I'm afraid that this won't be much discussion material because this whole thing is pretty open-and-shut. The SCOTUS interpreted that the 14th amendment of the US Constitution allows same-sex marriage and disallows states to deny same-sex couples to marry.
Originally Posted by 14th Amendment
Sec. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and are subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
This amendment was originally intended to protect against discrimination against blacks, most of which had been recently freed from the conclusion of the US Civil War. The SCOTUS interpretation of this was that banning same-sex marriage was an abridgment of freedoms granted to US citizens. As for Kim Davis' unwillingness to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples and her ability as a US Citizen to do this (or lack, thereof), the entire situation will be explained in full. As much as we don't want to admit it, Kim Davis is a person. That means she has certain rights, one of which is the first amendment, which protects free speech. This is the main pillar of support for Kim Davis' refusal to do her job. What these supporters do not understand however, is that as a public employee, her first amendment rights are restricted when she is on the clock. In the case of
Garcetti v. Ceballos, it was ruled that government employees' first amendment rights are heavily restricted while on the job, and they can be disciplined for what they say or do. This is the boat that Davis was in when she was refusing marriage licenses. Davis is now back to work, as while she was jailed, her deputy clerks began issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Now that she is back to work, the licenses issued no longer have her signature, but in its place have the words " Issued pursuant to federal court order" and her name was removed from the papers. Kim Davis doubts that these licenses are valid, but Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway believes that they are, as well as Judge David Bunning.
EDIT: Some more information on the first amendment and how Davis and her supporters don't have a leg to stand on when they use it as an argument. While the first amendment does grant religious freedom to citizens, it also prohibits the government from creating or enforcing any law that favors one religion over another. As she is a government employee, her actions while on the job embody the government. When she refuses to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples, she is (as the government) putting her own religious beliefs ahead of everyone else's, which is a blatant violation of the Establishment Clause of the first amendment.
Last edited by hawkesnightmare; Sep 15, 2015 at 04:21 AM.