Tag Archives: gay marriage

Civil Liberties, Politics

Pennsylvania Man Seeks to Marry Adopted Son

Leave a comment

PENNSYLVANIA, November 6, 2015– Retired teacher Nino Esposito and Roland “Drew” Bosee, a retired freelance writer, have been a couple for over forty years. Since the Supreme Court delivered an opinion stating that state law could not prevent homosexual couples from marrying one another, Esposito and Bosee have wanted to wed.

However, unlike some homosexual couples, they have hit a snag. While the two are unrelated to each other, Bosee is actually the adopted son of Esposito, which has caused a predicament preventing the two from marrying one another.

The couple says that Esposito adopted Bosee as his son in 2012 because it was the only way for the two to have a legalized family structure.

Esposito, 78, said to CNN in a telephone interview that “we never thought we’d see the day” that same-sex marriage would be legal in Pennsylvania.

Bosee, 68, said the adoption “gave us the most legitimate thing available to us” at the time.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania, a group supporting the couple, says Esposito and Bosee are not alone in this situation. The ACLU says it is aware of many couples in states across the U.S. that lawfully utilized adoption laws to safeguard their relationships.

Esposito and Bosee claim that they knew of other couples in Pennsylvania who were able to annul adoptions in order to get married.

Now, Esposito and Bosee are trying to nullify the adoption so they can get married. However, Judge Lawrence J. O’Toole rejected their request and said that his ability to annul adoptions is mostly narrowed to cases of fraud.

O’Toole said he was “sensitive to the situation” and sought direction from higher courts. However, he added that despite the fact Esposito and Bosee want to get married, “they cannot do so because they are legally father and son.”

“This Court welcomes direction from our appellate courts in handling parallel cases,” O’Toole wrote.

The ACLU defended O’Toole’s ruling and agreed with his request for higher courts to step in and provide guidance.

“We don’t believe the Pennsylvania judge who refused to annul this adoption was unsympathetic,” said Witold Walczak, the Legal Director of the ACLU Pennsylvania, “he simply felt that the legal path to doing so should be forged by an appellate court.”

United States Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), in a letter Monday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asked that the Justice Department weigh in on the side of Esposito and Bosee.

“LGBT couples should have the right to obtain a marriage license, no matter the state or jurisdiction in which they reside,” Casey wrote. “In adoption cases such as these, the law has changed dramatically since the adoptions were first carried out.”

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Civil Liberties, States Rights

Pope Francis Had Private Meeting With Kim Davis

Leave a comment

WASHINGTON- Pope Francis has dominated headlines across the country this month, and his recent meetings with President Obama and Congressional leaders have been the target of much criticism. Many have dished out disdain for Francis’ refusal to publicly tackle controversies such as gay marriage and abortion, while instead focusing on a more liberal agenda. However, unbeknownst to many, Francis had a private meeting with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples after the Supreme Court’s decision and was jailed for doing so.

Davis said her meeting with the Pope renewed her sense of purpose and inspired her.

“I was crying. I had tears coming out of my eyes,” Davis said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “I’m just a nobody, so it was really humbling to think he would want to meet or know me.”

Davis is currently back at work and not issuing any marriage licenses as her deputy clerks are doing so in her place. Davis said Francis was supportive of her efforts.

“I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me,” Davis recalled. “And he said, ‘thank you for your courage.’”

Father Benedettini from the Vatican Press office released a statement after reports emerged that Davis and Francis had met.

“The Holy See is aware of the reports of Kim Davis meeting with the Holy Father. The Vatican does not confirm the meeting, nor does it deny the meeting. There will be no further information given,” the statement reads.

Hours later, Father Benedettini said, in another statement, “I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I will not comment on it further.”

Davis’ attorneys have confirmed that the two met.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF159N8_pY

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Activism, Civil Liberties, Politics, States Rights

Tennessee Lawmakers Introduce Bill Nullifying Gay Marriage Decision

Leave a comment
Sept. 17, 2015-- Nearly 1,000 Tennessee Christians rally for traditional marriage at the state capitol where legislators introduce bill to nullify Supreme Court's gay marriage decision.
Sept. 17, 2015– Nearly 1,000 Tennessee Christians rally for traditional marriage at the state capitol where legislators introduce a bill to nullify the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision.

