You can never be 100% sure how the Supreme Court might rule in any particular instance, but it is difficult to imagine any scenario where gay marriage does not become the law of the land this summer. Long quiet on the issue, the highest court in the land has chosen to take the matter up later this year. If they rule the way many expect, same-sex marriage will become a constitutionally-guaranteed right in all 50 states.
At least 11 Republicans in the Senate are making one last effort to protect the traditional definition of marriage. Ted Cruz of Texas has introduced the State Marriage Defense Act once again, and he is asking his fellow conservatives to pass the bill. If made law, the SMDA would leave the question of gay marriage to the states. The federal government would not have the power to overturn laws made by referendum and state legislature. It’s not so much a traditional marriage bill as it is a return-this-power-to-the-states bill, which could help it gain traction amongst conservatives.
In a press release, Cruz said, “I support traditional marriage and we should reject attempts by the Obama Administration to force same-sex marriage on all 50 states.”
According to many observers – and at least one Supreme Court Justice – the high court’s decision to allow Alabama same-sex marriages to continue until they’ve made their final ruling this summer has essentially given away the game. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his dissent against the decision, said that “the Court looks the other way as yet another Federal District Judge casts aside state laws…”
In another one of his famous softball interviews, this one with Buzzfeed, President Obama said, “My sense is that the Supreme Court is about to make a shift, one that I welcome, which is to recognize that — having hit a critical mass of states that have recognized same-sex marriage — it doesn’t make sense for us to now have this patchwork system.”
Washington’s Values are Not America’s
So once again, assuming that Cruz’s bill fails to gain traction and the Supreme Court rules as expected, we will cede authority to the federal government and weaken state’s rights. This is about something bigger than same-sex marriage. This is about whether Washington liberals have the right to decide what’s best for middle America. It’s about whether a cloistered group of career politicians on the coast should have absolute authority over Americans living in utterly disparate circumstances. And time and again, the answer seems to be “yes.” Yes they do.
The Founding Fathers were nearly superhuman in their ability to see into the future. Their Constitution laid out unbreakable human rights, but it did something even more important. It recognized that the federal government could not properly rule over everyone. Power should flow not to a centralized group of leaders; it should be preserved, whenever possible, at the smallest levels.
Unfortunately, we’ve turned away from that indispensable philosophy. 300 million+ Americans, living in wildly different circumstances with different priorities and different values, are all expected to take their marching orders from Washington D.C. And at a time when studies are proving that nothing is more important than marriage and family when it comes to strengthening the country, Washington is taking us in the opposite direction.
We should not be surprised when we also reap the opposite results.
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