Marriage equality may be the law, and probate judges and county clerks may be the officials tasked with
issuing marriage licenses in many states, but some of them say they're putting personal bigotry (admittedly that's not what they call it) above the law:
[Pike County, Alabama, Probate Judge Wes] Allen says that he believes marriage "is one man, one woman."
"It's a deep-rooted conviction; my conscience won't allow me" to grant gay-marriage licenses, [Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk Kim] Davis told The Associated Press. "It goes against everything I hold dear, everything sacred in my life."
But it's other people who will pay the price for the beliefs of these fine upstanding Christians and public servants; they themselves aren't prepared to sacrifice their jobs for their beliefs. Some may ultimately have to make the choice:
Two things can happen if a Kentucky clerk won't issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple: They can resign, or go to jail, said Sam Marcosson, a constitutional law professor at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
"If it means that you simply cannot fulfill your duties because of your religious beliefs, what is required of you is that you can no longer hold that office," Marcosson said. "That applies to a judge, that applies to a senator, that applies to anyone who holds public office."
If and when that happens, look for screaming and wailing on the right about how these poor people are being oppressed. But this is not that uncommon! Vegetarians who work in restaurants and grocery stores don't get to refuse to serve or sell meat. Environmentalists may have to go on business trips that increase their carbon footprints. Bigoted motel staff can't refuse lodging to couples because they're interracial. Yes, in a radical utopia we might each be guaranteed never to have to violate any of our beliefs to earn a living, but it's not actually one of capitalism's greater outrages that sometimes you have to choose between upholding a specific personal belief and working at a specific job. The idea that these people should be seen as some kind of oppressed martyrs because they want to deny other people their legal rights and hold public office and not face any consequences is absurd. It's also the right's big strategy for continuing to fight marriage equality.