Yesterday, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, came up with a unique reason for opposing same-sex marriage. During his committee’s hearings on Obama’s decision not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act because he finds it unconstitutional, Smith said that same-sex marriage would have been opposed by the Founding Fathers.
One imagines Smith’s statement is true, considering that the FF’s wrote the Constitution in the late 18th century, but it’s the first time this writer has heard of a lawmaker claiming the FF’s as guides to social policy. If Smith and his GOP colleagues want to use the Founding Fathers’ views as an infallible guide, Congress would also have to take away women’s right to vote; take away the right to vote of anyone under the age of 21 or anyone who isn’t a land owner; and return African Americans to a state of slavery. Other possible changes could include a ban on all vehicles powered by internal combustion engines; outlawing radio, telegrams and television; a ban on electricity, and, possibly, a ban on lunatic rednecks making public policy. Seriously, do people like Smith even bother to think before they open their mouths to speak?
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2011.
A council of wise men indeed.
Who? Who cares dude…
Cheers, Joe Mustich,
CT Justice of the Peace, USA.
Marriage is firstly a civil and contractual matter in America. Period.
So the marriage cops need to retire and play bingo in the middle of the Potomac River..
Look, the Founding Fathers were geniuses. They created one of the first viable democracies in the entire world. And they created a constitution that has managed to last over 200 years (they weren’t sure it would last 20).
But what’s absolutely pivotal is how much they accepted change. They were all great thinkers and open to many ideas. Many of them were Christian, but many of them had a deep respect for Islam. They may have all been rich, white, male property owners, but they created a document that was open to accepting new ideas and changing over time. I think they would be deeply disappointed if we followed their exact ideas because it would mean society hadn’t progressed since their time.
So yes, most of them probably would not have supported same-sex marriage in their time. But if they lived in our time and learned what we have learned, I believe most of them WOULD.
>> Obama’s decision not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act because he finds it unconstitutional
It’s the job of the COURTS to find laws unconstitutional, not the job of our Dictat – er – President.
I agree, we were a nation found on slavery and woman not having rights as well. Are we to relive our past or learn from it and progress as a nation. Because orientation was not understood years ago (hell, in many ways it is still not) there was no need to discuss same gender marriage. We know understand that same gender love/marriage is natural, normal, healthy and a matter of civil rights – indeed, our founding fathers would be for it!
I wonder what those same founding fathers would say if they knew that you need a license from the government to get married to ANYONE.
I think the founding fathers supported slavery, but we evolved beyond that injustice.
did the founding fathers specify that marriage was between 1 man and 1 woman? if not, then they must have supported same sex marriage.
The FF were:
against interracial marriage
for slavery
for child labor
etc etc etc
They created a LIVING document. That they understood would change as needed over time.
Clearly you don’t keep your finger on the pulse of radical Christinaisim. This statement by Lamar Smith is but a mainstreaming of statements made by Christian Radicals like Molotov Mitchell. I first heard Mitchell make that ridiculous argument 2 years ago. Now it has percolated up. He’s just trying out a new talking point to see if it works. Remember being ‘technically correct’ is the best kind of correct.
Got to be a republican. Our own taliban.
They hated blacks and now they hate gays.
They destroyed our economy by letteing their very wealthy pals on wall street scam millions out of their homes and encouragging manufacturers to move good jobs overseas……….
Thanks to republican corporate welfare for the rich.
The republicans think they are kings. Reminds me of the french revolution, when someone correctly said……………..
mankind will be free when the last king is strangled with the guts of the last priest.
The FF were not pro-slavery.
From http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/classroom/index3.html
While many of the Founding Fathers including George Washington viewed slavery as inconsistent with the principles of the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, they knew that there was little chance of abolishing slavery at the time. After all, if those opposed to slavery insisted on its abolition, slave states could have walked out of the convention and formed their own nation with a pro-slavery constitution. So the issue of slavery would require compromise if the United States were to survive. Washington and the other Founders hoped that slavery could be eliminated from the United States once a strong union was formed.
So they did nothing to fix the problem and instead buried their heads in the sand and decided to let future generations clean up their mess
Sounds like the GOP