Bryan Fischer
TN lawmakers declare independence from judicial tyranny
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Host of "Focal Point" on AFR Talk, 1-3pm CT, M-F www.afr.net
Two Tennessee lawmakers are showing the rest of the United States the way to strike a lethal blow against the judicial tyranny of the Supreme Court. Here is how it's done: by states with marriage amendments declaring the Court's ruling on sodomy-based marriage null and void.
The Constitution is utterly silent on the subject of marriage and homosexuality – you will not find either word anywhere in the Constitution – which means, according the Constitution as written, dealing with both is a matter for the states under the 10th Amendment.
What Tennessee does with regard to marriage and homosexuality is quite literally none of the federal government's business. This includes, of course, the Supreme Court, since it too is under the authority of the Constitution. It is the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land, not an unelected oligarchy of five tyrants wearing black robes.
In the Volunteer State, two lawmakers – Reps. Mark Pody and Mae Beavers – have drafted a bill that will nullify sodomy-based marriage. As The Blaze puts it, it is a "direct and defiant" response to the Supreme Court overreach in the Obergefell decision of June.
The bill is entitled the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act," in line with the plain biological, moral and historical reality that only marriage between a man and a woman can be considered "natural" in any sense of the word.
These lawmakers, as did the Founders, are seeking to craft legislation in accord with the "laws of nature and nature's God." Simple plumbing tells you that homosexual "marriage" is an oxymoron. The kind of sex employed in homosexual unions puts human body parts to uses that are clearly contrary to the way they were designed.
And homosexual unions are clearly contrary not only to the laws of nature but to the laws of God. Homosexuality is condemned as a behavior from the beginning of Scripture to the end.
According to the Tennessean, the bill flatly states that "Natural marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman, as recognized by the people of Tennessee, remains the law in Tennessee, regardless of any court decision to the contrary. Any court decision purporting to strike down natural marriage, including (a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision), is unauthoritative, void, and of no effect.." (Emphasis mine throughout)
The bill was unveiled on the same day 400 people attended a rally for religious liberty at the State Capitol in Nashville.
A spectacular 81% of Tennessee voters approved an amendment in 2006 that elevates protection for marriage to the state constitution, the highest level of protection a state can provide.
Despite the fact that both Gov. Bill Haslam and Attorney General Herbert Slatery belong to the Republican Party, a party founded to protect natural marriage, they have surrendered the fight to protect marriage without firing a shot. Said Rep. Beavers, "We're going to tell the attorney general, he will defend marriage in Tennessee as it is written on our constitution."
The bill quite correctly states that "not all orders claiming authority under color of law are in fact lawful," and adds that "unlawful orders, no matter their source – whether from a military commander, a federal judge, or the United States Supreme Court – are and remain unlawful, and should be resisted."
The bill directs the attorney general to defend any state or local official from any lawsuit that could arise, and prohibits any state or local agency from enforcing a Supreme Court ruling or any other decision that would allow same-sex "marriage." No official could be either fined or arrested for ignoring the Supreme Court's egregious ruling.
Said Rep. Beavers, the SCOTUS opinion was "blatantly an overstep of (judicial) authority," and added that, "It is time that states like Tennessee stand up against the judicial tyranny of which Thomas Jefferson so eloquently warned."
She's exactly right about Jefferson's warning about judicial overreach. He wrote, "To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiter of all constitutional questions (is) a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy."
The Founders, as the elected representatives of the American people, struck the first blow for liberty by declaring our independence from the tyranny of the Crown. It's time for a second declaration of independence, this time from the tyranny of the federal judiciary.
Two Tennessee lawmakers have drafted that second declaration of independence. Where are the patriots who will join them?
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
September 19, 2015
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Host of "Focal Point" on AFR Talk, 1-3pm CT, M-F www.afr.net
Two Tennessee lawmakers are showing the rest of the United States the way to strike a lethal blow against the judicial tyranny of the Supreme Court. Here is how it's done: by states with marriage amendments declaring the Court's ruling on sodomy-based marriage null and void.
The Constitution is utterly silent on the subject of marriage and homosexuality – you will not find either word anywhere in the Constitution – which means, according the Constitution as written, dealing with both is a matter for the states under the 10th Amendment.
What Tennessee does with regard to marriage and homosexuality is quite literally none of the federal government's business. This includes, of course, the Supreme Court, since it too is under the authority of the Constitution. It is the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land, not an unelected oligarchy of five tyrants wearing black robes.
In the Volunteer State, two lawmakers – Reps. Mark Pody and Mae Beavers – have drafted a bill that will nullify sodomy-based marriage. As The Blaze puts it, it is a "direct and defiant" response to the Supreme Court overreach in the Obergefell decision of June.
The bill is entitled the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act," in line with the plain biological, moral and historical reality that only marriage between a man and a woman can be considered "natural" in any sense of the word.
These lawmakers, as did the Founders, are seeking to craft legislation in accord with the "laws of nature and nature's God." Simple plumbing tells you that homosexual "marriage" is an oxymoron. The kind of sex employed in homosexual unions puts human body parts to uses that are clearly contrary to the way they were designed.
And homosexual unions are clearly contrary not only to the laws of nature but to the laws of God. Homosexuality is condemned as a behavior from the beginning of Scripture to the end.
According to the Tennessean, the bill flatly states that "Natural marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman, as recognized by the people of Tennessee, remains the law in Tennessee, regardless of any court decision to the contrary. Any court decision purporting to strike down natural marriage, including (a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision), is unauthoritative, void, and of no effect.." (Emphasis mine throughout)
The bill was unveiled on the same day 400 people attended a rally for religious liberty at the State Capitol in Nashville.
A spectacular 81% of Tennessee voters approved an amendment in 2006 that elevates protection for marriage to the state constitution, the highest level of protection a state can provide.
Despite the fact that both Gov. Bill Haslam and Attorney General Herbert Slatery belong to the Republican Party, a party founded to protect natural marriage, they have surrendered the fight to protect marriage without firing a shot. Said Rep. Beavers, "We're going to tell the attorney general, he will defend marriage in Tennessee as it is written on our constitution."
The bill quite correctly states that "not all orders claiming authority under color of law are in fact lawful," and adds that "unlawful orders, no matter their source – whether from a military commander, a federal judge, or the United States Supreme Court – are and remain unlawful, and should be resisted."
The bill directs the attorney general to defend any state or local official from any lawsuit that could arise, and prohibits any state or local agency from enforcing a Supreme Court ruling or any other decision that would allow same-sex "marriage." No official could be either fined or arrested for ignoring the Supreme Court's egregious ruling.
Said Rep. Beavers, the SCOTUS opinion was "blatantly an overstep of (judicial) authority," and added that, "It is time that states like Tennessee stand up against the judicial tyranny of which Thomas Jefferson so eloquently warned."
She's exactly right about Jefferson's warning about judicial overreach. He wrote, "To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiter of all constitutional questions (is) a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy."
The Founders, as the elected representatives of the American people, struck the first blow for liberty by declaring our independence from the tyranny of the Crown. It's time for a second declaration of independence, this time from the tyranny of the federal judiciary.
Two Tennessee lawmakers have drafted that second declaration of independence. Where are the patriots who will join them?
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
