By Tony Perkins
Huffington Post, one of the more openly liberal outlets, posted a profanity-laced headline, using outrageous language to describe the first non-activist ruling on marriage since the Supreme Court’s Windsor. It always amazes me how the champions of choice only want people to have a choice if they can determine what the choice is. Angry that Feldman would even consider the 14th Amendment, children’s wellbeing, religious liberty, and judicial overreach in his making his decision, reporters lashed out at the court for siding with the democratic process.
Ironically, the Reagan appointee made it clear that he agreed with the Supreme Court in striking down the federal marriage law but insisted that state diversity and sovereignty trumped whatever manufactured “rights” the Left insists the Constitution protects.
“Admittedly, other federal courts throughout the country have spoken as if they were deciding the issue by discovering, at best, unclear case models on the more demanding standard of review. Or, in the name of rational basis, they have at times applied the more exacting review standards. This court would be more circumspect,” Feldman wrote. “In light of still-binding precedent, this Court declines to fashion a new suspect class. To do so would distort precedent and demean the democratic process.” Unlike his peers, he takes the federalist perspective on marriage — and agrees that protecting the people’s vote is more important than forcing a radical social agenda on the nation.
My friend and former colleague, who is now GOP House Whip, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined us on the “Washington Watch” radio show to applaud the judge’s sound reasoning. “As you know, I was the lead author of the bill that put a constitutional amendment on the (Louisiana) ballot back in 2004 to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman. It overwhelmingly passed by the voters of Louisiana — 78% of our voters felt strongly about putting that definition in our constitution. And today, we had another attack on it that was upheld by Judge Feldman… So this was an important win for marriage today.” For more on the ruling, check out FRC’s Leanna Baumer on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
Tony Perkins is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council. He is a former member of the Louisiana legislature where he served for eight years, and he is recognized as a legislative pioneer for authoring measures like the nation’s first Covenant Marriage law.
(Via FRC’s Washington Update. Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.)
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