I’ve never claimed to be — nor will I ever make such a claim to be — the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.
At times I can be slow on the uptake. I occasionally lack intuition.
But the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing gay marriage makes crystal clear sense to me. It’s about the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. That is it — as near as I can tell.
Thus, the hysteria being expressed by Texas Republican leaders — along with other GOP honchos across this great country — is boggling my mind.
http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/26/cruz-perry-react-gay-marriage-ruling/
Of all the things I’ve heard from the opponents of the ruling, the most hysterical response belongs — and this is zero surprise to many of us — Sen. Ted Cruz, one of a thundering herd of candidates running for the GOP nomination in 2016.
As the Texas Tribune reports: “U.S.Ā Sen. Ted Cruz,Ā the first candidate for the GOP nomination for president, saidĀ the gay marriage ruling puts religious liberty ‘front and center in the target of the federal government.’ He called itĀ the ‘very definition of lawlessness. It is naked and unadulterated judicial activism.'”
Sheesh. Judicial activism? I wonder how he ranks the Citizens United ruling of 2010, which declared that corporations and rich fat cats could give unlimited amounts of campaign money, tilting the political playing field to the distinct advantage of those with the most money. Oh, but that’s another story.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says this, in part: “… nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
You know what that means to me? It means that states cannot deny someone the ability to marry whomever they love. It means to me that the U.S. Constitution, the one that all politicians swear to “protect and defend” is the law of the land. It means that all citizens shall not be denied “equal protection of the laws.”
Can it be any clearer than that?
The Supreme Court upheld the U.S. Constitution in a tightly worded majority opinion. It said that states cannot bar people from marrying someone if that someone happens to be of the same gender.
Judicial activism?
If I can understand what the court said and meant, why can’t The Cruz Missile? He’s the one with the Harvard law degree.
What endangers religion today is similar to what endangers basic democracy: People are walking away from the church, just as they fail to make an appearance at the ballot box.