Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis will be attending the State of the Union Address as the guest of one very anti-gay Congressman. Can you guess who?
Kim Davis will be at President Barack Obama‘s State of the Union Address tonight. The Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who, to this day, still refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her deeply held religious beliefs, was invited by one very anti-gay U.S. Congressman.
Who?
CNN calls him (yes, him) Davis’ “secret admirer.”
Liberty Counsel, Davis’ attorneys, would not identify the hosts of Kim Davis or Mat Staver, the head of Liberty Counsel, who will also be attending.
“We are not releasing the names of the Congressmen who provided tickets for Kim and Mat because the focus should not be on the Congressmen or politics but on why Kim and (Liberty Council Chairman) Mat Staver are there. Kim will be in the gallery tonight as a counterweight to the President’s message. She is representing many Americans who have been adversely affected by the President’s policies, specifically this Administration’s trampling of religious liberty,” Charla Bansley of Liberty Counsel told CNN.
Fortunately, we know.
A few clues for you:
He is the founding member of the new House Freedom Caucus, the most-conservative caucus in Congress.
He voted to ban same-sex marriage in Washington, D.C., vote for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage nationally, and voted to allow job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also voted for a bill that would claim state definitions of marriage supersede federal marriage definitions, and voted to protect people voicing opinions against same-sex marriage as free speech.
He voted against the Violence Against Women Act.
He has endorsed the anti-gay First Amendment Defense Act.
We could go on, but really, you get the idea.
Meet the U.S. Congressman from Ohio’s 4th District, Rep. Jim Jordan.
According to the Huffington Post’s White House and Congress political reporter Jennifer Bendery, Kim Davis will be the invited guest tonight of Rep. Jordan.
UPDATE: 5:15 PM EST –
According to Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller, Rep. Jordan did not know about the Davis invite – although he’s totally fine with it.
But what’s, well, let’s just call it dishonorable and sleazy, the Family Research Council called the Congressman’s office and asked for a ticket, without specifying to whom it would go.Â
“Yeah, so we gave a ticket to — at the request of the Family Research Council — we gave the ticket to Kim Davis’ family,” he said.
“I found out today,” Jordan said. “And I’m being totally honest with you: That’s — Family Research Council asked us, her family wanted a ticket, and we said ‘OK.'”
So why is it the Family Research Council has such an in with an Ohio Congressman they can just call up at the last minute and get a ticket to the State of the Union? Why is their relationship so close?Â