank]

Please note Mr Yagi-Atama has been banned for trolling.

Is swiftly decapitated. And, apparently, that there makes Tank all cheery-like.

And Asmodean, he approves 

Making a lump of grumpy putty happy, what more could I want 

[Tank]

Please note Mr Yagi-Atama has been banned for trolling.

And just when he was beginning to see the wedge, too.  I was hoping to find out when the possiblity of domestic abuse because legal cause to deny marriage licenses.

He really was a piece of work. He can go and troll elsewhere.

[Asmodean]

Making a lump of grumpy putty happy, what more could I want 

You hafta' invite me for a coffee with the hidden agenda of checking out the Wall(tm).

...The one decorated with rotting troll parts, that is. 

[Ildiko]

And just when he was beginning to see the wedge, too.

I'm still trying to work out what that even means. Is it a reference to so-called Intelligent Design being the thin end of it?

[Sandra Craft]

And just when he was beginning to see the wedge, too.

I'm still trying to work out what that even means. Is it a reference to so-called Intelligent Design being the thin end of it?

I never got that one either.  I notice I'm now up to not believing in Mother Goose and I really miss no longer receiving the bacon.  I like bacon.

[OldGit]

I used to wonder about that wedge, but now I love the peanuts.  Equally cryptic. ???

[Sandra Craft]

I used to wonder about that wedge, but now I love the peanuts.  Equally cryptic. ???

I've just noticed I've graduated to watching NOVA.  Is there a video camera inside my house?

[DeterminedJuliet]

There should be a sticky explaining what they all mean 

[Tank]

There should be a sticky explaining what they all mean 

Just goes to show how much attention you pay  http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=3351.0