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AFTAH republishes this column by our friend Bryan Fischer from the outstanding website Renew America; to learn more about R.A., click HERE. Americans are indebted to Judge Roy Moore for attempting to stop arrogant judicial supremacists from imposing homosexual so-called “marriage” on the citizens of Alabama and those in so many other states who have been disenfranchised on this critical issue. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at “Focal Point”
A federal judge’s ruling is not a “law.” It is a “ruling.” So, for example, when people refer to Roe v. Wade as “the law of the land,” they are simply mistaken.
A “law” is something enacted by the elected representatives of the people (or by the people directly through referendum) and signed by the chief executive. A judge’s “ruling” is not therefore a “law.” Judges have no authority whatsoever to make law. They can issue rulings, but the power to make law is flatly prohibited to them.
This is clear from the first words in the the first article of the Constitution. “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
That is “all,” as in “every last little single bit,” of the power to make law has been vested in Congress. That means no legislative power whatsoever has been granted to the judiciary. That is “no” legislative power as in zip, zilch, nada.
The New York Times makes a typical and constitutionally illiterate gaffe in today’s edition, on a piece on Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s directive to probate judges in Alabama to refuse to issue wedding licenses based on what Alabama state law still refers to as “deviate sexual intercouse.”
In Alabama, United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade issued a ruling – not a “law” you will note – overturning the state’s marriage amendment, which was passed with 81% of the vote in 2006. Thus this tyrannical judge in one fell swoop pulverized the voting rights of 697,591 Alabamians.
This judge, acting like a black-robed despot, has ordered Alabama to begin issuing same-sex licenses as of today (February 9). Judge Moore is rightly and constitutionally saying not so fast.
The year 2014 in America saw an unprecedented overreach by the judiciary, with federal judges–contemptuous or at least dismissive of the people’s clearly-expressed will–striking down as “unconstitutional” popular state ballot measures preserving the age-old definition of marriage as between husband and wife.
Only an “evolving Constitution” could countenance so-called rights and “marriage” based on sexual deviancy. Legislators, not courts, change the law, and well into the 20th Century most states had laws on their books banning homosexual sodomy—once known as the infamous “crime against Nature.” To this day homosexual acts remain “against Nature,” hence their disproportionate association with sexual diseases like HIV and syphilis—which is why MSM (men having sex with men) is a red flag for blood donations.
Today’s judicial supremacists—with media sycophants in tow—don’t care that the United States Supreme Court has already established precedent in 1972 against using the Fourteen Amendment–designed to combat institutionalized racism left over from slavery–to legalize homosexuality-based “marriage.” The Supreme Court dismissed in an appeal of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision Baker vs. Nelson in which the majority wrote:
“[I]n commonsense and in a constitutional sense, there is a clear distinction between a marital restriction based merely upon race and one based upon the fundamental difference in sex.”
The 2014 judicial avalanche in favor of radically redefining marriage to accommodate homosexual behavior exposes a key contradiction of the Left: on the one hand progressives bemoan voter-ID laws, arguing that these laws are purposely designed to make it harder for African-Americans and likely Democratic voters to cast a ballot.
On the other hand, “progressives” like those inhabiting the offices of the ACLU overwhelmingly support judicial negation of successful state constitutional amendments preserving marriage as between one man and one woman—in states like Utah, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma and Florida. Each of these court rulings imposing “gay marriage” disenfranchises millions of Americans on the issue.
Moreover, polls show that Black Americans are a strong demographic in support of traditional marriage. So effectively, to use Twitter-ese, liberals are saying that #BlackVotesMatter–except when it comes to popular state amendments rejecting homosexuality-based “marriage,” for which (millions of) #BlackVotesDoNotCount.
Sexual revolutionaries have cunningly have mastered the art of using government power through the manipulation of the law to legitimize their sin, in this case homosexual behavior–which God calls an abomination (“detestable”; see Leviticus 20:13) and a sin that can be overcome through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). So naturally the Left has exulted in the tendency of most courts to reject overwhelmingly popular ballot measures designed to protect the historic definition of marriage.
Left-wing Chicago homosexual activist Andy Thayer (at left) of Gay Liberation Network (GLN) unfurls pro-homosexual “rainbow flag” in the gallery of the Illinois House May 30. Photo: Dave Smith of Illinois Family Institute — who led the successful grassroots effort to stop passage of a homosexuality-based “marriage” bill before the legislative session ended May 31. Click on photo to enlarge.
