Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional. We Could Have Told Them That…
The Christian Right likes to talk about values: family values, Christian values, good old, down home American values, etc.
Not too sure what they actually mean by any of that. But for those of us who value crazy things like equal rights and the separation of church and state, the Aug 4th decision by the San Fransisco federal judge to overturn California’s gay marriage ban is a great victory.
According to the ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker, the gay marriage ban “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.” I also enjoyed the part where he pointed out, “The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples.”
Yes. Exactly. Music to our ears. Funny what can happen when the facts are laid out in a fair and straight forward manner, and proponents of Prop 8 can’t rely on absurd TV commercials to scare the public into voting their way.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Prop 8 supporters don’t have much more to go on besides propaganda, misinformation and scare tactics. They know this, which is why they continuously harp on the fact that Prop 8 was passed by popular vote. Expect to hear a lot of quotes like the following from folks like Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage: ”With a stroke of his pen, Judge Walker has overruled the votes and values of 7 million Californians who voted for marriage as one man and one woman.”
Here’s the thing, Mr. Brown. If a gay marriage ban is unconstitutional, it doesn’t matter if everyone in America voted for it. You can’t simply vote something unconstitutional into law because popular opinion rules that way. You’ve got some funny views of democracy, sir.
And if the ban is constitutional, there must be some reasoning behind it, outside of person’s religious views. Obviously, we cannot declare gay marriage illegal because Christians say that this is what God wants. Even a very lax interpretation of the separation of church and state cannot allow for this.
So Prop 8 supporters, put up or shut up. Don’t talk about the popular vote. Don’t talk about the bible. Don’t use empty platitudes. Tell us why we Americans, regardless of our religious views, should take a stand against gay marriage. What is it about the personal lives of two committed homosexual adults that will so strongly affect the rest of our country? If you’re going to say something like, “We have to defend the traditional definition of marriage,” explain to me why this should be important to us. In other words, why it’s not just a platitude.
If you’ve got a strong case, feel free to state it below. Have at it, but remember–be specific!
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