Three Reasons It Isn't Over
by Joseph Backholm
The Supreme Court has spoken.
It
wasn't a surprise, but it was disappointing. In a 5-4 decision, the
Court created an oven-fresh, new right to marry someone of the same
gender. The Court provided no limiting principle that would prevent
their logic from extending to other kinds of relationships whose
profession of love is not currently acknowledged with a marriage
license.
The decision was a setback for the rule of law.
The
Constitution says as much about marriage as it does about the
Seahawks. When the Constitution is silent on an issue, then that issue
should be resolved by the legislative branch of government. The states
(or Congress) should have been allowed to continue wrestling with this
issue and reaching a resolution based on the input of the people through
their elected representatives.
But
as it turns out, the voices of 51 million people from thirty-one states
who voted for laws defining marriage as a relationship between a man
and a woman were overruled by five, unelected lawyers in Washington, DC.
For
a number of people, the response to the Court's decision was relief.
Sentiments like, "At least it's over!!" and "Can we please stop talking
about gay marriage now?"
Unfortunately,
the conflict between the sexual revolution and the nation's faith-based
people and institutions may only intensify in the coming months and
years. Here's why.
1. The LGBT political leadership doesn't want to coexist:
An entire industry was built to accomplish what happened on Friday.
That industry is not going to suddenly declare itself obsolete. You
don't raise money by declaring victory. Now that "full equality under
the law" has been accomplished, there will be another crisis requiring
their attention, and another, and another...
3. Now it's easier to call you a racist, legally speaking:
The 14th Amendment was written to stop the government from treating
people differently because of their race. Now that the Supreme Court has
discovered a new right to marry someone of the same gender in the 14th
amendment, it's easier to argue that those who don't celebrate
homosexuality are the same as racists. As a result, the ability to
remove tax-exempt status, cut off federal funding to religious
universities, and otherwise marginalize people who believe in natural
marriage became easier.
Marriage has been redefined most recently, but it may not be the last word to be redefined.
Soon,
"religious freedom" may mean only the freedom to believe what you want
in your head and maybe talk about it at church or at home. You may need a
license though. In the same way, "civil rights" may soon be redefined
so that a person can be forced to celebrate an event they disagree with
but not free to say something "offensive". After all, that's "hate
speech."
The world is changing quickly, but the truth about marriage remains.
And the need for courage only grows.
So you stayed out of the debate about marriage because you didn't feel like telling someone else how to live their life. Great.
But what will you do when they start telling you how to live yours?
Will you surrender all your freedom in an effort to avoid being misunderstood? Let's hope not.
But we're going to find out, because, despite what we all wish, this is far from over.
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