NASHVILLE, September 17, 2015– On Thursday, almost a thousand conservative Christians gathered at the Tennessee state capitol for a rally today that featured many Republican legislators prepared to fight the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage.

At the rally, State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and State Representative Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) announced legislation calling for Tennessee to defend current state law and the constitutional amendment adopted by voters in 2006 specifying that only a marriage between a man and a woman can be legally recognized in the state. The “Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act” rejects the Obergefell v. Hodges decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in June giving same sex couples the fundamental right to marry and calls on the attorney general and reporter to defend any state or local government official from any lawsuit to the contrary.

House Bill 1412 / Senate Bill 1437 also aims to protect court clerks and ministers who have religious objections to marrying same sex couples from prosecution or civil action.

“This decision defies constitutional authority and is one of the most glaring examples of judicial activism in U.S. Supreme Court history,” said Representative Pody. “It not only tramples on state’s rights, but has paved the way for an all-out assault on the religious freedoms of Christians who disagree with it. This bill calls for Tennessee to stand against such unconstitutional action in hopes that other states will stand with us against an out-of-control court legislating from the bench.”

“Natural marriage between one man and one woman as recognized by the people of this state remains the law, regardless of any court decision to the contrary,” said Senator Beavers. “The Obergefell case is clearly and blatantly an overstep of the Supreme Court’s Authority and it is time that states, like Tennessee, stand up against the judicial tyranny of which Thomas Jefferson so eloquently warned. This legislation deems that any court decision purporting to strike down the state’s definitions of natural marriage, including Obergefell v. Hodges, is void in Tennessee.”

“Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying, ‘Whenever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force,'” said Beavers.

Beavers’ and Pody’s legislation says, “No state or local agency or official shall give force or effect to any court order that has the effect of violating Tennessee’s laws protecting natural marriage.”

It also says, “No state or local agency or official shall levy upon the property or arrest the person of any government official or individual who does not comply with any unlawful court order regarding natural marriage within Tennessee.”

“Our clerks and Tennessee’s clergy need protection to exercise their religious beliefs,” added Beavers. “This law would help protect them from prosecution or civil actions.”

Tennessee’s marriage protection amendment specifying that only a marriage between a man and woman can be legally recognized in the state was approved by 81 percent of voters.

The General Assembly will take up the bill upon convening the 2016 legislative session in January.

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

 

Election, Politics

Huckabee Campaign Blocks Cruz From Media At Kim Davis Rally

Leave a comment

KENTUCKY, September 9, 2015– Rowan County Kentucky Court Clerk Kim Davis won the attention and admiration of at least two GOP presidential candidates in the wake of her arrest and incarceration for refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. United States Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee both attempted to use Davis’ incident as a soap-box for their campaigns. However, Huckabee came out on top.

On Tuesday, both candidates were slated to appear at Davis’ release where supporters held a rally. Appearing with Davis on stage and speaking on her behalf to the media, Huckabee stole the show as Cruz was seemingly nowhere to be found.

“If you have to put someone in jail, let me go,” Huckabee said to a roaring crowd. “The founders never gave one branch of government the power to make the law. Every one of us will have to decide whether we want to keep this great country or whether we want to surrender and sacrifice it to tyranny.”

It wasn’t Cruz’s choice to remain off stage and out of the spotlight. Much to his displeasure, a Huckabee campaign staffer physically blocked Cruz from even speaking to the media in order to ensure Huckabee remained in the spotlight and the Davis soapbox was his own.

As noted by the New York Times, Cruz kept a uncharacteristically low profile and remained off to the side.

Cruz and Huckabee both saw a minor jump in the polls after the first official Republican nominee debate on Fox News. The next debate, where both candidates have earned a slot on the main stage, will be broadcast by CNN on September 16.

For more election coverage, click here.

