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To: Huck

Yes, things change. And some things are worth preserving. Now Fred had his panties in a wad over term limits and tried mightily to get that passed as a constitutional amendment. If the founders wanted term limits, they would have put them in. Willing to tell states they have to have term limits for congresscritters is more important than the institution of marriage?

If there was even a hint of a movement for gay marriage in 1787, it would not be a problem today. It would have been dealt with.

So Fred would rather screw with the full faith and credit clause in the constitution than just get rid of the problem altogether.


16 posted on 11/05/2007 6:57:40 PM PST by pissant (Duncan Hunter: Warrior, Statesman, Conservative)
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To: pissant
Yes, things change. And some things are worth preserving.

That's right. Like our freedom, our system of government, our unity as a nation.

Willing to tell states they have to have term limits for congresscritters is more important than the institution of marriage?

Apples and oranges. Hell, not even. The founders never claimed to have created a perfect, unalterable system. They were quite sure it needed adjustments that they would not live to comprehend, as the system was put to the test in real life. That's why they created an amendment process.

When it comes to term limits, you are talking about representatives in the US Congress--the NATIONAL (federal) legislative body. It is therefore the shared domain of the federal gubmint and the states, and in the case of congressman, the people. So there is appropriately some interplay. Since the Constitution sets out the term lengths for those office holders, it doesn't seem far fetched to me to revisit the original terms with the benefit of 200+ years of experience.

In the case of a federal marriage amendment, you are taking an area where the national government has NO business, NO authority, NO jurisdiction, and lording over the states and the people. Granted, the amendment process requires state legislative review, but evenso, what's objectionable is widening the scope of the national government into social areas where it doesn't belong. It turns out that even something procedurally correct can be philosophically wrong. The proper roles of the various branches should be preserved.

The only area where the feds have a proper say in the matter is the area where Fred has staked his ground--that states should not be required to recognize the marriage laws of other states. I'm cool with that. Leave it to the people, pissant. It's called freedom. If there was even a hint of a movement for gay marriage in 1787, it would not be a problem today. It would have been dealt with. So Fred would rather screw with the full faith and credit clause in the constitution than just get rid of the problem altogether.

17 posted on 11/05/2007 7:15:20 PM PST by Huck (Soylent Green is People.)
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