New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has an alternative to jailing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: Move her to another job.
“What I would do with this woman is to move her to another job where this is not an objection for her, because you have to follow the law, and the law is these licenses have to be issued,” Christie said on “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday morning. “If she has a religious objection we should move her to another job inside the government.”
And if she refused to switch positions?
“Then there’s going to be an issue, but I think we should give her an option to do another job where her religious concerns are not going to be put into the cross hairs on this. So we have to have respect for people, but the government also has to function,” he said.
Albeit a hypothetical situation, Christie would have trouble with his alternative proposal because clerks are elected in Kentucky.
Christie’s comments come hours before Republican rival Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, is set to visit Davis in jail and hold a rally protesting her confinement. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is also scheduled to visit Davis Tuesday, shortly before Huckabee’s visit.
“Frankly, I don’t think you should grandstand on this stuff,” Christie said of 2016 candidates planning to visit Davis.
Davis, who’s been behind bars since last Thursday, has asked Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a fellow Democrat, to release her from jail. One of her lawyers told CNN that, while her imprisonment was appealed, she was reading the Bible in jail and “exudes gentleness and peace.”