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Activism, Civil Liberties, Featured, Politics

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis To Be Released From Jail

Leave a comment

LOUISVILLE, Ky., September 8, 2015– On Tuesday, a judge announced that Kentucky clerk Kim Davis will be released from jail after being incarcerated for five days for refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples.

The judge who had ordered Davis jailed, David Bunning, stated that he would release her because her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” In his order, Bunning instructed Davis to not interfere “with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.”

On Sunday, Davis’ lawyers appealed the contempt of court motion that sent her to jail. Her lawyers said they’d file arguments to back up their appeal on Monday or Tuesday.

[RELATED: Kentucky Clerk Appeals Contempt Of Court Ruling Over Refusing Marriage Licenses]

The three-page federal appeal, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, claimed that Judge Bunning violated Davis’s right to due process because she had no previous knowledge that she could be sent to jail, as the plaintiffs in the case were seeking only a fine.

Davis, a Democrat, pleaded with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, also a Democrat, to step in and free her, but he refused. On Monday, Beshear’s office said he won’t respond, and noted that the conflict was a “matter between her and the courts.”

The judge said he agreed to release Davis because her deputy clerks were issuing licenses. He has instructed her that she is not to interfere with the issuing of marriage licenses.

Presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee have planned to visit Davis at the jail today.

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Editor’s Pick, Featured, US

Oregon Judge May Lose Job For Refusing To Perform Same-Sex Marriages

Leave a comment

By Casey Harper – A spokesman for the Oregon judge refusing to marry same-sex couples told The Daily Caller News Foundation the judge may lose his job, though he thinks that is unlikely.

“It could range all the way from dismissal of the complaint up to removal and anything in between,” Oregon judge Vance Day’s spokesman Patrick Korten told TheDCNF. “You could call [removal from office] the nuclear option, highly doubtful.”

Day stopped performing marriages in March and asked his staff to kindly refer couples to other judges. Now he’s under investigation by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness And Disability over whether he is still fit to be a judge. A complaint was filed in June.

Korten said the commission’s conclusions will then go to the court system, and that the commission does not have the final authority to remove Day, if it were to come to that.

Day, former chairman of the Oregon Republican party, received permission from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission Thursday to set up a legal defense fund to pay his legal expenses for the response to the complaint.

Korten pointed out that judges in Oregon are not required to perform marriages and that there are plenty of other judges who could do it instead. A wide range of officials, including state judges, federal judges and county clerks can perform them.

“This is the start of what we’re going to be wrestling with for the next several years,” Korten told TheDCNF. “How are we to resolve the conflict between where same-sex marriage now stands thanks to the Supreme Court and people who have deep and profound objections to it. Where does the line get drawn? Does conscience and religious belief have any value?”

Follow Casey on Twitter and like him on Facebook

 

 

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Activism, Civil Liberties, Politics, States Rights

Federal Judge Throws Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis In Jail

Leave a comment

ASHLAND, Ky.– On Thursday, a federal judge ordered Kentucky clerk Kim Davis to be jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples after a recent Supreme Court decision overturned all bans on gay marriage across the country.  On Monday, the Court ordered that Davis issue the marriage licenses despite her religious beliefs.

“The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” Judge Bunning said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.”

Bunning said that Davis would be released once she decided to comply with his order and issue marriage licences to homosexual couples.

As marshals led Davis from the courtroom to jail, Ms. Davis said, “Thank you, Judge.”

Hundreds of protesters supporting both parties were present.

FOLLOW MICHAEL LOTFI ON Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Civil Liberties, US

SCOTUS: Kentucky Clerk Must Issue Same Sex Marriage Licenses Despite Religious Beliefs

Video Leave a comment

The United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a Kentucky county clerk must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The decision followed her request for an emergency order against issuing such licenses, stating that it violated her religious beliefs.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in June. Two gay couples and two straight couples filed a lawsuit against Davis, challenging her policy.

[RELATED: Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same Sex Marriage In All 50 States]

U.S. District Judge David Bunning issued a preliminary injunction requiring Davis to issue marriage licenses in July, noting that she had to “live up to her responsibilities as the county clerk despite her religious convictions.”

