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Gay Mafia Jails Ky County Clerk

So, a federal judge has jailed Rowan County (Ky) Clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples (or any couples, for that matter). It's been all over the news for the last couple of weeks, and my Facebook and Twitter feeds indicate it has generated a lot of interest. The intolerant left, of course, has simply demonized the clerk and called for her (metaphorical) head. The right, defenders of tradition and true marriage but also defenders of the rule of law, is disorganized and arguing over the proper response. Some "Stand with Kim" while others say the law requires her to issue licenses. But, she's in jail, marriage licenses are being issued, and 'tis altogether another great victory for the left. In this case, I do think she should issue licenses or resign her position. If she will not resign, then there are procedures to impeach her and remove her from office. (This is obviously not a quick enough solution for some.) A government functionary must obey the law, and not pick and choose the laws with which to comply. In that regard, this case is different than the baker, the florist, or the photographer, who should all be allowed to run their own business as they see fit, without the government compelling them to serve what they consider immoral ceremonies. To that extent, the left wins this one on points. However, there are still many aspects of this controversy that disturb me:

• The media hoorah is interesting but not surprising. This is a case that perfectly fits their preferred Narrative. Here is a backwards, Appalachian, county clerk who can easily be portrayed as a redneck, toothless, Bible thumping hick by all the coastal sophisticates. And they certainly seem to be enjoying the smack down, researching her past and portraying her in the worst light. Not an ounce of sympathy can be seen for the woman accused of Crimethink. Although obvious, this tactic is nevertheless effective in swaying those whose beliefs are determined by what the cool kids believe. I have Kentucky cousins who are mortified that their region is once again being portrayed in such a negative light; they are insistent that not all Kentuckians are so backward and unsophisticated; they're using the rallying cry of "Not My Kentucky." By now, they should realize that there is no end to this sort of pressure, and that they should resign themselves to suffering name calling and taunting for continuing to hold any moral principles. 
• It's funny (not) how quickly the attacks on Kim Davis became personal. As the second wave feminists said, The Personal is the Political. As Alinsky preached (Rule 12), Pick a target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Not only was her personal denomination of Apostolic Christianity held up for ridicule; they made fun of her clothes (a belief in Christian modesty), her hair (women should grow their hair long), and most especially, her marital record. It's called slut shaming, and it's a grievous sin when applied to libertines of no morals, but obviously a perfectly acceptable weapon to be used against a Christian conservative.
• They charged her with hypocrisy for calling herself a Christian with her marital record, but (my understanding is) those previous marriages occurred before she became a Christian. In other words, she repented and changed her ways, just as Jesus said. ("Go and sin no more.") But sexual immorality is the only sin that cannot be repented in the modern world. A drug addict who gets clean and then encourages others to avoid the life is heroic, a sex addict who gets clean is a hypocrite.
• And there is another way in which the charge of hypocrisy is false. There are indeed hypocrites who adopt a false facade in order to fool and cheat others, but most who set high standards and then fail to meet them should be honored for their striving attempt, not laughed at for failing. After all, the usual case of failure is more a matter of "The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak." As Christians, we know better than most that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We should rather encourage one another in striving. Only One has ever met the standard of being sinless, and the World hated Him too.
• But, please, spare me the self-righteous sanctimonious bullshit of the "rule of law." This gay marriage requirement was not imposed in any lawful way. The Constitution is silent on marriage, leaving it to the States. (Although if the Founders had foreseen the degradation in marital standards of our generation, they might have enshrined it in the Constitution.) The XIVth Amendment does not compel homosexual marriages; the country that ratified it would have been horrified at the suggestion. If gays and their supporters wanted a Constitutional right to marriage, the only honorable way would have been to submit an amendment under Article V; but this would have been hard and likely to fail, so instead they got five justices to "interpret" the Constitution the "right" way. This may have the color of law, but it is lawless nonetheless. It is not "substantial due process," to co-op a phrase. 
• And those same people who now beat down that poor Kentucky clerk with "It's the LAW" never seemed to object when San Francisco mayor Harvey Newsom (and others) issued marriage licenses in defiance of what was then California law. And the governor and attorneys general of six states refused to defend their state laws in court. (Normally, when an attorney deliberately sabotages his client's case, it would call for sanctions if not disbarment.) Jonathan Adler quoted Scalia from 2002 in support of the contention that the only honorable thing for the clerk to do is resign. (Scalia was speaking of Blackmun, Brennan, and Marshall's opposition to the death penalty.) But THEY didn't resign. Apparently, this honorable course only applies to one side in the cultural war; when the law is on the left's side, it's "the rule of law;" when the law is against them (immigration, drugs, or what have you) civil disobedience is the honorable course. As a conservative who values the civic order, I strongly favor the rule of law and not of men. As Thomas More is quoted as saying in A Man for All Seasons, "And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you--where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast--man's laws, not God's--and if you cut them down--and you're just the man to do it--d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?" (Act One, scene seven) But the laws are being cut down by one side, which considers their goals higher than the law.
• I swore an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But if the rule of law only applies to one side in the struggle, then it no longer commands my support. As Jack Winthrop asks in The Last of the Mohicans, "Does the rule of English law no longer govern? Has it been replaced by absolutism?" If the law is only a weapon to be imposed on one side, and ignored at will by the other (whether it's Obama, Holder, Clinton, or Lois Lerner), then I am absolved of my obligation of obedience. And I'm getting closer and closer to the point of crying havoc, and loosing the dogs of war. 
• I would have liked to seen a coordinated action, among hundreds of clerks all across the country, challenging the imposition of a faux Constitutional requirement. Standing alone, Kim Davis has no chance of winning. And her supporters are disoriented, not knowing whether it has yet come the time to defy the government openly. (Even during the American Revolution, only one third of the people supported the revolution, while one third supported the British.)   But, although I think, as a prudential matter she is wrong in this case, Kim Davis has my admiration for her principled stand. As Thomas More also said in A Man for All Seasons, "Well, I believe when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties they lead their country by a short route to chaos." (Act One, scene two) Now she is in jail, but as Thoreau said, "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison."