From: Gary Bauer <gary.bauer@amvalues.org>
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 4:43:13 PM
Subject: End of Day 5-16-08



Friday, May 16, 2008

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary Bauer



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A sharply divided California Supreme Court issued a 4-to-3 opinion yesterday finding a new constitutional right for men to “marry” other men and for women to “marry” other women. The court ordered state officials to begin performing homosexual “marriages” in 30 days. The ruling, by four unelected robed radicals, invalidated the overwhelming majority opinion of California’s citizens, who voted to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It was an egregious exercise in judicial activism – of judges wielding raw political power to redefine our most basic values. But that is how the Left has succeeded. It cannot achieve its goals through the democratic process via the elected legislatures, so it ignores the people and goes to the courts, where it relies on political activists cloaked in black who answer to no one. The Left succeeds by using the most undemocratic methods possible.

The court’s dissenting opinion bluntly denounced the majority’s ruling as a “profound error,” that violates the separation of powers. Justice Marvin Baxter wrote: “The majority … simply does not have the right to erase, then recast, the age-old definition of marriage, as virtually all societies have understood it, in order to satisfy its own contemporary notions of equality and justice. The California Constitution says nothing about the rights of same-sex couples to marry. On the contrary, as the majority concedes, ‘our original Constitution, effective from the moment of statehood, evidenced an assumption that marriage was between partners of the opposite sex.’” Sadly, too few of California’s “best” legal minds shared this common sense view, and the majority’s “profound error” in judgment could have profound implications coast-to-coast. Recently, homosexual activist Wayne Besen described the tremendous impact this decision could have. Here’s what he wrote: “If same-sex marriage becomes a reality in America’s largest and most influential state - and is not overturned by a Constitutional Amendment - it will be the biggest earthquake to hit in years. The sheer number of couples who will marry (and divorce, it is California, after all), will forever change this debate. It will cause a legal mess, as many of these married couples – often with children – migrate to states that still discriminate. The consequences of such relocations will force the entire country to grapple with this issue. No longer will the debate be theoretical, but will focus on the discrimination endured by families whose married status vanishes the moment they cross state lines.” Besen does not overstate his case. Challenges to state marriage amendments and the federal Defense of Marriage Act are coming. His argument is confirmed by a crowing message sent yesterday by the ACLU to its supporters, which reads: “We won the marriage case in California. No need for hyperbole here; this is big. …And as the New York Times recently pointed out, the California Supreme Court is the most influential state high court in America. …Marriage in California will transform the discussion of marriage nationwide. …the fact that California is marrying same-sex couples will put considerable pressure on the rest of the country to recognize those marriages. Even more important, the rest of the country recognizes that California is America’s cultural trendsetter, that cultural change in California is usually a preview of what is to come in the rest of the United States. …This was a prize of inestimable value.” Yesterday evening, the White House Press condemned the ruling and repeated the call for a federal marriage amendment: “President Bush has always believed marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. It’s unfortunate when activist judges continue to seek to redefine marriage by court order – without regard for the will of the people. Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court illustrates that a federal constitutional amendment is the best way for the people to decide what marriage means. President Bush remains firmly committed to protecting the sanctity of marriage.” <
As I noted yesterday, the people are not powerless, and they will have the last word. Many concerned citizens realized that this day was coming, and they took action, gathering enough signatures to put a marriage protection amendment on the California ballot this November. There is also talk of recalling the court’s chief justice, Ronald George. In the meantime, our friends at the Alliance Defense Fund are asking the court to stay its decision until after the November elections, in order to avoid the chaos of having homosexual “marriages” invalidated after the marriage protection amendment passes.

Do not be afraid, my friends, but let yesterday’s ruling be a wake-up call. We cannot be complacent. This is our country too, and the cultural war over our values is real. But only one side will prevail, and that is why it is so important for men and women who cherish faith, family and freedom to be engaged and willing to “fight the good fight” for our values. With your prayers and support, and as long as God gives me breath, I will never tire in this battle to defend our American values!

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