Christian conservative Gary Marx, the executive director of the
Faith and Freedom Coalition, claims in an op-ed that two gay marriage
cases effectively killed democracy.
In his Christian Post op-ed, Marx claims that the Supreme
Court rulings handed down in June have turned America into “a
nation where democracy is a mere visual effect used to spawn a
perception of self-rule that no longer ultimately exists.”
The decisions affected the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and
Proposition 8, which prevented federal agencies from recognizing the
legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples and the state of
California from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples,
respectively.
“If there was any doubt that the Supreme Court of the United
States continues to vastly overextend its powers in ways that are
dismantling American democracy and liberty, this summer's decisions
striking down a core component of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) and remanding California's Proposition 8 should settle the
question,” Marx wrote.
He
added that the rulings “will certainly further inspire the
efforts of traditional marriage activists.”
“The stakes in this current cause could not be much higher.
When a portion of the Supreme Court can flippantly toss aside the
political will of the people on issues that are rightfully empowered
to the people to decide, as this Court now has done, we no longer
reside in a nation guided by our people and laws. Rather, America
becomes a nation where democracy is a mere visual effect used to
spawn a perception of self-rule that no longer ultimately exists.”
“This is the bad news for liberty loving Americans. But the
Supreme Court's rulings bring good news too. Contrary to the image
depicted in mainstream media, the American people are awakening to
the reality of its elitist, progressive courts – and it is a
reality, as Justice Antonin Scalia properly argued in his dissenting
view on DOMA, that is 'jaw dropping.' In striking down the will of
elected Members of Congress and a President of the United States
(with DOMA) and the people of California (with its Proposition 8
ruling), the Supreme Court has now served notice to liberty advocates
that it is game on. That is a calling that the American people will
surely answer.”
“Additionally and importantly, the rulings in no way settle much
of anything as it relates to the future of traditional marriage.
DOMA may be no longer, but we at the Faith and Freedom Coalition
intend to work with its advocates and a growing grassroots movement
of Americans who support its principles, to ensure its basic tenets
are otherwise upheld. The rulings also will certainly further
inspire the efforts of traditional marriage activists, who now vastly
outnumber their opponents, to work to elect state and federal
legislators who will defend the treasured and traditional definition
of marriage while ensuring that the nation's courts no longer serve
to trump the political will and wisdom of its citizens.”