Governors Fighting for Injustice

Same-sex marriage advocates were dealt a setback this week. The Utah State Attorney General, at Governor Gary Herbert's request, filed an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to halt a lower court's decision striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor granted the stay, effectively halting legal same-sex marriages until the 10th Circuit renders a decision on the appeal.

Governor Herbert celebrated the Supreme Court's ruling stating "I firmly believe this is a state-rights issue and I will work to defend the position of the people of Utah and our State Constitution." He continued to profess that the 1000+ legally performed same-sex marriages would no longer be recognized by the state.

State's rights... We've seen state's rights being paraded around before as if any state can make any law it chooses without regard for the federal constitution. Slavery was a state's rights issue, and one of the causes of the Civil War. Segregation was a state's rights issue until the Civil Rights Movement of 1964. "State's Rights" was used as a code word for pro-segregationists during the 1960's. This is a Dixiecrat defense.

In 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace, with the National Guard at his side, blocked the steps of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa when the Supreme Court ruled segregation based on race was unconstitutional. Governor Wallace's defense?...He was supporting the laws of his state ("state's rights"), saying "This is not race I'm talking about. Every time I mention this they say this has racial overtones, ... When does it come to have racial overtones in this country to stand for law and order?"

State's rights... After the Civil War, the Reconstruction Constitutional Amendments (13, 14, 15), were ratified to enumerate exactly what must be included when states pass and enforce laws. Most notably and hotly contested, the 14th Amendment calls for Due Process and Equal Protections. These ensure that any law passed by a state must apply equally to all residents of that state, and no law could infringe on the constitutionally protected rights of individuals that reside there. The purpose was to prevent discrimination.

Governor Herbert's contention that he is following the law is bunk. He is merely ducking the 14th Amendment while hiding behind the banner of "state's rights". He is heading down the same path as Governor Wallace in 1963: Becoming a villain of history. These aren't Republican principles. Like Governor Wallace, these are Dixiecrat principles. We must turn our backs on the Dixiecrat influences that have poisoned the Republican Party. Republicans are for people and fairness.

Same-sex marriages exist. States must apply their laws equally. Otherwise, they violate the 14th Amendment, which is the very justification why the Utah same-sex marriage ban was struck down. Every Republican should be shouting loudly at every state that prohibits same-sex marriage: FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION! 

If that fails, we can always send over a history book...