The Supreme Court ruling overturned the constitutions of 31 States that declare marriage as a union between a man and woman when it legalized same-sex marriage, overturning the mandate of more than 60 percent of Americans who voted on the issue. The following are comments from various church, organization and Supreme Court leaders.
“Five justices on the Supreme Court have overturned the votes of 50 million Americans and demanded that the American people walk away from millennia of history and the reality of human nature. In reaching a decision so lacking in foundation in the text of the Constitution, in our history, and in our traditions, the Court has done serious damage to its own legitimacy. No court can overturn natural law. Nature and Nature’s God, hailed by the signers of our Declaration of Independence as the very source of law, cannot be usurped by the edict of a court, even the United States Supreme Court. Marriage is rooted not only in human history, but also in the biological and social reality that children are created by, and do best when raised by, a mother and a father. No court ruling can alter this truth. It is folly for the Court to think that it has resolved a controversial issue of public policy. By disenfranchising 50 million Americans, the Court has instead supercharged this issue.” –Tony Perkins. Family Research Council President
“The majority graciously suggests that religious believers may continue to ‘advocate’ and ‘teach’ their views of marriage…. The First Amendment guarantees, however, the freedom to ‘exercise’ religion. Ominously, that is not a word the majority uses.” — Chief Justice John Roberts
“It is a sad day in our nation when the Supreme Court believes it has the moral right to redefine marriage. Beyond the clear Biblical mandate that marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, this decision flies in the face of all of recorded history. The Bible clearly commands us to love others regardless of their spiritual or moral condition, but it does not leave room for us to change the definition of sin. For those in the faith community, this decision doesn’t change what we do or how we do it. We will continue to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only hope for the world. We will do this in a way that always reflects Christ’s love, but we will not compromise our values or beliefs according to the Scriptures.” — Jonathan Falwell
“But what really astounds is the hubris reflected in today’s judicial Putsch. The five Justices who compose today’s majority are entirely comfortable concluding that every State violated the Constitution for all of the 135 years between the Fourteenth Amendment’s ratification and Massachusetts’ permitting of same-sex marriages in 2003. They have discovered in the Fourteenth Amendment a “fundamental right” overlooked by every person alive at the time of ratification, and almost everyone else in the time since.” — Chief Justice Scalia
“This judicial activism is a slap at democratic governance and shows disdain for a holy institution that has been the bedrock of human society for millennia.” — Dr. Jerry A. Johnson, President & CEO of National Religious Broadcasters
“Today’s decision usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide whether to keep or alter the traditional understanding of marriage. The decision will also have other important consequences.” — Chief Justice Alito
“Today the Supreme Court issued a disappointing decision that imposes same-sex marriage on all 50 states. Although this result was predicted by many observers, the action of the Court is nonetheless startling in its rejection of a societal understanding of marriage that goes back to the dawn of civilization. It tramples on the democratic process by overturning the will of more than 60 percent of Americans who voted on the issue and creates a new federal constitutional right in an area where our founding document is silent.” — Focus on the Family President Jim Daly
“The majority’s decision is an act of will, not legal judgment. The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or this Court’s precedent. As a result, the Court invalidates the marriage laws of more than half the States and orders the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia, for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Carthaginians and the Aztecs. Just who do we think we are?” — Chief Justice Thomas
“The natural family was here long before the Supreme Court – long before governments – and it will be here long after they are gone. The Supreme Court cannot by dictate erase every child’s need-every child’s right-to a mother and a father.” — Janice Shaw Crouse, Executive Director of the World Congress of Families IX
_____________________________
public://field/image/Chrch-Sunset copy.jpg
