November 7, 2014
In the
midst of all the hype over the recent election results, you may have missed a
very important ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
panel. The panel, in a 2-1 vote, upheld
laws in four states – Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee – which prohibited
gay marriage. This, of course, flies in
the face of more than twenty court decisions overturning such laws since the
Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last year. Gay marriage advocates, in light of SCOTUS
recently refusing to hear appeals by five states on the overturning of laws
prohibiting gay marriage, were crowing the issue was settled because of the clear
universal agreement among various federal judges ruling against gay marriage prohibitions. This decision by the 6th Circuit
Court suddenly, and dramatically, reverses that claim.
The two
Appeals Court judges who ruled to uphold the prohibitions in four states argued
that the voice of the people should be heard in making such laws. “Surely the people should receive some
deference in deciding when the time is ripe to move from one picture of
marriage to another,” wrote Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton. This same point was argued by Ohio Attorney
General Mike DeWine, who said he was “pleased the court agreed with our
arguments that important issues such as these should be determined through the
democratic process.”
This
sets up a situation where the Supreme Court may be forced to decide the issue
rather than simply allowing previous court decisions to stand. It also illuminates the chasm that exists in
our society regarding the issue of gay matrimony.
If SCOTUS
should decide to hear this matter, they will be forced to tackle critical Constitutional
issues with huge ramifications. One, in
particular, will be of immense interest to Christians. There is no way SCOTUS can ultimately avoid
being forced to weigh whether the so-called “right” to gay marriage overrides
the Constitutional right to the freedoms of religion and speech. If gay marriage can be shoved down our
throats as a “right,” then our right to object to that practice both in speech
and legislation is abrogated. The
implications of that are frightening, to
say the least. Freedom of religion and
freedom of speech have long been carefully guarded rights by the Courts. They have been very reluctant to infringe on
them in any way. A ruling forcing
acceptance of homosexual marriage would, in essence, strip Christians of their
right to object to such a practice. It
would also open the door to the government being allowed to interfere in other
areas of religious scruples, such as the role of women in the church.
A
second area of tremendous importance involves the right of the American people
to pass legislation reflective of their moral convictions on certain
matters. What has occurred over the last
year is basically a repudiation of that right by the Courts. In several cases, a single federal judge has
assumed the right, based on his or her interpretation of the Constitution, to
overturn the votes of millions of American citizens. It seems difficult not to view this as
judicial tyranny. The ruling of the 6th
U.S. Circuit panel clearly saw this issue as trumping, or at least competing,
with gay individuals “right” to marry.
Can the majority voice of the citizenry, heard in a lawful election, be
overturned, or should such laws be allowed to stand in recognition of the voice
of the people? Are we going to be a
nation where the voice of the people determines our course, or are we going to
become a country where men and women in black robes dictate, according to their
predilections, what is moral and what is not?
Again, this has huge implications for the future of our country.
I would
strongly urge you to be in prayer about this matter. An opportunity has presented itself to
reverse or at least slow down the savage attacks taking place against
traditional Judeo-Christian morals and values.
May God, in His infinite grace, grant us victory in this battle.
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