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Friday, June 26, 2015

A Constitutionalist's Treatise on Gay Marriage




The United States Supreme Court today in a landmark 5-4 decision ruled to strike down bans on Gay and Lesbian marriage throughout the country. This is very good for the LGBT community, and I thoroughly believe it the right of a person to love and spend their life with who they will. However, this is a very dark day for the Constitution of the United States.
The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution states unequivocally that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
In short: this amendment states that unless a power is specifically granted the US Federal Government (The Supreme Court included) or forbidden to the States (ex. coining their own money, issuing writs of attainder or creating ex post facto laws.) said power must remain with the Local, County and State governments. This Amendment lists no exception, and leaves no room for mistranslation and is beyond all contestation.
As such, any Legislative action or Judicial ruling on the matters of marriage MUST remain at the State level only.
The ruling today, while widely hailed as historic, egalitarian and benevolent, and which will no doubt benefit many and right a long-standing wrong: is flawed. This was a matter for Fifty Legislatures and Fifty Governors to decide and be held to by the populations of Fifty States.
The Constitution of the United States was dealt another blow today by a Supreme Court that is more activist than at any other time in history, by a President who bears no regard to the legality or lasting ramifications of his social agenda and a Congress without the courage to hold to their founding document. 
Love who you will, it's none of my business. It's also none of Washington D.C.'s business. And forcing any religious person, establishment or body to comply with something that is in direct contravention of their faith is illegal under the First Amendment which protects the freedom of religion.
The Republic is in mortal danger, because paraphrasing President Jefferson: The Government with the power to give you everything you want, has the power to take everything you have. I would welcome the State's agreeing to uphold Gay marriage without encroaching on religion, on that day I would celebrate. But not today.
Thank you for Reading.

Photo Credit By Fibonacci Blue [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Originally posted on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/constitutionalists-treatise-gay-marriage-matthew-holloway

1 comment:

  1. The decision was not about marriage bu about getting licenses to marry, and that is covered by the 14th Amendment, which does apply to the states. The solution is for states to stop licensing marriage. Licenses are not needed.

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