A Senator's Remarks: Gay Marriage Trend Inevitable?

Utah’s senator Orrin Hatch did the traditional family no favor when he announced, ahead of the anticipated federal court ruling on gay marriage, that legalization of the practice was inevitable. The headline on our local paper today, May 29, read “Hatch: Gay Marriage will become law”.

Two reasons why he should have held his tongue come to mind. The first is based on the principle of hope: the belief we all need to carry with us that right will come to pass. We never give up hope. As the saying goes, it’s never over until the lady sings. We always give room for the belief that ultimately morality will prevail. I personally resent this hopeless philosophy.

The second, and more serious reason, is the message that this opinion sends to judges, who rule too often on what people expect and supposedly want, rather than on what is correct.

The replacement of our law with humanist ideas has been gradual but unrelenting for nearly two centuries. Originally the law, as judged by the Supreme Court, was determined by our founding document, the Constitution. The courts, however, no longer use the Constitution as the basis to validate law. That appropriate legal standard was abandoned long ago, much to our detriment and sadness.

Precedent law, which took the place of constitutional law, was the standard for a century or more. It was based on what other judges had ruled. All that was needed to begin the “kill” of a freedom or right was one judge and one ruling. That ruling then became the precedent for more. This was a serious “hit” on our rights and freedoms.

Today, we don’t even go by precedent law. Judges rule on political agendas and cronyism—according to the way society is going at the moment. What’s popular? What does it appear that everyone wants? How can I push the social agenda? That puts us at the mercy of every wretched, inappropriate, uneducaated whim of the public.

That’s why Senator Hatch’s remarks are so damaging—he is, in effect, telling judges what society expects. He’s saying, “Hey, we know we’re going to get this; we expect it.”

Senator Hatch is irresponsible and I am offended by his ”reality”. I’ve been angry at his progressive ideas for the last 20 years, and this one doesn’t help. He doesn’t represent me, or most of those I know and care about. He doesn’t represent my politics or morality or work ethic or integrity base or……I could go on.

 

He defends the judges who kicked Utah in the stomach over the marriage issue. Of course he does….he recommended both men for the judgeship. 

Hatch says the judges had to rule in favor of gay marriage because of the Supreme Court ruling. Did he miss something? The court ruled that marriage is a state matter. And that makes it OK for a federal judge to wipe out our state’s constitutional amendment? Where have you been, Senator?

We need our congressional representatives to stick with the state and its laws and rights. The judges who ruled against our amendment to protect the family were outside their boundaries and cannot cancel state amendments. That’s against the Constitution. Defend it, Hatch!

Checklist of Tools for Freedom

I’ve been rereading Alexis de Toqueville’s Democracy in America. It’s as powerful the second time as it was the first. I can only read a few pages at a time—the information is so powerful that I have to think a good bit on what I read. It’s like constitution vitamins on steroids!

Alexis de Tocqueville

		Democracy in America
Born	29 July 1805 Paris, France
Died	16 April 1859 (aged 53) Cannes, France
Era	19th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
Religion	Roman Catholicism
School	Liberalism
Main interests	History, Political philosophy

Richard Heffner, in his introduction to the work, identifies tools that free men can create to strengthen their “ancient freedoms”. His list is sobering. We can turn it into a check list.

 First, we need an independent press—a voice to appeal to the whole nation. Ours isn’t telling us the truth and twists the facts to favor the left. We come close to flunking this one, with only a few exceptions.

Second, we need decentralization to diminish authority—or divide it, as the founders stated it.  Not doing too well on this one, either. The federal government has become obese.

Third, we need local self-government. We still have some of that. We need to strengthen it and get involved.

Fourth, we need a sense of responsibility and self-importance—the good kind, that keeps us from drifting into the faceless crowd of apathy. We have a lot of apathy, but more people are waking up. I’m hopeful.

Fifth, we need a forthright legal profession and judiciary to uphold our other tools. We flunk that one hard, although there are honest men left in the judiciary.

Sixth, we need groups of citizens to guard always our freedoms and rights; who understand that their freedoms mean nothing if all of us don’t have those freedoms. I’m aware of many of those groups. We need to connect and unify our message. There are enough of us, but we are isolated and duplicating each other.

We can create these tools. There is a natural tendency to drift toward tyranny, but we don’t have to submit to that drift. We can fight, we can hold the line, we can regain ground we lost. We have lots of freedoms still left—enough to set us to work.

Let’s get on with it! Pick an area and lend your efforts. Many hands make light work………..  Pam

Liberal Logic #4