First take

If I took a job at a burger joint, and then discovered I was allergic to grease, the next moral and ethical step would be clear. It wouldn’t have to do with the employer: Grease is part and parcel of that kind of business, there’s really no getting around it. No, the rational next step would be for me to quit. If I can’t do the job, then I owe it to the employer – and, hell, even to myself – to acknowledge as much and resign. Same applies to Kim Davis. She is the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk whose office dispenses marriage licenses but who has refused to provide such licenses to same-sex couples, the United State Supreme Court notwithstanding. She says that she cannot, that it is “a Heaven or Hell decision.” And added, “I never sought to be in this position, and I would much rather not have been placed in this position.” The first is her opinion, no doubt deeply held to the point that she feels she cannot violate it. Fair enough. The second contention is not true, however: She sought to become county clerk; she was not forced into it. The job of the county clerk (and county clerk jobs coast to coast are very tightly circumscribed by law and rule) specifically includes provision of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This is not an insoluable equation: If she feels she cannot do the job, then she ought to quit the job. Right away. – rs (photo by Tom Ventura)