Justice

The Perfect Way This 'West Wing' Clip Responds to Kim Davis

September 14th 2015

The internet isn’t quite finished with Kim Davis. A clip from the political drama TV series "The West Wing" is circulating this week, and although the show ended nearly 10 years ago, the viral West Wing clip is resonating with viewers for the way it pokes holes in the antiquated ‘God hates gays’ argument.

In the scene, the fictional U.S. president Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet criticizes a television evangelist for using selective verses from the Christian Bible to condemn homosexuality.

“I’m interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Leviticus 21:7,” Bartlet says. “She’s a Georgetown sophomore, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be?”

The president proceeds to pull apart what many anti-Davis supporters are calling a ‘cherry-picked’ Bible — one that glosses over out-dated verses, such as working on the Sabbath day, but highlights others, including those who denounce homosexuality.

The conversation even made its way to mainstream media after CNN anchor Don Lemon brought it onto his show during a debate with Kentucky Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin. Bevin is a Davis supporter, and argued with Lemon that the fictional president was “selectively choosing” quotes from the Bible to demonstrate how archaic a literal Leviticus interpretation is.

“But that’s what she’s doing. That is the criticism of her,” Lemon shot back. The back-and-forth goes on for a few minutes before Bevin finally says that Davis has never actually said anything negative about homosexuals.

“You don’t have to call people names in order to discriminate against them,” Lemon shot back, ending the segment.

Davis first became famous after repeatedly refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in the state of Kentucky, citing her religious freedom as justification for her defiance. After she was held in contempt of court (and subsequently jailed) for failing to carry out her duties as an elected official, she was released and returned to work on Monday.


Davis is still refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, however her deputies are issuing them again. In a news conference Monday morning, Davis said that she's been left with a "seemingly impossible choice ... my conscience or my freedom." Despite Davis' resistance, and after spending five days in jail last week for her refusal to issue marriage licenses , she has filed another appeal asking a court to allow her to once again halt processing of marriage licenses.

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