The Alliance Defense Fund, a group founded by James Dobson, is asking Iowa's county recorders who refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, free legal defense help against prosecution.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a legal advocacy group founded in 1994 by Focus on the Family’s James Dobson and the late Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, sent an e-mail to each of Iowa’s county recorders asking them to tell their staff that they “shall not be required to issue or process a marriage license, or to perform, assist or participate in such procedures, against that individual’s religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
The e-mail, which was sent out in conjunction with the Iowa Family Policy Center, says Iowa law protects citizens from being forced to “violate his or her conscience.”
The ADF then offers to “provide free legal review and defense” for any county recorder that adopts a “conscious clause” and is challenged “on the basis of its content.”
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Attorney General Tom Miller has repeatedly warned county recorders that they do not have the authority to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and “recorders do not have discretion or power to ignore the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling,” Miller said.
The court’s ruling goes into effect Monday.
Iowa law says that an elected official can be removed from office for refusal to perform duties of the office or for willful or habitual neglect.
They lost in Iowa and now these religious extremists are asking the workers to participate in illegal behavior. Will they guarantee to help them keep their jobs after they are fired? How Christian is it to ask people to break the law?
