# According to KY law, the same sex marriage licenses **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 7, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227 "2015-09-07T03:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/341 "2015-09-08T19:57:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So what? I’m just pointing out that, under normal conditions, this whole issue is likely to be a once or twice yearly event. It quite possibly could be months before it’s an issue again. The point is - that since June - since the day after teh SCOTUS decision - she (and her office) has refused to issue any licenses. If she follows that course of action again, it will happen sooner - and as others have said, there are bound to be some that are willing to test the waters. While she is making this about SSM in the headlines - for her and her office - it was about ALL. thats a pretty significant point. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/342 "2015-09-08T20:01:00Z")
> [@simster](#): > > thats a pretty significant point. Not to the one that **John** was making, though. ---
**Author:** ![FollowMeDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6a8cbe/32.png) [@FollowMeDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FollowMeDown)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/343 "2015-09-08T20:01:03Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The clerk’s mother was the clerk for decades, and the clerk’s son is one of the deputies. One way to prevent the clerk from being repeatedly elected only to refuse to issue marriage licences is to nail the clerk and her deputy son for conspiracy against rights, sentence the both of them to at least five years each, and ban them from seeking office in Kentucky again. Problem solved. Lots of fresh problems caused, but at least that one problem solved. 😃 > > [18 U.S. Code § 241 - Conspiracy against rights](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/241): > If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same … they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. > > [18 U.S. Code § 3559 - Sentencing classification of offenses](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3559) > (a)Classification.—An offense that is not specifically classified by a letter grade in the section defining it, is classified if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is— > . . . . > (4) less than ten years but five or more years, as a Class D felony; > (5) less than five years but more than one year, as a Class E felony; > > [Kentucky Constitution s. 150](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/lrcpubs/ib59.pdf) > All persons shall be excluded from office who have been, or shall hereafter be, convicted of a felony, or of such high misdemeanor as may be prescribed by law, but such disability may be removed by pardon of the Governor. From this post to the Judges eyes. I admit I didn’t read all six pages of this thread so forgive me. Isn’t there any repercussions of her violation of oath of office?**… " and that I will not knowingly or willingly commit any malfeasance of office, and will faithfully execute the duties of my office without favor, affection or partiality, so help me God."** And how can we take seriously people who want to be president of the United States while endorsing disobedience of the law? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/344 "2015-09-08T20:06:07Z")
> [@simster](#): > > The point is - that since June - since the day after teh SCOTUS decision - she (and her office) has refused to issue any licenses. > > If she follows that course of action again, it will happen sooner - and as others have said, there are bound to be some that are willing to test the waters. > > While she is making this about SSM in the headlines - for her and her office - it was about ALL. > > thats a pretty significant point. I think we’re talking past each other. Once they get back into the business of issuing marriage licenses, it’s unlikely that there are going to be more than a few SSM licenses required in any give year. Of course we expect an initial spike in requests, but after that, it could be months before the next one pops up. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/345 "2015-09-08T20:21:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think we’re talking past each other. Once they get back into the business of issuing marriage licenses, it’s unlikely that there are going to be more than a few SSM licenses required in any give year. Of course we expect an initial spike in requests, but after that, it could be months before the next one pops up. understood and agreed - the question is if they will issue any at all or if she will stop ‘all’ again. Clearly - we won’t knwo the answer to either of those questions until various couples go thru it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/346 "2015-09-08T20:26:08Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It’s hilarious that you guys think it is just a coincidence that the deputies are issuing the licenses only after she was jailed. Nothing to see here. Again, who says this? This is one of your straw-man attacks, where you cheese us out for something no one here has ever said. Is this really the best you can do? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/347 "2015-09-08T20:31:56Z")
[Huckabee offers to go to jail](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/kim-davis-freer-americans-lawyer-article-1.2352035) for Davis if she violates judge’s order. > [@](#): > > Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, said he was proud of Davis for risking her freedom for her beliefs and offered to go to jail for her if she is forced to return by the judge if she continues to violate his order. > > “I’m willing to go in her place,” he said, adding he was tired of the “tyranny” in this country of people not being able to practice their beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/348 "2015-09-08T20:37:17Z")
