The Marriage Trial

As the trial addressing the challenge to Proposition 8 takes place in San Francisco, the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, two same sex couples, are Ted Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States and prominent DC attorney, David Boies.  They are attempting to persuade a federal judge to invalidate California's law, passed by the people, defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman. Mr. Olsen also makes his case to the readers of Newsweek in a recent cover story.

On page 49 of the magazine, Mr. Olson acknowledges that: "It is true that marriage in this nation traditionally has been regarded as a relationship exclusively between a man and a woman, and many of the nation's multiple religions define marriage in precisely these terms."

But, in what seems to be a cavalier dismissal of the relevance of such religious beliefs, he goes on to ask, "...what are the justifications for California's decision on Proposition 8 to withdraw access to the institution of marriage for some of its citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation?" Tradition  the fact that marriage between one man and one woman has been the norm for millennia, is not a good reason to keep it, Olson writes. That it's the best venue for procreation and to raise children is trumped by the parties' right to pursue "happiness," he says. Later in the article he states, "...while our constitution guarantees the freedom to exercise our individual religious convictions, it equally prohibits us from forcing our beliefs on others."

I find this dismissal of Christian values and their influence on our laws shocking especially coming from a prominent conservative.  Christians, of all people, should be encouraged to bring their beliefs to bear in America because they are the beliefs that have been the foundation of a strong nation. Marriage and enduring families make big government less necessary. Christians do not comprise all of the people in America,but are the vast majority.  For Christian beliefs to be dismissed in this way by Ted Olson or any thinking person, especially when they concern an institution, marriage, that predates our Constitution and laws, is simply wrong....and dangerous.

Canadians have learned that homosexual demands,like the ones being debated right now in a court in San Francisco, when ensconced in a culture, encroach on Christians' ability to live out and articulate their faith. We must push back at the ballot box and in court. God expects believers to influence culture and when we see sinful behavior on the part of homosexuals becoming institutionalized to the point where Christians begin to lose their freedom to speak the truth about it,we'd better get worried, and get involved to stop it.

Romans 13 and other Bible passages tell us government exists for our good.  And, like Paul, we are to use government, to the fullest, to protect our rights and institutions...while we still have them.