Tom Riner (born October 7, 1946) is an American politician and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

who served as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the 41st District from 1982 until 2017. He was defeated by

Attica Scott Attica Woodson Scott (born January 30, 1972) is an American politician serving as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 41st district. Early life and education Scott was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended duPont Ma ...

in the 2016 Democratic primary for the seat. ''The New York Times'' once wrote regarding Tom's stance of political discourse, "He looks for God everywhere, and in places he does not find him, he tries to put him there."

Kentucky House of Representatives

Riner connected Rowan County

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Kim Davis Kimberly Jean Davis (; born September 17, 1965) is a former county clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, who gained international attention in August 2015 when she defied a U.S. federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. ...

, then under prosecution for defying a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

, with

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

legal team

Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who a ...

. An anti- revenge porn bill sponsored by Riner and fellow Democrat Joni Jenkins passed the Kentucky House unanimously.

Disputed statute

In 2006, Riner sponsored a Kentucky law which could subject a staff member of Kentucky Homeland Security to a Class A Misdemeanor (carrying a 12-month prison sentence) if they fail to affirm the existence of an almighty God. The Kentucky Supreme Court has refused to review the constitutionality of the law, though a dissenting opinion was recorded by Judge Ann O'Malley, stating that while the organization "American Atheists lacked standing based on its claim for damages," statute KRS 39A.285 nonetheless "places an affirmative duty to rely on Almighty God for the protection of the Commonwealth," which would put it in contention with the

Lemon Test ''Lemon v. Kurtzman'', 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.. The court ruled in an 8–0 decision that Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented through David Kurtz ...

. The bill became law in 2008. American Atheists have asked the US Supreme court to review the constitutionality of the law.

Personal life

Tom Riner and his wife, former State Representative Claudia Riner, live in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riner, Tom 1946 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Centre College alumni 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians