Judge Sets Federal Gay Marriage Case for Jan 2010
It’s wrong alright…
But not necessarily for that reason.
There are two words in the title that reinforce my belief that America is headed in the wrong direction. Unlike the majority of Say Anything, as well as the majority of Americans, neither happen to be the words “gay”, or “marriage”.
Word number one: Judge
This word should alarm anybody who respects the separation of powers between Congress and the Judiciary. Placing the legality of gay marriage before the bench, to be decided on ultimately by a supreme court of nine individuals robs the average American of their say on the issue. We live in a representative democracy for a reason.
There will be no consensus on gay marriage. Not now, not ever, so why are we attempting to establish a constitutional consensus on it? Traditionally speaking, the Judiciary has always had the weakest role of the three powers, but in recent years, it’s become more and more commonplace to settle issues with a ruling, as opposed to proper legislature. Regardless of how I feel about the issue, I recognize that this isn’t the proper battleground.
Word number two: Federal
This one is the key issue I have with the whole ordeal. Arguably the greatest component of our current governance is Federalism; The idea that certain powers are relegated to the national government, while the rest (and “the rest” is the key phrase here) are left to the states. This means that issues expressly detailed in the Constitution are the fed’s job.
Everything else? That’s where America should shine triumphant. We don’t have to agree on every issue as a nation. Everything from issues of state taxation and business regulations to homosexual unions and skateboarding ordinances should be local. Constituents will vote with their feet, and go where they feel they’re best represented.
Because isn’t that what America should be all about? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
We’ve all got different interpretations of those three words, but I’d like to think that we can all agree that there’s room somewhere in this country for most of our variations on the theme.
