Free Republic

It was a shocking—yet not unexpected—decision by the Supreme Court. Speaking for the 5-4 majority, Justice Kennedy wrote that laws barring same-sex “marriage” infer “that the disadvantage imposed is born of animosity toward the class of persons affected.” Thus—by the stroke of a pen—the Court struck down state laws banning gay “marriage.” Okay, it hasn’t happened—yet. But if the words sound familiar, it’s because they come from Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in Romer v. Evans. That’s the ruling in which the Court overturned a democratically enacted Colorado law barring special civil rights protections based on sexual orientation. While the Supremes...

Al Gore and his wife Tipper, who once raged against provocative lyrics in popular music, have co-authored a book, Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family, that devalues traditional family life and promotes same-sex marriage. The volume—published with a companion photo album, The Spirit of Family—ranked a reassuring 4,041st in sales at Amazon.com on December 5. The Gores conclude that historian Tamara Hareven "summed it up eloquently when she told us, ‘The American family is not breaking down . . . it’s undergoing major changes, and pluralism has become a very important aspect of it." The Gores...