What a country. What a Constitution. What a First Amendment. What a time and place to be alive, and celebrate this week, this great anniversary week, with, as John Adams said, pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and iluminations.
And, he added, "solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty."
The clerk of court in Cleburne County has told her bosses that she plans to resign soon. Her reason? According to the county judge in Cleburne County, the clerk would rather quit than issue same-sex marriage licenses.
Doubtless she'll not be the only county clerk in the nation who'd rather find another line of work. The U.S. Supreme Court took the matter of homosexual marriage out of the hands of We The People last week, and made it legal in all of the states. Now it is the law of the land.
So one Dana Guffey, for now county clerk of Cleburne County, says she's done with the job.
"It is definitely a moral conviction for me," Dana Guffey told the AP. "I didn't announce anything publicly or on social media because I didn't want my decision to be seen as hateful. I know some people will look at it like that, but this wasn't easy. It wasn't a decision I made lightly. And I do not hate anybody."
No doubt it was a hard decision. It always is when a body gives up a livelihood, a job, a career.
"My office mates understand," she continued. "They're not judging me, the same as I'm not judging anyone else who issues the licenses. It's my conviction, though."
Hooray for convictions! Some of us think that officeholders don't resign often enough, but to have one resign because of her convictions, her dearly held beliefs, her principles and even, dare we say, faith? Bravo, Dana Guffey.
And another bravo for Governor Asa Hutchinson, who did his best to sound like an anti-Orval Faubus when this news out of Cleburne County came to him last week--that is, a governor of Arkansas who knows the law is the law, and must be followed.
"Obviously, if someone cannot follow that duty, that's a decision for them to make," the governor said. "This is not a matter of discretion. While I disagree with the Supreme Court decision, it's the law."
Well, that might be obvious to Asa Hutchinson, who's been an attorney of some note over the years. But it's not as obvious to others. See the various Republican presidential candidates who would defy the law of the land. Take a candidate named Ted Cruz, please. He's been in the public prints saying states should ignore the court's decision. Others have tip-toed up to that line, but haven't quite crossed it yet. Mike Huckabee, who used to live around here, said states should "resist and reject judicial tyranny." What does that mean in this case? He didn't offer many specifics. There's a presidential campaign on, doncha know.
Dana Guffey is a rare public servant indeed. Her family, her church, her county and her state should be proud.
Now she needs to find another line of work.
Nobody wants to force her to violate her convictions. And if she can't issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples without violating those convictions, she should leave the clerk's office. Surely the people of Cleburne County can find another clerk who can follow the law.
It's an honorable tradition, resigning because of one's beliefs. Perhaps Dana Guffey should run for legislature one day. Doubtless she'll have her supporters. But it seems as though the office of clerk of court is not her calling. Not any longer.
Editorial on 07/06/2015