Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), has criticized an appeals court's
ruling striking down gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin.
On Thursday, a 3-judge panel of the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago unanimously upheld a
lower court ruling declaring the bans invalid.
The decision came on the heels of a
federal judge declaring Louisiana's ban constitutional.
Judge Richard Posner, a Ronald Reagan
appointee, wrote the ruling for the Seventh Court. In it, he
admonished the states for their claim that the bans serve the purpose
of encouraging responsible procreation among heterosexuals, which in
turn benefits children and society, while neglecting to offer the
same benefits to the children being raised by gay and lesbian
couples.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, on
the hand, said the state had a right to define marriage, saying the
state's ban “is reasonably anchored to the democratic process.”
In a blog post titled A Major
Victory, Brown praised Feldman's decision as “lucid” and
criticized Posner's ruling as “ideologically-driven” and “crazy.”
“Feldman's decision is a far cry from
Posner's, as the former looks carefully at the cases with binding
precedent and reasons from the Constitution and rational analysis of
facts; whereas the latter is a shameful display of animus and
hostility toward anyone who dares agree with nearly all of human
civilization throughout all of history and throughout most of the
world today that there's something special about the conjugal union
of husband and wife.”
“Indeed, the craziest moments of
Posner's decision are not merely ludicrous and poorly reasoned,
they're scandalously offensive.”
“For example, he insinuates that the
people of Indiana and Wisconsin – whose marriage laws his decision
strikes down – were acting against children's welfare by
instantiating in law the ideal that kids have both a mother and a
father!”
“Marriage Supporter, you should be
outraged, as I am, that the deeply held beliefs of millions of
Americans like us can be subjected to such calumny by high-level
judiciary official in our land. We should be disgusted to find the
votes of millions of Americans to protect marriage and the interests
of children in having a mom and a dad compared libelously to
something as grotesque as cannibalism!”
“But, in light of this insidious
attack, we should also be grateful and all the more thrilled for the
cool-headed common sense of judges like Martin Feldman whose decision
is like a breath of fresh air let into a dank and stale cellar.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is
expected in the fall to review a lower court's decision striking down
Texas' ban, providing an opportunity to indirectly overrule – or
uphold – Feldman's ruling, as Louisiana and Texas are located in
the same circuit.