Davis issued an appeal asking the Supreme Court to block a lower court that was directing her to issue the licenses, and stating that she “holds an undisputed sincerely held religious belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, only.”

Davis’ lawyers also noted that if forced to approve marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples, Davis saw it as a “searing act of validation would forever echo in her conscience.”

The SCOTUS ruling did not include a dissent, and consisted of only one sentence: “The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied.”

The SCOTUS Blog’s Lyle Denniston noted that the Supreme Court’s order was “not a final ruling on Davis’s argument that her right to freedom of conscience should give her an exemption from having any part in the licensing process that would lead to same-sex marriages,” and that she still have “an appeal on that question now pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.”

While many questioned whether Davis would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday morning that Davis is continuing to deny issuing licenses, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to at least two couples Tuesday morning. David Ermold reportedly told Davis Tuesday that he and his partner, David Moore, would not “leave until we have a license.” Davis reportedly responded, “Then you’re going to have a long day.”

Election, Featured, Politics, US

Ted Cruz Takes On The Gay Wedding Question

523 Comments

By Patrick Howley

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz said he has never been to a gay wedding Thursday.

“Well, I will tell you, I haven’t faced that circumstance. I have not had a loved one go to a, have a gay wedding,” Cruz told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked the senator if he would go to a gay wedding (Marco Rubio said yesterday that he would go to one).

“You know, at the end of the day, what the media tries to twist the question of marriage into is they try to twist it into a battle of emotions and personalities,” Cruz continued.

“And they try to make it say, so for example, you know, they routinely say well, gosh, any conservative must hate people who are gay. And as you know, that has nothing to do with the operative legal question. And listen, I’m a Christian, and the Scripture commands us to love everyone, and to love everyone, and all of us are sinners,” the Texas senator stated. “But the legal question, I’m a Constitutionalist. And under the Constitution, from the beginning of this country, marriage has been a question for the states. It has been a question for elected legislatures in each of the 50 states. And what we’ve seen in recent years from the left is the federal government and unelected federal judges imposing their own policy preferences to tear down the marriage laws of the states.”

“And so if someone is running for public office, it is perfectly legitimate to ask them their views on whether they’re willing to defend the Constitution, which leaves marriage to the states, or whether they want to impose their own extreme policy views like so many on the left are doing, like Barack Obama does, like Hillary Clinton does. That’s what we would be doing.”

Civil Liberties, Featured, Politics, States Rights, US

Koch Brother Signs Brief Urging Supreme Court to Legalize Gay Marriage

23 Comments

David Koch of the oft-maligned-by-progressives billionaire siblings known colloquially as the Koch brothers has signed on to a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn state-level bans on gay marriage under the rationale that such bans now violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, especially in light of the fact that some states now license gay marriages while others do not. The brief has been filed on behalf of the upcoming Supreme Court case DeBoer v. Snyder, in which a lesbian couple is suing for the right to marry in an effort to meet Michigan’s legal requirement to adopt children.

The Washington Free Beacon is reporting that David Koch has, according to Koch Industries attorney Mark Holden, made a personal decision to sign his name onto the brief. During an interview on the 2012 presidential election, Politico quoted David Koch as saying, “I believe in gay marriage.”

However, Koch is not the only right-leaning figure signing on to the brief. The Washington Post is reporting that a wide range of conservative celebrities have offered their signatures as well, including General Stanley McChrystal, conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, ex Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, former Wyoming Republican Senator Alan Simpson, and senior advisers to the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign, among others.

The conservatives behind the brief offered a pro-family argument as to why they support gay marriage, writing that they “have concluded that marriage is strengthened, and its value to society and to individual families and couples is promoted, by providing access to civil marriage for all American couples — heterosexual or gay or lesbian alike. In particular, civil marriage provides stability for the children of same-sex couples, the value of which cannot be overestimated. In light of these conclusions, amici believe that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits States from denying same-sex couples the legal rights and responsibilities that flow from the institution of civil marriage.”

On January 16, 2015, the Supreme Court decided that it would review DeBoer v. Snyder along with three other similar cases. The questions at issue in the cases are whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license gay marriages and whether it requires states to recognize gay marriages licensed in other states.

