Thoughts on the Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage

I am disappointed and appalled at the Supreme Courts rulings on gay marriage. If twenty years ago someone would have said that one day two men could marry I would have thought they were nuts. I would have thought that had as about as much chance of happening as polygamy being legal, or incest, or a person marrying their dog. As Merle Haggard sang, "We are going downhill like a snowball headed for hell."  Below are the opinions of some of my friends and local prominent people. Rod

Ken Jakes, citizen activist: The Supreme Court has once again slapped the face of every Christian Citizen of the Land that I love, the United States of America. Our Founding Fathers Created each document with Judo-Christian Faith and heritage that separates Our Country from the rest of the world. Our Forefathers would have been appalled to even imagine that the Supreme Court could take Our Cherished Documents to arrive at the conclusion that a marriage between two women or two men would be acceptable and defined within the word marriage.

Lets just be clear as it gets. The Holy Bible is very clear that a marriage is a sacred union between a man and a women and homosexuality is a sin. The Supreme Court has once again made an attempt to shred the very fabric of my Christian Faith and those who uphold the Christian Faith in this Nation. In my Faith, my heart and soul, and my morality as a Christian American the Supreme Court has disgraced the Majority of the Nation and the Supreme Court should be disgraced. Regardless what the Supreme Court states a marriage to be, I hold the sacred meaning of the Lord my God to be the only acceptable way of life and I refuse to let the ridiculous decision of the Supreme Court to change my views.

Dear God Please Help Our Nation.

Daniel Horwitz, recent graduate of Vanderbilt Law School where he served as the Vice President of Law Students for Social Justice, and a contributor to this blog: I’m thrilled that the Supreme Court has now come one step closer to acknowledging what the overwhelming majority of young Americans know already: that any law that draws a distinction between citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation should be considered presumptively invalid. I’m similarly pleased to see the Supreme Court recognize that Federal laws which delve into regulatory arenas that are traditionally reserved to the states ought to be met with a greater degree of skepticism. At the same time, however, I’m saddened that so many members of faith organizations that preach loving-kindness and tolerance continue to adhere to the erroneous belief that extending civil marriage equality to same-sex couples will somehow undermine the sanctity of traditional or religious marriages in any way.

Tim Skow, Host of First Tuesday: Throughout the long Judo-Christian history our country was founded upon, faith teaches that marriage is the blessed union of a man, a woman and our Lord. During that same time, Government(s) typically administered contractual relationships between consenting parties. I am sorry to see the verbiage and meaning being erased between what our Lord considers marriage and what various levels of Government consider as a contract or "union" between consenting adults. I submit, call such contracts, agreements or "unions" what they are..."Civil unions"....and leave the intent and understanding of "marriage" to mean what it means. Sadly, in this case we let the Liberals define the verbiage war on their terms... and in this case, the Liberals won.

Representative Sherry Jones, Nashville Democrat: Today was a victory for the dignity of men and women across the country who wish to enjoy equal protection under the law. Most Tennesseans agree that couples in a loving and committed relationship deserve to be treated equally.  

Beth Campbell,  member of the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Republican Party: I was disappointed that the US Supreme Court sent the Gay marriage issue back to the lower court in California thereby nullifying the will of the voters who passed Prop 8. So much for the "will of the people"!

Robert Duvall, Metro Councilmember; Chair of Davidson County Republican Party: Appalled!

Pat Carl, First Vice Chair, Davidson County Republican Party: I don't know if you heard Governor Huckabee's radio show Wednesday.  His response to the Court ruling on gay marriage was  "Jesus Wept".   I thought those 2 words really summed it up.

Kathleen Starnes, former Chair, Davidson County Republican Party: I am speechless, but so sorry that such a small portion of society has such a large voice. I am very sad that the government ignores the vote of the people instead supports the vote of the government.



Dr. Sam Boyd, Pastor, Forest Hills Baptist Church: Remember 6/26/2013......America already under God's discipline for abortion and its support of anti-Israel entities (among other things) .....now has redefined marriage and unleashed an invitation for increasing divine judgement....... If Jesus and His affirmation of Biblical truth is for real, He as God, cannot and will not sit back and allow an arrogant, immoral America to prosper as they mock eternal truth.......

Rep. Marsha Blackburn says she is disappointed. "We're still looking at the opinions and the dissents and the positioning on [the ruling]," the Tennessee Republican said on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "You can say on one hand, yes, they struck down DOMA, and on another, it looks as if they're coming out big-time for state's rights. So of course I'm disappointed in it. I support DOMA and would like to have seen that stand. I fully believe in marriage as being between one man and one woman."

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann: "While the Supreme Court's ruling was disappointing to me personally, I will continue to believe in the importance of traditional marriage. The marriage debate will continue at the state level, and it has been my experience that the vast majority of Tennesseans believe, as I do, that marriage is between a man and a woman. (link)

Sen. Lamar Alexander said the opinions were correct in that they left the decision on whether to recognize same-sex marriage to individual states. "The Supreme Court's decision preserves the right of states to define marriage and for that definition to be respected by other states, and that's the way it should be."(link)

 Senator Jack Johnson post on Facebook: "I cannot understand how any American can be happy about the fact that five individuals just overturned the will of the American people as reflected by their duly and constitutionally elected representatives. I'm sad that the majesty of our republic has been degraded, but my proud support for the sanctity of marriage will not waiver." 



Richard Upchurch, scholar and  blog contributor, writes: It seems to me, the

court is confirming that marriage is entirely in the jurisdiction, thus in the  domain and discretion of the states, thus the decision not too surprising. However Kennedy's phrase about "the dignity of same-sex marriage" suggests the court has bought into a kind of pop social radicalism that undermines what is most basic in the pre-political constitution of society and will follow such pop social radicalism wherever it may lead. So I agree, it doesn't look like good news---either for us conservatives or for the country.

US Congressman Jim Cooper is pleased: WASHINGTON – Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-5) praised today’s Supreme Court rulings on DOMA and Prop 8 and issued the following statement: "I'm pleased with today's Supreme Court rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. Equality under the law should apply to all Americans, and now we're one step closer towards fulfilling this promise."

Russell Moore, president of the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said he was not surprised by the court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, per se, but he was surprised by the "sweeping language" used by the majority.
"It grounds the decision in equal protection and uses language of human dignity that has far-reaching implications," he said. "...Ultimately it's headed toward challenging the way states define marriage." (link) “This decision demolishes the myth that orthodox Christianity represents some kind of moral majority in this country." (link)

State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) ... was troubled by the ruling, saying the nation was built on what he called the traditional family. "There are detrimental forces in our culture that reject or do not recognize the importance of the traditional family unit in our society and those forces won today," Tracy said. (link)



David Fowler, former State Senator and President of Family Action Council of Tennessee wrote in a statement. "In Tennessee, marriage will remain the unique, timeless, and universally defined relationship involving a man and a woman that provides the optimal environment for the well being of children.

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