Is Kim Davis Time’s Person of the Year?
Kentucky clerk is one of 59 people who readers can select as most influential person of 2015
It worked for Bristol Palin during her stint on Dancing with the Stars, elevating her to third place overall. Could motivated conservatives also propel Kim Davis to the top of the list of Time magazine readers’ choice for its “Person of the Year?”
Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk and self-appointed martyr in the fight against same-sex marriage in Kentucky, has made the list of the 59 influential people of 2015 to be considered for the annual cover spot. Although Time‘s editors have the final say in who is named, the magazine has opened voting to the public to gauge popular opinion.
The list of potential nominees reads like a “Who’s Who” of political, religious, entertainment and sports stars from around the world. Time is also allowing readers to take part in a “face-off poll” where two nominees are pitted against each other, one at a time.
Online voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 6, with the combined winner of the two polls announced on Dec. 7. The official “Person of the Year” will be announced on Dec. 9.
In a blog post, Liberty Counsel, the right-wing legal organization that represented Davis in her fight against issuing same-sex marriage licenses urged its followers to vote for Davis. “Who more than Kim Davis has influenced the news in the past year?” a post on the organization’s blog reads. “Kim Davis inspired a nation and the world to fight for religious liberty when she chose a prison cell rather than sacrificing her conscience.”
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s chairman and the chief lawyer representing Davis, sent an email to supporters likening her to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other people who were imprisoned for refusing to violate their consciences.
“Kim Davis became the first Christian in America jailed as a result of the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex ‘marriage,'” Staver writes. “Kim adhered to Kentucky law while standing for her First Amendment right to religious liberty and freedom of conscience.”
Do you think Davis will be successful? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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