Who Rules Me?

"Why does it matter?" is a common question in my home. I have children in elementary, jr. high, and high school, and I am frequently being questioned on why somethings matters. I have recently become mindful of these questions from my teenagers, because what underlies their inquiry is the inherent question “is this important enough for me to make a stand against my peers?” Having beliefs contrary to the majority is not new. That is how civilizations have progressed and communities have been built, on civil discourse and passionate debate on matters than mean something to us as people. But never has it been more exhausting than now. In our current social climate if you do not agree with the majority, you are maligned, ostracized, and labeled malicious. This is particularly true in public school. What once was a place to experiment with learning and truth, is now a place of peer-controlled conformity. So, when my teen comes home and asks why does that matter, I hear in her voice fatigue and a small hope of possible surrender to the masses. I try to teach my children to pick their battles. Not everything needs one’s attention and focus. But pick what matters and focus on that. Here is why Obergfell v. Hodges matter, and why I choose to pick this battle.

The foundation of our country and the freedoms we have is based upon our Constitution. Our founding fathers designed a government in which the people would govern themselves. The right to govern ourselves is slow moving and sometimes contentious as we disagree and even fight over our idea of what is right. It is not a perfect system, but it is as closes as we have been able to come up with. For thousands of years the idea of marriage has stood as a union between a man and a woman. However, for the past few decades that long held belief has been brought into question by individuals desiring to be married to a same sex partner. This topic has been passionately debated and argued from both perspectives and as a result has been brought before state legislatures to legalize same sex marriages. Some have passed and resulted in the redefining of marriage in that state. Others have not passed and have remained in the traditional definition of a marriage. In 2015 some individuals petitioned the Supreme Court (in what is now known as Obergefell v. Hodges) to expand the definition of marriage to same sex partners and overrule state legislation. In a 5 to 4 vote the petition was granted, and here is why that matters. The Supreme court has never had the job, duty, or freedom to enact legislation. Its only job is to interpret law and current legislation. The duty of writing and passing new laws lies in the Legislative Branch (Congress) which is voted and elected by the people. As such it should represent the will and voice of the people. To quote Justice Roberts in his dissenting argument, “judges have the power to say what is law, not what should be law.” We the people get to decided what should be law.  In Obergefell v. Hodges 5 Supreme Court judges wrongfully took that power upon themselves. This matters to me.  Instead of a democratic republic we are being governed by 5 unelected and unaccountable individuals.  So what? How does that change my everyday life? Well it brings into question how I exercise my religious freedoms, which is a guarantee of the First Amendment. If the exercising of my faith comes into conflict with same sex marriage whose rights will be compromised first? If this matter had been left up to public debate and discourse and enacted through legislative law (which it should have been) then these issues could have been discussed and solved. However, the Supreme Court did not give us the right to govern and instead legalized their belief.  I choose to pick this battle because I still believe the Constitution was created to ensure fairness to all people. I pick this battle because, as Judge Scalia states, “It is of overwhelming importance…who rules me. [This] decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of nine lawyers on the Supreme Court.” I pick this battle, and I believe my kids should as well, because this determines who will rule them. It determines if the country they inherit from me will still be a democratic republic and whether or not their voice is heard.

To read the opinions of the court here is a website to visit:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf