Posted on 06/30/2015 4:37:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
“I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools. By imposing its own views on the entire country, the majority facilitates the marginalization of the many Americans who have traditional ideas.” – Justice Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court decision that forced gay marriage on the country
The dilemma Christians and conservatives face after the Supreme Court's made-up-from-whole-cloth-instead-of-the-Constitution ruling on gay marriage is one that Machiavelli described over 500 years ago.
“And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been treated or recognized at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. The same thing occurs in affairs of state; for by recognizing from afar the diseases that are spreading in the state (which is a gift given only to a prudent ruler), they can be cured quickly; but when they are not recognized and are left to grow to the extent that everyone recognizes them, there is no longer any cure.”
Too many conservatives have refused stand up on social issues and have thus allowed liberals to make their case in a vacuum. Too many churches have decided they’d rather keep their heads down than stand up for Christian beliefs. Too many Republicans have played by Marquis of Queensbury rules when it comes to Supreme Court justices while Democrats have played to win. You’ll note that liberal judges always, always, always vote liberally on key issues, regardless of the law, while some “conservative” justices like John Roberts and Anthony “Captain Coin Flip” Kennedy move to the left, even if they have to defy the Constitution to do it.
Of course, all of that is water under the bridge and the majority of states in the country, which didn’t vote for gay marriage, have had it thrust upon them unwillingly by tyrants in black robes.
As a response to this, some Republicans have called for term limits for the Supreme Court. Ted Cruz has called for justices to have to face the voters every 8 years. Scott Walker has called for a constitutional amendment to roll back the Supreme Court’s decision.
The problem with all these proposals, well-meaning though they may be, is that they’re really nothing more than futile gestures designed to send the right signals to conservatives. While there’s certainly something to be said for showing the conservative base you’re on its side, at the end of the day it doesn’t change anything for the better.
For example, the three longest serving Supreme Court Justices are Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. That’s two conservative originalists and a coin-flip. What if they were term-limited out now while Obama is President? How would that make the Supreme Court hew more closely to the Constitution?
As to the Supreme Court justices facing the voters, do we really want Supreme Court justices to start putting getting elected ahead of adhering to the Constitution? That might work on the local level to help get rid of judges who are soft on crime, but it seems doubtful that it would lead to a better Supreme Court.
As to the suggestion that we should put a Federal Marriage Amendment in place, that’s trying to close the barn door after the horse has already run away. Orrin Hatch is generally useless as a senator, but back in 2004 he actually had a pretty good proposal for an Amendment to Protect Traditional Marriage.
“We are therefore pleased to learn that Sen. Orrin Hatch is introducing his own constitutional amendment. His version reads as follows: 'Civil marriage shall be defined in each state by the legislature or the citizens thereof. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to require that marriage or its benefits be extended to any union other than that of a man and a woman.' This amendment would not only clearly allow civil unions to be enacted by legislatures; it would even allow legislatures to enact full-fledged same-sex marriage. But it would bar federal or state courts from imposing either."
Could that have passed in 2004 when even Democrats were pretending to oppose gay marriage? It’s entirely possible, but Republicans have grown so timid, afraid of social issues and generally scared to rock the boat that they never even tried. Today, when Democrats are as supportive of gay marriage as abortion, disarming Americans, and raising taxes, there’s not a chance.
So, if those proposals are largely posturing, what should we be doing?
We should be pushing for religious freedom acts in all 50 states. Thirty one states currently have at least SOME RELIGIOUS PROTECTIONS. That needs to become an issue in EVERY state because this ruling means the Left is about to start engaging in open warfare on Christians.
They’re going to go after the tax status of Christian churches. They’re going to try to get Christians fired from their jobs. They’re going to try to censor Christians at best and define parts of Christian doctrine as hate speech at worst. They’re going to try to use the government to put Christians who refuse to sin by working on gay marriages out of business.
Since when do Christians lose their First Amendment rights if they start a business? Since when does “freedom of religion” only apply as long as you don’t own a bakery or take wedding photos? This is a country founded on religious freedom and those rights don’t cease the moment someone walks out of the church doors.
