I have been reading comments around the internet regarding the SCOTUS Gay Marriage ruling since it was announced. Some comments come from friends of mine, and some don't. Some comments imply that this is a struggle for the civil rights of the LBGT community by claiming gay marriage is protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Some comments imply that this is an attack on religious liberties, also protected by the US Constitution in the 1st Amendment. Of course there are some comments that are obviously driven completely by emotions and have no logical or common sense foundation. Whichever side you agree with in this debate, your opinion does not make you racist, bigoted, evil or any other derogatory term that can be applied to your beliefs. Racism and bigotry are either taught or they are learned responses to life experiences. For example, an African American child isn't born in fear of a Confederate flag. The child is either taught to fear it and hate it, or the emotions are created in response to experiences the child has throughout his or her life. The flag itself is no more racist than the white sheet is before it is turned into a KKK uniform. The only way an object can be racist is if it is used in such a way as to promote racism. So, if we can put all racism, bigotry and hate aside, here are my views on homosexuality and gay marriage.
The last straw for me has been the news and comments surrounding the event in Kentucky where a county clerk, Kim Davis, made a decision not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples by claiming it to be against her religious beliefs. The comments have been numerous both in her favor and furiously against her actions and against her personally. Kim Davis has been arrested; however, she was not jailed because her refusal to issue gay marriage licenses was against the law. She was arrested because a Judge ordered her to issue marriage licenses and she refused. She was jailed for contempt. Let's be perfectly clear here: There is NO law, Federal or otherwise, that says a county clerk must issue marriage licenses to gay couples requesting them. Everything related to gay marriage hinges solely on an opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States. Let's discuss the decision made by SCOTUS.
I think most people who agree with the SCOTUS opinion on gay marriage also think an individual's religious liberty should NOT be considered when making decisions regarding gay marriage. They are most likely the same people who applaud Kim Davis being arrested. Unfortunately, they all seem to be missing the glaring and most simple point of all of this. This is not whether homosexuality is right or wrong. This also isn't about whether Christianity and its beliefs are right or wrong. This is fundamentally about the rule of law--the "law of the land"--the intent of the Bill of Rights, which is to limit the powers of the federal government over the people of the United States. Ours is a country with a Republican style of government. We are a representative government where the people should have the final say in the laws governing this country through it's representatives in Congress. In today's society, it seems as though we are governed solely in regards to the SCOTUS interpretation of how the 14th Amendment can be applied to any case before it. How is it that so few realize how disastrous this is for the future of our country? How can it be considered acceptable that a few men and women, so obviously guided by their own political views, emotions and public opinion, are now supplanting the elected officials voted into office?
In the simplest terms, if a "right" is not provided for by the first nine amendments to the Constitution, then the power to determine such rights should be up to "the States respectively, or to the people". Amendments that followed the first ten amendments were used to clarify the Articles of the Constitution. At least this was the case until introduction of the 14th Amendment. This Amendment was written, passed and ratified by the States to ensure that slaves freed by the 13th Amendment were offered the same rights as any other citizen of the United States. This one Amendment is the foundation for the divisiveness that exists between all diverse people in this great country. The intent of this Amendment has been perverted by SCOTUS over and over as they contradict themselves through their mis-interpretation of it. It is the fault of the drafters of this Amendment by not making it as absolutely specific as they possibly could while preserving the future rights of all people and the States respectively. As such, this single Amendment to the Constitution, whether intentional or not, has given the Supreme Court ultimate and overriding power over every citizen of this country while at the same time abridging freedoms provided by the Bill of Rights.
There is no language within the 14th amendment discussing homosexuality or the right to practice it; no language defining marriage or providing it as a right offered to every citizen in the US; no language specifically defining the naturalization of immigrants or their children (naturalization is specifically provided as an enumerated power to Congress in Section 8 of Article 1); no language providing for a right to privacy; no language providing for abortion rights; rather, it is a vaguely written amendment allowing for total power by the judicial branch of government where laws are created by the majority opinion of 9 activist judges rather than a two-thirds majority of Congress as is actually the written law of the land--The United States Constitution.
So, if you truly set aside your emotional ties to the debate, any feelings driven by racism, bigotry or hate or any feelings driven by religious beliefs. If you follow the rule of law as found in the US Constitution, it should be clear that any decisions related to the legality of homosexual marriage should be decided by the people of the United States via the only way all citizens can truly be heard--the ballot box.
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