Today, the Supreme Court of the
United States declared:
free to marry.”
In another tortured five-four
ruling, authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy (a wavering California Republican
who has deliberately placed himself as a swing justice), the court invalidated
same-sex marriage bans nationwide, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment
prohibits the states from discriminating against individuals who live out
homosexual conduct, and want to culminate their behaviors with state-sponsored
marriage.
enough, apparently. At least, that’s
what Ellen DeGeneres told US Senator (then Presidential candidate) John McCain.
upon the United States. Or has it? Even though the Supreme Court relied on
specious legal arguments to permit abortion through
their ruling in Roe v. Wade, the fight to protect life has not
ended. Pro-life
defenders have pushed back, informing people about the precious gift of
life which begins at conception: a biological fact, not a moral nicety or a
religious sentiment.
for religious liberty panic, a little perspective is needed.
authority on anything. Never has been, never will be. The Supremes have made
supreme errors before, have overturned themselves, and sometimes have endured
the low-key shame of being ignored altogether.
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| Roger Taney: Judicial Tyranny at its worst |
Justice Roger Taney, himself a slave owner and hardly a disinterested party in
the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, ruled
that “negroes are a subordinate class of human beings with no rights that a
white man is bound to respect.” Today, we have a black President, and
African-Americans in all levels of public office and private commerce.
were acceptable, thus justifying segregation. They overturned themselves fifty
years later.
Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, Japanese-Americans were subject to
discriminatory curfews, and 112,000 were placed into internment camps for fear
that they posed an internal threat to the country. In 1942, the Supreme Court
affirmed Roosevelt’s discriminatory order in Korematsu v. United States. Forty years later, Republican
Presidents Reagan and Bush I issued an apology and reparations to those
Americans.
was never intended to rival let alone overturn the other federal branches.
Papers, Alexander Hamilton deemed
the judicial branch to be the weakest of the “co-equal” branches. The
Framers had never intended the court system to wield the wild authority to
determine which laws are and are not constitutional, or to redefine culture or
natural law.
John Marshall, expanded the power of the Court by denying itself a power, in
granting a writ of mandamus to a frustrated judicial appointee named William
Marbury.
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| Supreme Court of the United States |
judicial review, never did he expect the Court to redefine institutions as
basic, as fundamental as marriage. SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Cherokee
Nation, that they did not have to leave their homes. President Andrew Jackson
snidely retorted: “Justice Marshall has made his ruling. Let him enforce it!” Granted,
not the best example, but the principle remains the same: The Court is not the
final authority nor enforcer of any doctrine.
Scott decision, what occurred and what followed can offer conservatives
hope. Obviously, the Court ignored the Declaration of Independence:
created equal, and they are endorsed by their Creator certain unalienable
rights.”
slave-owner, yet his status does not undermine the eternal condition that all
men are created equal, regardless of their race or sex. The roots of our
country supersede anything issued by a court.
formed to combat this judicial tyranny, which some of the Justices had resisted
in dissenting opinions. Republicans also unitedto combat polygamy, to ensure
the definition of marriage between one man and one woman. Yes, indeed.
War ensued over the slavery issue, among other cultural and political concerns,
followed by three Constitutional Amendments, which granted former slaves
freedom, citizenship, then the vote.
country, there is the Constitution, and the Amendment process.
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| Scott Walker: "Time for a Constitutional Amendment" |
Fast forward to Election 2016, and already one potential GOP Presidential
contender, Scott
Walker, has announced the need for a Constitutional Amendment to protect state
sovereignty to define marriage. Declared
candidate Bobby Jindal went further: “Let’s just get rid of the Supreme
Court!” Perhaps an extreme view from the Louisiana governor, but the recognized
principle remains: the Court is not the final authority.
Conservatives have embraced wins from SCOTUS, and shouldered
losses. They have also won on other fronts. The SCOTUS setback over marriage does
not mean the fight is over.
The Supreme Court is not the final authority. We the People
are.