Orlando – It has been three months since the U.S. Supreme made same-sex marriage a right nationwide – but the fight isn’t over yet.
Last month, a judge held a Kentucky clerk in contempt for refusing to issue the licenses. Kim Davis spent five days in jail before she was released; yet she continues to be an obstructionist. In the meantime, President Obama has said religious freedom is NOT a reason to discriminate.
The Orange County Bar Association Foundation will host a forum with community leaders on both sides of issue from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 1 at the FAMU College of Law.
“This is a conversation we need to have,” said Camara A. Williams, Vice President of the Foundation and event organizer. “People feel strongly on both sides of the issue and that makes for a powerful debate.”
The event, titled “Faith and the Obergefell Case,” takes its name from Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case decided June 26 that held the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state.
WFTV-TV Channel 9 Reporter Deneige Broom will serve as moderator. Panelists include: State Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood,), Orange County Clerk of Court Tiffany Moore Russell, FAMU Law Professor Robert Minarcin, Rev. Randolph Bracy Jr., a professor at Bethune Cookman College who helped the college launch a new School of Religion, and Blaine McChesney, local attorney and gay rights activist.
A hot topic of discussion will be Davis, who spent five days in jail before returning to her job at Rowan County Clerk. She immediately altered marriage license forms for gay couples – removing her name, the names of all her clerks and the county.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a lawsuit on behalf of the gay couples who requested marriage license, accused her Sept. 23 of continuing to interfere with deputy clerks when they issue licenses to eligible gay couples.
“She can go to church and pray the gay away, and do what she wants in her own private time, but she can’t choose what laws she wants to enforce,” McChesney said. “These same religious arguments were made when interracial marriage was legalized. This is the beginning of this fight.”
While many LGBT activists have moved on to work toward securing legal protections from discrimination for LGBT people in the U.S., the path for gay couples to have the weddings of their dreams is still not a smooth one.
A reception will be held from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m., followed by the forum. The FAMU College of Law is located at 201 Beggs Ave. in downtown Orlando. The event is in Room 240. Event sponsors are the Central Florida Gay and Lesbian Law Association (CFGALLA), FAMU Alumni Association and FAMU College of Law.
