I Swear...

Monday, April 23, 2018 our City Clerk, Sandy Whelan (Sandy 2) was out-of-town on her vacation. Claude asked me to take minutes in her absence. I packed up my laptop and headed to City Hall with him for the 6pm monthly City Commission meeting for Sadieville. I took the agenda and typed it into my lap top. Sandy left with all these prepared for the meeting and at each one's spot on the tables. This gave me a nice shell to fill in as the meeting progressed.

At the end of the meeting it was time for the Swearing In of our new City Attorney Bill Willis and our new Chief of Police Bobby Bruner. 

Now, the interesting thing about this is the actual Oath of Office for Kentucky. It is the same for everyone. 

I shall never forget the first time Claude was sworn in as a City Commissioner. No one informed us of the interesting wording at the end of the Oath. By the time they got to that part reading and Claude repeating everyone was grinning because they knew what it said. As they finished, Claude and I understood what was so amusing. 

I have copied the Oath of Office below for Kentucky from Section 228 of the Kentucky Constitution. Please note this text was ratified on August 3, 1891 and revised September 28, 1981. It has not been amended since that time. Read the Oath and see if you can find what might be considered humorous today. 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of .... according to law; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God."

If you go to Bardstown, Kentucky you will find My Old Kentucky Home. This is the home Stephen Foster visited and was inspired to write the song based on it. The home was owned by a judge and leader in the community. He actually fought the last duel on that property and the other person died. After that, they put this wording to the Oath of Office and outlawed duels from that point forward. The Oath of Office has not changed and to this day we all swear we have not fought a duel or acted as a second in a duel. Now if that isn't interesting, I just don't know what you would find interesting.