Utah stands for traditional marriage
Utah Standing for Marriage
I was honored, on Tuesday, to be able to join hundreds of pro-marriage supporters at the Salt Lake City Capitol Rotunda for a wonderful rally supporting Utah's marriage amendment.
The turnout was great, and I take my hat off to the organizers who did such a fantastic job pulling the event together. But even more so, I owe high praise to the many wonderful Utah citizens I saw there who came out to express their pro-marriage views and who did so with such positivity, kindness, and dignity.
In his "State of the State" address the following day, Governor Gary Herbert stressed how important those elements are to a healthy public discourse, saying that he wished for Utah to "be a model of how to work through honest disagreements with civility and respect."
Well, of course Governor Herbert is right, and I can honestly say from what I saw on Tuesday that pro-marriage Utahans are already fulfilling that wish.
Unfortunately, the Governor's wish for civility and respect hasn't yet been totally achieved. In the midst of the rally there was one same-sex 'marriage' protestor who decided that the fitting way to express himself was with a sign showing a Cross with a "no sign" over it.
Sadly, this kind of bigotry and intolerance toward Christians and other people of faith is something I encounter rather frequently as I travel throughout the country.
Nevertheless, in spite of that unfortunate example, the rally was a heartwarming and inspiring event overall. The people of Utah know that in addition to marriage there are other matters at stake in the legal battle over their marriage amendment — especially in light of the federal interference in the matter from Attorney General Holder who is trying to undermine Utah's own government.
What's at stake, as Governor Herbert also expressed in his address, is Utah's state sovereignty. As Governor Herbert said:
James Madison, the father of our Constitution, said: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite."Unfortunately, our nation has strayed from what our founding fathers intended. Whether the issue is marriage, Medicaid or management of our public lands, our right to find Utah solutions to Utah issues is being hindered by federal overreach.In Utah, we understand state sovereignty, and we will do everything in our power to represent the will of the people while respecting the democratic and judicial processes.
Fortunately, in addition to the great and wonderful folks in Utah, other brave men and women are standing up to protect states' sovereignty as well, especially as regards the issue of marriage.
One such brave leader is Representative Randy Weber of Texas, whose recently-introduced bill, the State Marriage Defense Act, is back in the news this week.
The States of the Union
Congressman Weber's bill has garnered nearly 40 co-sponsors, and in addition to NOM's endorsement enjoys support from Family Research Council, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Heritage Action, Concerned Women for America, and others!
The latest article on the bill quotes NOM's friend, Ryan Anderson, explaining the bill this way:
[The law would protect] the sovereign authority of states to recognize marriage as they see fit. It does not say what marriage has to be defined as in any particular state. I do think the Justice Department's decision to ignore the Utah law highlights the need for this law.
And, as the same article notes, there are other recent events that underscore why this law is important, such as Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring's recent egregious refusal to defend — and decision instead to join in attacking — that state's marriage amendment! (On the basis of which decision, NOM believes Herring should be impeached. And we're not the only ones.)
This issue couldn't be more timely.
The same night I was in Utah rallying with the citizens there for their state sovereignty and the rights of voters, President Obama took the podium in front of Congress to deliver his State of the Union address. And the main resounding theme of that address was what might be referred to as the "pen and the phone" theme (referring to a talking point the White House had been parroting for weeks leading up to the address).
The President is willing to "use his pen and his phone" to make his agenda move, with or without Congress: to use executive powers to force by fiat the pet policies he wants to push on the nation.
Think about that, and consider: we've all seen how same-sex 'marriage' is one of those pet policies for this President (who even invited as one of his honored guests a gay athlete simply because he had "come out" last year). Therefore, we should not take it lightly that the President is expressing his willingness and desire to be even more imperious and even more overreaching in his authority for the remainder of his term!
