By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League
A “travesty of justice,” a grave “misinterpretation of the United States Constitution,” and a “paternalistic” ruling that totally dismisses the will of the people — that’s how experts are describing the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to negate Proposition 8, the voter approved law ending same-sex unions in California.
In North Carolina, leaders of the campaign to pass a Marriage Protection Amendment are calling Tuesday’s ruling in San Francisco “a powerful reminder to voters that we must make sure activist judges cannot redefine marriage in our state.”
“We are not California, fortunately. However, our definition of marriage is vulnerable until we put it into our state constitution. That’s what the Marriage Protection Amendment will do,” said Tami Fitzgerald, Chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC, the pro-marriage coalition backing the MPA on the May ballot.
She said the ruling of the Ninth Court of Appeals, one of the most liberal courts in the nation, would have no bearing on the federal courts of North Carolina, but that it makes clear “the importance of enacting the Marriage Protection Amendment because that’s the only way to shield our state’s definition of marriage from being redefined by activist state judges.”
In essence, North Carolina is in the same situation right now that California was in four years ago, when the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s statue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman violated the state constitution. California voters then passed Proposition 8 just five months after the court-ordered same-sex unions became legal. The state Supreme Court upheld Prop. 8, but when the challenge came to federal court, Judge Vaughn Walker, who later revealed that he is homosexual, ruled against Prop. 8 declaring it to be a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. It was his ruling that the Ninth Circuit Court upheld.
“It appears the justices no longer believe that we are a nation ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ but instead we’re a nation ‘of the courts, by the courts, and for the courts,'” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League.
Fitzgerald pointed out North Carolina’s vulnerability in that our state’s marriage statutes are already being challenged in state court in Guilford County. Since our state Constitution does not define marriage as between one man and one woman as our statutes do, those statutes could be declared in violation of the Constitution, just like what happened in California in 2008.
“The only thing that could worsen the effect of this bizarre ruling in California is if Tar Heel Christians become discouraged by it and fail to get out the vote for the Marriage Protection Amendment,” said Dr. Creech. “Instead of shaking our heads and shrugging our shoulders, we need to be reminding one another that we best not let this kind of thing happen here — not on our watch.”
The Ninth Circuit Court ruling was a “serious disappointment,” Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus told the media. “… There’s not a signer of the United States Constitution who would have expected this or agreed with this type of decision.”
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel called the ruling “absurd.”
“They’re not only saying that the voters don’t have the right to amend their own constitution and define marriage, they’re also saying that there is a constitutional, guaranteed right to same-sex marriage in the United States Constitution itself,” he told One News Now. “… It is insane to suggest that there is such a right in the United States Constitution.”
The Rev. Creech urged Christians across the state to commit to supporting the effort to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment this May.
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