Tennesee Amendment

Why, I wonder, is judicial fiat acceptable but voter activism is not?

I greatly respect Glenn Reynolds, but I think he is wrong on his opposition to the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution to define marriage. At no time in our history have Americans passively accepted political definitions of morality. Why is gay marriage any different? Because some law professors and the ACLU think it should be a social or a legal issue? Excussssse me, but the basic foundation of our form of democracy state that Americans reserve all rights not ceded specifically to government. One of these is the right to define marriage and our own morality.

THIS is the reason why legislatures have avoided the fray. THEY know, as some activists refuse to acknowledge, that their preemption will be resented. The issue of gay marriage isn't one of "rights." Gays have or can have civil unions. What gays want, however, is to be sanctioned to mock the institution of marriage for everyone else. What they want is to remove marriage from churches to the courthouse so that the latter can dictate that the church obey THEIR definition of morality.

No thanks.