We need these laws to keep Christians from being persecuted. The anti-Christian Left can get awfully loud, but polls consistently show that the American people agree by large margins that Christians shouldn’t be legally penalized for refusing to cater gay weddings.
The issue presents a nice contrast. We’re the people who support Christians. They’re the people who hate Christians. We believe in religious freedom. They’re the people who don’t believe in religious freedom. We’re protecting the rights of Christians. They’re the ones who want to take away the rights of Christians. They don’t have any qualms about lying to claim that we hate gay Americans; so why can’t we tell the truth about the raw hatred for Christians that’s driving so many liberals to try to crush religious freedom?
Instead of pushing pie-in-the-sky policies that aren’t ever going to accomplish anything, conservatives should embrace these popular laws that can defend the First Amendment rights of the roughly 70% of Americans who refer to themselves as Christians. We lost one battle, but unless we make this a hill to die on, we’ll lose the war and Christians will become second class citizens in our own country.
States ALSO enacted constitutional amendments and/or statutes to enshrine TRUE marriage as the law of the land. The Fedzilla didn’t care....it just crushed them.
How would these be any different?
Don't we already have the First Amendment? Yes! Do we use the First Amendment? No!
Humble suggestions:
1. Individuals can take a stand in their daily lives. 5 tyrants can no more decide what marriage is than I can decide what color the sky is. At home teaching our children, at work with colleagues, in conversation, whatever context, we refuse to accept the legitimacy of these arrangements. Don’t be intimidated by the fascists.
2. On a public level, the Republican Party is largely useless. Maybe this is pie in the sky, but traditional denominations should band together for an initiative to teach what marriage is, and the importance of religious freedom. Catholics, evangelicals, baptists, etc. Put aside theological differences for this, pool about 5 billion dollars and launch a coordinated, multi-year campaign. Flood the airwaves with well produced commercials demonstrating the need for a father and mother. Educate on religious freedom. Create a fund that persecuted Christians can tap into to pay government fines, etc.
I would pretty much agree...the Republican Party is mostly a lobbyist organization, and of very little use to most people.
the traditional denominations have been infiltrated and are left wing entities
Words on paper backed up by nothing. Same as the current religious freedom words paper.
True. So the States should return the favor with a Convention of States with proposed Amendments to crush the Fedzilla lawlessness.
Most of the States are conservative. The Federales currently do not fear the States. The States are nothing to them but an afterthough, if that. Can you imagine the fear that a meeting of the States to propose Amendments to the Constitution would instill in Washington D.C.?
Cordially,
They wouldn’t, the feds currently trump state law. Revisions need to be done at the highest federal level, which would be the US Constitution.
The bigger problem is getting our elected officials to honor their oaths of office and actually defend that document. All the changes in the Constitution are worthless if no one pays any attention.
There needs to be some form of enforcement built into defending the Constitution.
I’m am for doing whatever is necessary to protect religious freedom. But among those we’ll have to fight will be big business and the chambers of commerce. Here is what is happening in my part of Indiana. When it all hit the fan a while back over the Religious Freedom Protection Act, and there were talks of boycotts of Indiana, the local chamber of commerce printed up signs saying “Everyone is Welcome Here” and all businesses in town have them on their windows — even though pretty much none of those businesses would ever be faced with the possibility of having to turn down a gay wedding. That law is a dead letter, and they are still running scared. My town and some neighboring towns have some major festivals this summer. A couple of weeks ago, several local chambers of commerce, still citing the Religious Freedom Act, want business owners to come to the festivals and personally greet visitors, so all will know they are welcome here.
Interestingly enough, no one from the chamber uttered a peep about the shameful treatment the pizzeria owners across the state in Walkerton got. Not a peep. That leads me to believe that they don’t give a damn what happens in the state or the country as long as their dough keeps rolling in.
On the other hand, you can’t walk two blocks in my town without passing some kind of church, most of them Catholic, but there is an LCMS congregation and a Nazarene congregation and an independent Baptist congregation — the kind of churches that will stand against having to perform homosexual marriages. Maybe the churches should get together and inform the chamber that unless they get some tangible support, they will encourage their members to take their business to Illinois. It’s only a mile away.
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