UPDATE: June 1, 2013 — in what is a stunning setback to the Homosexual Lobby in Illinois, openly homosexual St. Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) announced on the last day of the legislative session yesterday that he did NOT have the votes to call SB 10, the same-sex “marriage” bill. Harris and his high-powered liberal allies were not able to peel off enough Chicago Democrats or wavering Republicans — in a General Assembly that has veto-proof Democratic super-majorities in both houses — to pass the bill. A strong grassroots coalition of black, white and latino Christians across the state formed the backbone of the opposition.
Congratulations are well deserved to: first and foremost to my good friend and Illinois Family Institute (IFI) leader Dave Smith, who worked his tail off up and down the state to stop SB 10; and Laurie Higgins, Kathy Valente, Dave Norck and the entire IFI team; Paul Caprio of Family-PAC, who led the Coalition to Protect Children & Marriage (of which AFTAH is a member) and did yeoman’s work in thwarting SB 10; Bob Gilligan of the Catholic Conference; former Sen. Rev. James Meeks, who played a huge role; veteran Springfield lobbyists Ralph Rivera and Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch; Penny Pulen; Peter Breen; Scott Phelps (Abstinence & Marriage Partnership); Bishop Lance Davis; AFTAH Board Member John McCartney; John Zahm; John Biver; Jack Roeser; Nick Costello; Rev. Larry Rogers; Hiram Crawford; Tom Brejcha (Thomas More Society); Mary Anne Hackett; Elise Bouc; Rev. Bill Owens (Coalition of African American Pastors); Brian Brown and National Organization for Marriage; Jim Finnegan; Cardinal Francis George (see his letter on homosexual “marriage” HERE); and all the pro-family advocates who helped secure this unlikely victory. (There are so many more I could name.)
We must realize that this is only a temporary win. Now homosexual activists will redouble their efforts to homosexualize marriage in our state — so we must redouble our efforts to stop them.
Also, immediately after the defeat, the powerful homosexual lawyers group Lambda Legal began touting its lawsuit — before openly lesbian judge Sophia Hall — as another avenue towards legalizing homosexuality-based “marriage” in Illinois. Self-styled “queer” activists, filled with “pride” and considerable arrogance, believe they are entitled to homosexual “marriage” as a supposed constitutional “civil right.” They are wrong. (And, yes, Judge Hall should recuse herself from this case due to her obvious conflict of interest; see biased homosexual Advocate article HERE and “Think Progress” piece slamming AFTAH HERE.)
This hard-won victory, after a string of “marriage” defeats in other states, will encourage and energize pro-family advocates across the nation because it shows — despite the frequent boasts of our adversaries — that homosexuality-based “marriage” is NOT “inevitable,” even in Democratic-dominated Illinois. AFTAH has been defending real marriage here for a long time, so we will savor this triumph of common sense over social leftism. But only for a moment, and then it’s back to work.
This was about “We the People” winning out over homosexual and liberal special interest groups. God bless all of you who got involved in this battle: YOUR calls and contacts with legislators and fellow citizens made the difference! Let’s keep on fighting for Truth! — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality
AG Lisa Madigan supports ACLU/homosexual lawsuits against the law she is supposed to defend
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan with homosexual activist Art Johnston at a 2007 homosexual activist fundraising banquet in Chicago. This photo appears on the Illinois Attorney General's website. Click on graphic to enlarge.
This is an important essay by my friend Laurie Higgins of Illinois Family Institute (IFI) — and not just for those of us living in Illinois. Following the lead of President Obama, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has abandoned the rule of law to kowtow to the desires of the ACLU and homosexual activists — a departure from her sworn law enforcement duties so extreme that it even shocked homosexual activists (see below). Lisa Madigan — daughter of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D), the most powerful politician in the state– is a longtime political ally of the homosexual lobby in Chicago (see graphic).
IFI and the Thomas More Society will be working with Alliance Defense Fund to defend the existing Illinois Marriage Law that Madigan and other top officeholders (all Democrats) refuse to defend. The following is an excellent primer on the public policy rationale for defending natural marriage, the misapplication of “civil rights” arguments to the homosexual “marriage” issue, and the difference between past discrimination based on race and that necessary legal distinctions based on volitional homosexual conduct. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
Lambda Legal in cahoots with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois are suing the Cook County Clerk for purportedly violating the Constitution of Illinois when Cook County refused to issue marriage licenses to men who sought to marry men and women who sought to marry women. To make matters worse, these ethically challenged Illinois leaders have all expressed support for the lawsuit: Governor Patrick Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, and Cook County Clerk David Orr.