Politics, US

Dr. Ben Carson: Prisons Are Proof People Choose to be Gay

Video 164 Comments

While appearing on CNN’s “New Day”, potential GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson stated that being gay is “absolutely” a choice. “New Day” host Chris Cuomo asked Carson why he thought homosexuality was a choice.

Carson responded: “Because a lot of people go into prison straight and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question.”

Carson went on to say, “Here is what is important. Why do gay people want to get married? Why do they say they want to get married? Because they want to have various rights — property rights, visitation rights. Why can’t any two human beings, I don’t care what their sexual orientation is, why can’t they have the legal right to do those things? That does not require changing the definition of marriage.”

Interviews, US

Exclusive: Interview with The Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry

14 Comments

Is the Republican Party ready to accept gay marriage?

One group is spearing heading an effort to reform the national Republican Party platform on marriage to do just that.

The group, Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, which started in 2012, has backed ballot measures for marriage equality in four states. Now, the more than 60 members hope to convince state Republicans, especially national delegates, that opposing gay marriage is a losing issue for the Republican Party.

Now the group is touring the Presidential primary states leading up to the Republican National Convention to meet with like-minded GOP activists and elected official to discuss their campaign.

The group visited South Carolina where Ed J. Lopez spoke with BenSwann.com’s Joshua Cook. So far the group has already visited New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada.

During the 2012 presidential primaries, Lopez served as a member of the Leadership Council at Standing Up for New Hampshire Families and on former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s New Hampshire State Steering Committee. He is also the national Vice Chairperson of the Republican Liberty Caucus, as group trying to influence the GOP to embrace free markets, low taxes and individual liberties.

“One reason I’m really passionate about the issue is that we have found that it is a gateway issue for a lot of people that would otherwise vote Republican,” said Lopez.

He also said that ⅔ of Republicans under the age of 40 support gay marriage. And that 52 percent of Republicans 50 and younger also support the freedom to marry.

“There is movement and momentum in that direction,” he explained. “That’s the bottom line.”

Lopez said that unless the Republican Party follows suit that they’re building barriers in front of new membership.

The problem, he said, with the GOP platform is that its chosen and shaped by very few people. The group hopes to help people become delegates for the national convention, which could help the seachange.

“We’re looking to get new blood in there,” he added. “And making sure that the language of the platform is reflective of what we feel most Republicans embrace or are being to embrace.”

He said the all language that could appear homophobic should be removed.

This issue, Lopez said, is mostly settled in the public eye with more and more states allowing gay marriage.

“If the GOP is not willing to make the change to the platform it may make the GOP irrelevant,” he added.

To listen to Joshua Cook’s full interview with Lopez, below:

Interviews, Politics, US

Huckabee threatens to leave the Republican Party

36 Comments

NEW YORK CITY, October 11, 2014 – This week, Mike Huckabee, former Republican Governor of Arkansas and 2008 Republican Presidential candidate, appeared on the American Family Association’s radio show to discuss his political positions. During his interview, Huckabee vowed to leave the Republican Party if its leaders do not continue to fight against the legalization of same sex marriage.

On the program, Huckabee, who currently hosts a talk show on Fox News, stated, “If the Republicans want to lose guys like me — and a whole bunch of still God-fearing Bible-believing people — go ahead and just abdicate on this issue, and why you’re at it, go ahead and say abortion doesn’t matter, either.”

Huckabee went on to state, “I am utterly exasperated with Republicans and the so-called leadership of the Republicans who have abdicated on this issue when, if they continue this direction they guarantee they’re gonna lose every election in the future.”

Huckabee’s comments come following a decision made by the Supreme Court this week to allow appeals court rulings on same sex marriage to stand, effectively allowing same sex marriage in five new states and clearing the way for others to follow.

Huckabee finished by stating, “And I don’t understand why they want to lose, because a lot of Republicans, particularly in the establishment and those who live on either the left coast or those who live up in the bubbles of New York and Washington, are convinced that if we don’t capitulate on the same sex marriage issue and if we don’t raise the white flag of surrender, and just the accept it as inevitable, we’ll be losers.”

