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'Best of all worlds with no religion'

In the Sept. 2 Daily Herald we read about Kim Davis, Rowan County Clerk in Kentucky, refusing to issue marriage licenses to several gay couples, citing her position that having to issue such marriage licenses would violate her personal religious beliefs that God forbids such same-sex marriages.

I do accept Ms. Davis having her own personal religious beliefs, but I do believe she abuses her public office by trying to use her office to impose her religious beliefs on others. Furthermore, Ms. Davis is a bad example of a public office holder inasmuch as the U.S. Supreme Court has proclaimed gay marriage to be legal, and therefore Ms. Davis should follow that legal ruling and issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but she refuses to do so. Thus she is violating the law as laid down by our courts, and the only resolution of this matter for Rowan County is for Ms. Davis to step down from her position as Rowan County Clerk.

But may I please add that a more effective solution to this problem would be to consider John Adams' letter of 1817 to his friend, Thomas Jefferson, in which Adams wrote, "Twenty times in the course of my late readings have I been at the point of breaking out, 'This would be the best of all worlds if there were no religion in it.'" That approach would readily solve all issues of government and religion.

Theodore M. Utchen

Wheaton

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