Sickoflibs, you are right in principle but R2nd is also right. The reason is, America itself is now "completely confused." Not enough people today understand this distinction between federal powers and state powers. Indeed, I would say it'd take you all day to find anyone on a crowded street who knows the difference, or why the fedgov shouldn't touch "morality laws" and why the states may.
This is now a democracy and the demos is stupid. Probably irretrievably stupid.
The fedgov WILL take sides on sodomy, gay marriage, etc. Whether or not it should, is an issue lacking intelligent minds to examine and dispute it.
Our free republic exists only on the internet now.
Much of that is elected Republicans fault. You almost never see a Republican running for federal office make that case. Even Ron paul who seems to want to legalize almost everything fails to make that distinction most of the time.
When the federal partial birth abortion law was challenged in court based on a ‘right to abortion’ it was unsuccessful.
But Scalia and Thomas in a side opinion said that they would have considered a challenge to that federal law based on the law not being valid under the commerce clause, in fact the SCOTUS overturned a school district gun law on the same grounds.
Pushing for a big government powerful nanny state under a Republican SCOTUS and then whining when Michel Obama tells kids to eat healthy foods, or the feds fine/tax us to get us to buy Obama-care as a destruction of the constitution seems pretty hypocritical, not to mention a losing argument.
Want to oppose Obama?? Then be consistent.
All these Republicans running for POTUS like McCain talking about strict construction, are we all supposed to be wanting them to be lying to us? Are we supposed to all be as dishonest and as phony as Obama?
Very simple. Put justices on the courts to limit federal power.
Fight to defend DOMA publically. Make the case for traditional marriage. That is where RS should be focusing his efforts not stupid stuff like this.
Pushing for stuff like this is a great way to lose to Dems so they can repeal DOMA.
Eight years of GWB as POTUS hardly created a national climate to oppose DADT repeal, if anything the national climate changed dramatically in Democrats favor under Bush, and his was the perfect example of what RS is trying to sell/.
Look at how much trouble Clinton had trying to allow open gays in the military, and how easy obama had it after 8 years of GWB.