The immediate impression of some will be that this initiative is strictly a matter of religious belief and an effort to shape law out of a certain Christian theology or worldview. While we will address theological issues, God-Given Marriage raises the profound social and constitutional implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in regard to marriage,
Obergefell v. Hodges, about which many with no particular religious affiliation are concerned.
It is irrefutable and undeniable that in the few short years following the Supreme Court decision, we have experienced some tremendous societal shifts. Numerous advocates of that decision now demand tolerance and acceptance of polygamy. They degrade true womanhood by denying that there is anything
objectively true about and intrinsic to being a female when they advocate for transgenderism and gender fluidity. Additionally, many now assert that pedophilia is “natural.” And many are working hard to influence and indoctrinate children in regard to their sexual ethic through drag queen story hours, “family-friendly” gay pride activities, sex education curricula, and much more.
There are multitudes who do not approve of this shift, but they have felt powerless to do anything about it. They feel like the Supreme Court “has ruled” on these “sex issues” for so long, beginning with contraceptives and abortion in the ‘60s and ‘70s, that they just see
Obergefell as the capstone of this judicially-fomented sexual revolution in our culture. Many feel like opposition to this shift will not only engender anger toward them personally, but create expensive lawsuits against their state and local governments that they feel they have little hope of winning.
God-Given Marriage says, “No” to these defeatist feelings and attitudes!
The fact is the legal and constitutional foundations given to us by our Founding Fathers are still there, even though they have been forgotten for decades and often misused. These foundational precepts, which go back centuries in the course of their development, can be used to bring about systemic reformation—even as they did in the formation of America—if the people of Tennessee will insist that at least their elected officials adhere to them. God-Given Marriage seeks to help Tennesseans do just that, and by God’s grace to help citizens in other states do the same.
Specifically, we believe we can no longer ignore the unconstitutional judicial practices taking place in the federal courts of our nation. Too many lawyers and judges now treat U.S. Supreme Court
opinions as if they were amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Federal courts cannot make laws. And the U.S. Supreme Court cannot be understood by our state officials as having the authority to make laws for our state.
We have surrendered our God-given rights and our rights to representative government to the federal judicial branch for too long.
No matter where you may find yourself on the spectrum of LGBT rights, every American who values representative government should be concerned with the
constitutional overreach of the United States Supreme Court on the issue of marriage and its dismissal of foundational constitutional principles such as the separation of powers and respect for the freedoms protected by the
dual sovereignty of state governments and a federal government with limited and delegated powers. Every American should be concerned that the vague and autonomous notions of liberty the United States Supreme Court has been articulating for decades will destroy any sense of unity we might have, even in our local communities.
It is time to tell the politicians and judges at both the federal, state, and local levels who have forgotten our most basic constitutional principles, “Enough!"
