Ok, so a key section of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Propostion 8 was sent packing back to California with no “real” legal standing – it is interesting that these two highly charged issues, both politically and socially, were originally enacted with majority constituent votes, and have now been pretty much dissed aside in favor of what a very small minority wanted.
Now, I’m not going to get into whether homosexuality is right or wrong, and whether same-sex marriage is right or wrong – there are plenty of other places to read about these issues where folks can either form an opinion or reinforce their existing stand on these issues. My beef today is with our system of “law-making.”
If you’re going to drag me through the intensely expensive process of putting together a consitutional amendment, as we did in California with Proposition 8, and open such a heavy discussion that it literally fragments our society as a whole — because, believe me, we have two countries living under one roof — we are as equally split a nation as possible, and NOT be at war with each other. Perhaps if we’d been this vocal during the Civil War, then maybe there would’ve been a lot less blood shed, who knows?
The point I want to address is simply this: Irrespective of what law is being put on the books, once the MAJORITY of the people have spoken with their votes, when did we begin to start overtuning laws via courts just to suit whatever the “losing” electorate’s position may have been? Really?!
So, let me get this straight, the way it works now is that if something gets voted in by the majority, the losing minority can “rally” the media, and the courts to overturn or repeal whatever it was the majority originally voted in. This, therefore, begs the question, what is the point of an election? I mean, if we’re just going to take everything to court when we lose at an election, then the entire electoral process becomes a moot point now, doesn’t it?
Look, both sides of this issue are super-charged and overheated about it – of this there is little doubt. When I read the blogs on the “right” there is the constant complaint about the “liberal” activist judges, and likewise, the “left” blogs equally deride those “right-wing” activist judges. So, who is right in all of this? That’s not for me to say, nor is it my intent with this blog post to delve into my own personal beliefs, which I hold to be truth; what I am going to say is this: the will of the MAJORITY of the people ought never be allowed to be overturned by a MINORITY of the people.
I personally don’t like what the majority vote has brought us in the past, but I don’t believe that just because I am unhappy of the results, that I should go file a lawsuit, and recruit a ton of like-minded people to go out on rallys, and ultimately attempt to win over public support through media and on-line venues — all because I’m a sore loser.
Imagine for a moment, if Miss America’s 1st runner up wasn’t happy, and she rallied her entire state, and the media, and the online blogsphere, and took it to court — and the court overturned the judges decision and took the crown away from the current Miss America, and gave it to the runner-up. I know this sounds like an extreme example, but this is EXACTLY WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN AMERICA – and in California, where our “elected” representatives were not only too eager to re-start same-sex marriages, they were in visibly blatant HURRY to do so — all against the will of the MAJORITY of the people, so that the will of SOME of the people would be carried out instead.
What’s next? How about those “poor” teachers who have been having sex with their students? How about they get together and rally up everyone in their favor, and get the media going, and bring in the courts to enact laws that make it legal for these teachers to “love” their students. Sound far fetched? So did same-sex marriage and open acceptance of homosexuality 30 years ago. I hope I’m not being prophetic and live to see 20-30 years from now the disaster our country will be — all due to the fact that the “MINORITIES” have more political muscle and get their way over the MAJORITY.
I suppose if all of the important issues in our world are headed towards litigation and laws being upheld or struck down by the courts, then it only means that the most vocal on one side or the other, and with the most funding, is who will ultimately win — irrespective of what the REAL MAJORITY of the people want. Everyone knows, that he or she with the most money wins in a court case, and what this means to us is that now the will of the people will be trumped by the will of some people.
Thank you for reading – Ed Martinez, Regular Guy