Marriage Vow: Don't Let Falwell And Company Amend The Constitution
Religious Right organizations apparently don't think much of the U.S. Constitution.They keep proposing amendments to that venerable document. Over the years, Religious Right groups have advocated amendments allowing state-sponsored prayer in public schools, banning abortion and permitting government bodies to display sectarian symbols.
In fact, it seems that every time a court issues a ruling the Religious Right doesn't like, it begins agitating, and soon its congressional allies have put forth another constitutional amendment.
The latest amendment to come down the pike would ban same-sex marriage. This became the Religious Right's number one cause after the Massachusetts Supreme judicial Court ruled last November that the state's ban on same-sex marriages violates the Massachusetts Constitution.
People can and do disagree about the subject of same-sex marriage. But there should be no disagreement about amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. It's a bad idea that should never see the light of day.
Constitutional amendments should always be subjected to a high degree of scrutiny. The Constitution is our founding document; the Bill of Rights is our guarantee of freedom. We should not alter these documents on a whim.
The Federal Marriage Amendment is an especially bad idea because it would reduce our freedoms, not expand them, and allow the government to pick and choose among competing religious doctrines. Some religious groups recognize same-sex marriage, and some do not. Why should the perspective of certain religious groups be elevated over others and enshrined in the Constitution?
At the end of the day, the drive for the marriage amendment represents nothing less than an effort by large and powerful religious movements to make their traditions' views on marriage the law for all to follow.
Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the nation's largest Protestant group, have joined forces with other conservative denominations and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to demand the amendment. James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and their Religious Right cohorts back the SBC and the bishops.
Continue in next time %)
posted by Andrew Holmes @ 7:07 PM
0 comments
