Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has a message for county clerks in his state who are refusing to marry same-sex couples: be prepared to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or resign.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Beshear said:
“When you voluntarily decide to run for office, and you win, and you raise your hand and you take the oath to uphold the Constitutions of the United States… that oath doesn't say ‘I will uphold the parts of the Constitution that I agree with and won't with the parts I don't agree with.'”
“You can continue to have your own personal beliefs but, you're also taking an oath to fulfill the duties prescribed by law, and if you are at that point to where your personal convictions tell you that you simply cannot fulfill your duties that you were elected to do, than obviously an honorable course to take is to resign and let someone else step-in who feels that they can fulfill those duties.”
Referring to Casey County clerk Casey Davis who reached out to Beshear about his adamant opposition to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Beshear said,
“When the Casey County clerk asked me for my advice on what to do, I said, I respect your feelings, but when you accepted this job and took that oath, it puts you on a different level. You have official duties now that the state law puts on you.”
Davis previously told Chris Hayes he would not resign because he felt it was his moral duty to criminally oppose LGBT couples.
