Friday, April 15, 2005

Activist Governors

Time to add to the list: Activist Judges, activist journalists, activist legislators, and now activist governors.

The immortal Family Research Council, in an ironic twist I'm sure eludes them, is praising the Oregon Supreme Court and blasting the Oregon state governor. As I blogged, the State Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages were barred under a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2004. However, the Court specifically expressed no opinion as to whether civil unions, which were not barred by the amendment, would be permissible (required?) under the Oregon constitution. So the governor of the state has indicated he'd be willing to recognize civil unions as an alternative to marriage, so as to guarantee gay citizens their full rights under law. The FRC's response?
Yesterday, the Oregon Supreme Court unanimously nullified 3,000 "same-sex marriages" conducted a year ago in Multnomah County, saying, "The County did not have authority to issue the licenses for the marriages in question." The court noted that Oregon voters approved a constitutional amendment last November that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. When the people are given a voice on this important issue, judges cannot help but acknowledge the will of the people and the rule of law. The people of Oregon have clearly supported marriage as a sacred institution. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski (D), in an end-run move around the people, seeks to impose civil unions on the citizens of Oregon. Such a move only leads to a devaluation of traditional marriage and goes against the intentions of Oregon voters who passed the marriage amendment...The Oregon Supreme Court..."get[s] it" the people define our culture, and the people overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. [emphasis added]

Damn those activist governors, getting in the way of the unelected judiciary! It's time we teach those democratically elected tyrants who's really in charge of this country!

How Appealing has done an incredible job rounding up coverage of the Oregon case. Check it out if you want more.

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