As a thought experiment, what would have happened if Davis had fired all of her deputies prior to the original order, and then continued to refuse to issue licenses? Obviously she could still have been jailed, but then what? And I mean this as a GQ question - I honestly don’t know how the law would resolve an issue with a recalcitrant low-level bureaucrat who is the only one authorized to carry out a certain legally-mandated action. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/349 "2015-09-08T20:52:52Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > As a thought experiment, what would have happened if Davis had fired all of her deputies prior to the original order, and then continued to refuse to issue licenses? Obviously she could still have been jailed, but then what? > > And I mean this as a GQ question - I honestly don’t know how the law would resolve an issue with a recalcitrant low-level bureaucrat who is the only one authorized to carry out a certain legally-mandated action. At that point, it likely would have fallen to the Judge Executive - assumedly for all her duties until such time as replacements could be found. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/350 "2015-09-08T20:57:59Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Huckabee offers to go to jail](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/kim-davis-freer-americans-lawyer-article-1.2352035) for Davis if she violates judge’s order. Who the fuck does he think he is, Aslan? That’s not how our judicial system works. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/351 "2015-09-08T21:01:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Who the fuck does he think he is, Aslan? That’s not how our judicial system works. More proof of the War on Christians! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/352 "2015-09-08T21:02:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Who the fuck does he think he is, Aslan? That’s not how our judicial system works. Too bad, isn’t it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/353 "2015-09-08T21:04:57Z")
> [@simster](#): > > At that point, it likely would have fallen to the Judge Executive - assumedly for all her duties until such time as replacements could be found. Sorry, I probably missed this upthread somewhere. Who’s the Judge Executive? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/354 "2015-09-08T21:05:44Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The clerk’s mother was the clerk for decades, and the clerk’s son is one of the deputies. One way to prevent the clerk from being repeatedly elected only to refuse to issue marriage licences is to nail the clerk and her deputy son for conspiracy against rights, sentence the both of them to at least five years each, and ban them from seeking office in Kentucky again. Problem solved. Lots of fresh problems caused, but at least that one problem solved. 😃 In Kentucky, can impeachment/conviction carry the penalty of not holding office again? If so that is a better solution. Hmmmm… can the son be impeached as a deputy clerk? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/355 "2015-09-08T21:06:02Z")
In the prison gloom, a harmonica mangles “Old Man River”. The Warden and a pastor come to the door of Huckabee’s cell. “Governor? It’s time…” “Wait, what? You’re gonna _hang_ me? That’s _totally_ against the law!” “Yeah. That’s a bitch, ain’t it?” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/356 "2015-09-08T21:18:18Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Sorry, I probably missed this upthread somewhere. Who’s the Judge Executive? Basically, its the elected position to oversee the rest - they can issue licenses in the _absence_ of the county clerk. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/357 "2015-09-08T21:38:46Z")
> **[Lawyers vow Kim Davis will violate court order and halt marriage licenses...](https://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/lawyers-vow-kim-davis-will-violate-court-order-and-halt-marriage-licenses-after-release-from-jail/)** > > Just minutes after a judge ordered Kim Davis released from jail on Tuesday, her lawyers told CNN that she would violate a court order by forcing her clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.An order from U.S. District Court Judge... > [@](#): > > Just minutes after a judge ordered Kim Davis released from jail on Tuesday, her lawyers told CNN that she would violate a court order by forcing her clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/358 "2015-09-08T21:56:53Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > She is released. > > [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COZUApyWwAAzhHk.png](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COZUApyWwAAzhHk.png) Given she is vowing to put a stop to the marriages anyone wanna guess how long until she is locked up again? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/359 "2015-09-08T22:34:19Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [Lawyers vow Kim Davis will violate court order and halt marriage licenses after release from jail](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/lawyers-vow-kim-davis-will-violate-court-order-and-halt-marriage-licenses-after-release-from-jail/) > > Just minutes after a judge ordered Kim Davis released from jail on Tuesday, her lawyers told CNN that she would violate a court order by forcing her clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. trying to figure out how she would “force” them to stop… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227/360 "2015-09-08T22:38:36Z")
Would they have to prove that they are of the appropriate genders? Right there in the County Clerks office? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-ky-law-the-same-sex-marriage-licenses/730227.md?page=19)