Lambda Legal is a homosexual legal organization hell-bent on using the judicial system to bypass the will of the people in order to impose its subversive sexuality theories on the entire country. This is the organization that shoved same-sex marriage down the throats of Iowans, which, not incidentally, brought the electoral defeat of those judges who threw their lots in with Lambda Legal.
Here is an appearance from last Summer of my friend Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com, on Sacramento’s Fox-40’s live morning show (July 18, 2011). Randy has become a fervent advocate of parents pulling their children out of the public schools, especially in the wake of passage a SB 48, a California bill that mandates the teaching of homosexual, bisexual and transgender historical figures (read: pro-“gay”-activist history) in K-12 schools. The law went into effect January 1, 2012. Note Randy’s allusion to the law’s prohibition on negative information about homosexuality, which refers to the portion of the law that amends the Cal. Education Code as follows:
51501. The state board and any governing board shall not adopt any textbooks or other instructional materials for use in the public schools that contain any matter reflecting adversely upon persons on the basis of race or ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, or because of a characteristic listed in Section 220.
For more on the other “sexual indoctrination” bills pending in the California legislature, go HERE.
Judge Vaughn Walker had “personal bias”; his “outrageous decision must be vacated”
Admitted homosexual Judge Vaughn Walker
By J. Matt Barber
Proposition 8 is an amendment to California’s State Constitution. It was passed by a comfortable margin via ballot initiative in 2008. Prop 8 maintained the age-old definition of marriage in the Golden State as requiring binary male-female compatibility. It remains tied-up in Federal Court today.
Back in February of 2010 it became rumored that retired Federal Judge Vaughn Walker – who presided over the case at the District level – was a practitioner of the homosexual lifestyle. It was further reported that he had a longtime male lover. Judge Walker refused to confirm or deny the rumors. At the time I was one of the few people to publicly call for his recusal. It’s inexplicable that attorneys defending Prop 8 didn’t make such a motion.
With Judge Walker’s recent admission that he does in fact practice homosexuality, the case for recusal has been proven. His ruling on the Prop 8 case should be immediately vacated as he possessed both an incontrovertible and disqualifying conflict of interest.
Display prominently celebrating new Illinois "Civil Unions" law put up by a pro-homosexual student club at Lyons Township High School. Photo: Earl Gough. Click on photo to enlarge.
Dear Readers, each pro-homosexual law makes it easier for school administrators and teachers to allow the one-sided promotion of homosexuality in their school, as occurred recently at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Illinois (see photo). The state’s Democrat-dominated General Assembly passed a “Civil Unions” bill in a lame-duck session last year (before a new elected, more conservative legislature could take office) — and Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed it into law January 31. (The bill, which also allows heterosexual “civil unions,” thus further undermining marriage, takes effect June 1.)
America’s public schools are becoming de facto “Homosexuality-Promotion Zones” — directly undermining the authority of parents to guide their children’s moral upbringing — and subjecting Christian and moral-minded students to one-sided pro-homosexuality propaganda like the above. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; [Send news about your children’s or local schools to americansfortruth@gmail.com.]
Three elitist Iowa Supreme Court Justices down, four to go.
When the ACLU is whining about how “extremists” are taking over America, it is generally a sign that something good has happened in this nation. “We the People’s” repudiation of President Barack Obama’s and the Democrats’ left-wing agenda extended to a rejection of “homosexual marriage” and other extreme policies. Iowa voters tossed out three state Supreme Court justices who were part of the 7-0 decision to impose counterfeit “same-sex marriage” on the state in 2009. Good for them!
This is only the most important of many defeats for the Homosexual Lobby and its elitist liberal defenders on Election Day. We will try to alert you to some other significant pro-family victories on what was truly a pivotal day for the United States of America. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
Voters tell 3 Supreme Court justices: You’re fired! Ouster follows imposition of same-sex ‘marriage’ on Iowans
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Posted: November 03, 2010
11:21 am Eastern
By Bob Unruh
Iowa voters have expressed their opposition to court-mandated same-sex “marriage” in their state by firing three of the state Supreme Court justices who created the new “right.”
Now those who campaigned for voters to reject Marsha Ternus, David Baker and Michael Streit say they are hoping that the message will reverberate across the country and other judges will begin reining in their activism.
“The people have spoken. Time for the elitist judges to understand there is a constitution and that government is owned by the people,” wrote Dennis S. in a forum at the Topix.com website.
Pastor Cary Gordon of Cornerstorne World Outreach in Sioux City, [Iowa] was one of the pastors who coordinated a letter to churches asking them to speak out against homosexual “marriage.”