Dear Editor: In reply to contributor Mildred Burke’s letter (Oct. 3), which you headlined “Kim Davis Is Not a Hero,” I disagree with her assertion that “Kim Davis belongs to the minority who use their religious beliefs to…get attention for themselves.”
I believe that Mrs. Davis is a sincere person who has had some sort of personal encounter with Christ, and who was deeply affected by that encounter.
Where I fault Mrs. Davis, though, is in her failure to act positively rather than negatively on her convictions. By this I mean that she should have resigned her post and its $80,000 salary and announced her intention to run for elected office as either a local or statewide legislator. That would then truly be a “heroic” act, in that she was willing to put her own financial security ($80,000 a year does provide some security) at risk because of her beliefs, and it would enable her, if elected, to have a hand in changing the laws to which she so strongly objects. Remaining the county clerk where she is, hasn’t stopped same-sex “marriages” from being licensed and carried out elsewhere in the state of Kentucky. In fact, such an action on her part might not prove to be such a risky endeavor after all, since her county clerkship position was already an elective office, so she had already demonstrated some political ability. In fact, were I a citizen of her county, and considering the very subject of the pope’s visit to this country, I might be persuaded to vote for Mrs. Davis for county executive or whatever.
Garrett Dempsey
Whitestone
Is Kim Davis a hero? As far as I can see, she left herself open to punitive actions. In this case, she sat in jail for 5+ days for contempt. I am sure that there were probably more actions they could have taken against her including her removal from office. She stood up for what she believed in. Standing up against what is wrong and defending what is right IS a positive action. Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were never legislators. Instead, their actions gave birth to new laws. I think that she did react in a very positive manner. The mere fact that she took a stand in this manner tells me that she is a hero. Both Dr. King and Ms. Parks faced jail time for their actions as well. Ms. Davis saw the wrong, stood her ground for what is right and accepted her punishment. Didn’t Jesus do the same thing?
In our society, we tend to overuse certain words like “hero.” Nowadays, EVERYONE-sportsstars, movie stars and such-is called a hero and, as a result, the word loses its effect. In this case, Ms. Davis is a hero without question.