Friday, March 10, 2006

Playing with the Law

Traditionally, conservatives have believed in something called organic societal change. This is change that is allowed to happen naturally -- in a way in which people are able to adjust to it -- rather than, as liberals so often attempt to do, trying to force it to change artificially -- whether people are ready for it or not. Even though we often find ourselves at odds with conservatives, libertarians share with them that preference for organic, natural change. The political Right, today, has almost totally abandoned the principle of organic societal change.
more . . .
A case in point is their infatuation with laws supposedly banning same-sex marriage. I've got news for them. Same-sex marriage already is a fact for many people, regardless of whether conservatives like it or not. We don't use laws to change the definition of words -- for that, all we need is a dictionary.

Just as the meanings of words naturally evolve as usage changes, so, too, will the way marriage is defined in our society. And no artificial construct of law is going to do a thing about it.

Fortunately, more than a few people are wary of a Constitutional amendment (against same-sex marriage) that would, in fact, violate four existing amendments to the Constitution. Not all of us are prepared to do grave violence to the supreme law of our land -- effectively undermining the very authority of the document, itself -- just to strut and posture for political purposes. Would that those so enthusiastic about state-level legislation against same-sex marriage were as wise. Even enacted at the state level, such laws violate three existing amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

We have a President who stood up before God and everybody and swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Now, I don't think he's a bad guy in every way, and I cannot bring myself to believe that he is genuinely homophobic. But to support an amendment that would do unprecedented (and probably irreparable) harm to the Constitution is political quackery.

Tammy Bruce has referred to the current legislative efforts against same-sex marriage as "the silly-putty solution." Coming from somebody who really DOES like the President, and who supports him on almost every other issue, this is a damning indictment, indeed.

Let's go over to Toys R Us and get these politicians something harmless to play with. We should insist that our elected officials treat our laws with the respect that they deserve.