You can hear part of Huckabee’s comments here:

Follow Michael Lotfi on Facebook & Twitter.

Politics, US

Cruz Calls For Constitutional Amendment After SCOTUS Rejects Anti-Gay Marriage Petitions

35 Comments

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) offered strong criticism of the Supreme Court following its decision to take no action regarding same-sex marriage in several states. Cruz described the decision as “judicial activism at its worst” and announced his intention to introduce a constitutional amendment to stop the government and courts from striking state marriage laws.

On Monday, the SCOTUS chose to reject petitions that challenged same-sex marriage ban reversals in Utah, Virginia, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Cruz condemned the inaction of the Supreme Court, calling the move “tragic and indefensible.”

“By refusing to rule if the States can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution. The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing,” Cruz stated in his press release.

According to Cruz, the 14th Amendment was ratified as “post Civil-War era reform” but the Supreme Court is “making the preposterous assumption that the People of the United States somehow silently redefined marriage in 1868 when they ratified the 14th Amendment.”

“Marriage is a question for the States. That is why I have introduced legislation, S. 2024, to protect the authority of state legislatures to define marriage. And that is why, when Congress returns to session, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment to prevent the federal government or the courts from attacking or striking down state marriage laws. Traditional marriage is an institution whose integrity and vitality are critical to the health of any society. We should remain faithful to our moral heritage and never hesitate to defend it.”

Senator Cruz’s criticism is echoed by groups like Liberty Counsel and the Family Research Council. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated on behalf of its organization that the SCOTUS avoiding making these rulings will essentially force states to legalize gay marriage. “As more and more people lose their livelihoods because they refuse to not just tolerate but celebrate same-sex marriage, Americans will see the true goal, which is for activists to use the Court to impose a redefinition of natural marriage on the entire nation,” stated Perkins.

Fellow Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reportedly voiced a softer, albeit vague, position on same-sex marriage recently. Paul shares the same view with Cruz that marriage should defined state by state. “The bottom line is, I’m old fashioned, I’m a traditionalist. I believe in old-fashioned traditional marriage. But I don’t really think the government needs to be too involved with this, and I think that the Republican Party can have people on both sides of the issue,” said Paul. When asked if he would reconsider that view, he shrugged.

US

Oklahoma Lawmakers: Get the government out of marriage

21 Comments

Should the government even regulate marriage? According to Oklahoma State Representative Mike Turner, the answer is an emphatic “No!”

Turner is proposing a ban on all marriage. “They’re willing to have that discussion about whether marriage needs to be regulated by the state at all,” Turner talked to KWTV, about his constituents’ interest in the marriage ban idea.  He also said that his fellow conservatives feel the same way.

News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |

Opponents say that Turner is proposing this ban to keep same sex marriage in Oklahoma illegal. Oklahoma’s ban on same sex marriage was recently found unconstitutional.

“Would it be realistic for the State of Oklahoma to say, ‘We’re not going to do marriage period?'” Turner was asked. He replied, “That would definitely be a realistic opportunity, and it’s something that would be part of the discussion.”

Turner’s outlook is consistent with his own values. According to Mike Turner’s campaign website, “I will stand for the traditional values that have made this country great. Some believe values like faith and family are outdated. I believe they are timeless. I’ll support the right to life, Second Amendment freedoms, the rights of students to pray in school and our right to publicly express our faith.”

Turner said that he plans to see how the federal appeals process turns out before moving forward with the marriage ban.

The dispute over Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage remains headed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ask those in the liberty movement their opinion on marriage and you’ll get a broad spectrum of opinions. In 2012, Libertarian Party presidential candidate and former governor Gary Johnson said that marriage equality is a civil right under the Constitution. Ron Paul believes that the government should get of the marriage business completely. He says that it should be done by the church or private contracts. See video. Both believe that marriage “is none of the government’s business.”

What’s your opinion? Please comment below.

Follow Joshua Cook on Facebook and on Twitter: @RealJoshuaCook