You asked some people about the overturned law that the people of California passed on gay marriage. Most of the people stated that government should not be allowed into our bedrooms. I agree. However this is not about gay marriage, it is about the right of the states to pass laws that the federal government does not have the right to do by the constitution. In this case the people of the state of California voted to keep the current legal definition of marriage as it is (also upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1878). The federal government by way of a few judges told the people of California that they cannot run their own state. I have a real problem with this. The framers and the founders of this country did all they could to give the states the right to govern in detail; this right was not given to the federal government. So to conclude this letter I think we should be asking what is really wrong here, the people or the rule of the federal government and power hungry judges.
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.
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Sounds like someone is butthurt about a ruling that didn’t go their way. In this case, the people are wrong. The majority do not have the right to hold tyranny over the minority. There is absolutely no logical reason to keep gay marriage banned throughout the United States. The ban is an obvious violation of the 14th Amendment. Now, the states have their own rights, however, the federal government still has the final say on what they can or cannot do.
The citizens of any state can pass any law they like. But when that law violates a constitutional right, such as equal protection (US Constitution, 14th Amendment, section 1, last clause), it matters not whether 52% of the populace approved it or 92%. A court, federal or state, will strike that law down. California’s Prop8 violated equal protection so it got tossed, not by a power hungry judiciary, but by jurists tasked with protecting minority rights from majority steam-rolling. Checks and balances at work. Legislatively enacted? Same result.
Let’s put this in perspective. First and foremost this “law” as it were was only passed because the Mormon church found it necessary to pour millions of dollars into the state in order to push their own distorted views on the public. So it was unfair from the beginning. And hey, Morman church, great effort but look what that got you.
Secondly, this is a civil rights issue. This is NOT a religious issue and never has been. Two loving people can, and deserve, the right to be married regardless of their orientation. The religious groups want to make this into an assault on their bigoted and rather outdated beliefs but the reality is that you do not need a church to get married. Millions of people get married everyday without preachers or churches.
While the rest of the world moves on and accepts civility, certain religious groups continue to do their loving work by spreading hate, discrimination, and bigotry. Lovely, huh?
Fortunately for us civil minded, moral and loving folks – the majority is on our side.