Love Endures
- Citizen Elle
- Aug 15
- 3 min read
For ten years, Americans who identify as LGBTQIA+ have been able to enjoy the rights inherent to a federally recognized marriage thanks to the Supreme Court of the United States‘ ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. Regrettably, society has regressed rolling back many rights and freedoms we took for granted because we naively assumed they were protected under the laws, the precedents of our courts, and our Constitution. We did not count on right wing extremists so thoroughly infiltrating our government and attempting to bully or harass duly elected officials who meant it when they swore to protect democracy. Now with a conservative majority making up the Supreme Court, the future of marriage equality is in serious jeopardy.
The petition to revisit the Obergefell decision and potentially get it repealed has been submitted by Kim Davis and her legal team. Kim Davis was a municipal clerk in Kentucky who gained notoriety because she refused to issue marriage licenses to LGBTQIA+ couples based on her personal beliefs. I recently had the opportunity to hear Reverend William Barber speak. He said we must love our neighbors enough to call them out by name when they are doing harm to others. Following the reverend’s example, I call Sister Kimberly Jean Davis forward. She claims to be a Christian, which is the entire basis of her objection to issuing the marriage licenses.
Ok.
Her faith teaches that having extramarital affairs is wrong. Her faith also teaches that divorce is wrong and that if a person enters another relationship or marriage after a divorce they have committed the sin of adultery. So why is it acceptable for her to have been married to three different men? As a municipal clerk, she had to know that marriages and divorces are public records. Kim Davis is nothing but another hypocrite weaponizing Christianity to fuel her bigotry, hatred, and fear.
Let me be clear: no matter what the court decides, nobody can take away the love you have for your partner. If you had a ceremony to celebrate your union, no one can take that from you either. The biggest challenges will be legal rights and “recognition”. If you are married, there are nine documents you need to complete so your rights remain protected should the worst case scenario happen. The documents you should seriously consider filing are:
Irrevocable Living Trust
The Last Will and Testament
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Durable Power of Attorney
Living Will
Hospital Visitation Authorization Form
Agent for Disposition of Remains
Pet Care Directive
Tangible Personal Property Memorandum
Under the Desk News has an excellent video on the subject and was the inspiration for this post. I urge you to check out their content.
Of course, I hope for the best outcome where the preparations we make now end up being acts of caution and proven unnecessary. However, this court has overturned well- established precedents, like Roe v. Wade, before, so hopefully you will forgive my lack of faith in their ability to discern personal opinions from the law.
The point of all this is cruelty. It is meant to drive us to our knees, exhaust us, and make us become so despondent and overwhelmed that we give up. They want us to stop fighting to make it easy for them to grind us into the dirt. That will happen over my dead body when Hell freezes over. I will continue my resistance with advocacy, education, and joy. I will continue loving and protecting my neighbors with everything I have.
Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love never fails.
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