By Eunie Smith
President, Eagle Forum of Alabama
Dr. John H. Killian, Sr.
Former President of the Alabama Baptist State Convention
It has been three months since the Supreme Court of the United States rocked the nation with their landmark opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, which purported to redefine marriage to include two adults of the same-sex and force that redefinition on “320 million Americans” as Justice Antonin Scalia disparaged in his dissent.
Five “unelected judges” – as Chief Justice Roberts called them in his criticism of Obergefell – dealt an arrogant blow to God, the family, nature, the rule of law, the Constitution of the United States, and the democratic process. Simply because their opinion has been accepted as the “law of the land” by the media and the left, doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to close our eyes to the truth or pretend that the Constitution allows the judicial branch to legislate a new right to same-sex marriage.
Confusion has reigned in the wake of Obergefell. A Christian clerk was jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. A physician was found guilty of warning patients about the dangers of homosexuality. Leading LGBT activist groups rallied for the legalization of prostitution. The Browns, of “Sister Wives,” cited Obergefell in their fight to legalize polygamy. Protests are erupting over transgender boys being allowed in the girls’ bathroom. The Southern Poverty Law Center is pumping funds into their “Teaching Tolerance” curriculum – aimed at brainwashing children to accept perversion in our public schools. Alabama probate judges who uphold what Alabama’s law demands when it comes to marriage, receive frequent hate mail and threats designed to intimidate them into violating their religious beliefs about marriage.
This is only the beginning. Obergefell will be a catalyst for the further deterioration of the family, religious liberty, and the values and principles that have made America great. Massive litigation fees will be incurred as Christians in Alabama stand firm on their convictions in businesses, churches, and in the public square. Judicial activism following Obergefell will only intensify as the sentiments of men and women – no matter how “supreme” – are allowed to trump the rule of law found in the plain text of the Constitution and the “law of Nature and of Nature’s God.”
In March, the Alabama Supreme Court exhibited a remarkable understanding of these issues when they issued a permanent injunction that halted same-sex marriage in this state. Liberty Counsel – with a brief filed on behalf of Alabama Policy Institute and Alabama Citizens Action Program – has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to affirm its injunction and disregard the Obergefell opinion which four members of the United States Supreme Court said was completely unconstitutional.
That request has been pending in the Alabama Supreme Court for nearly three months.
Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams and Probate Judge John Enslen of Elmore County, have asked for an “Emergency” Petition and a “Protective Order” to protect their sincerely held beliefs in light of the prosecution of Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis.
So far those petitions also remain unanswered.
Alabamians elected justices to the Alabama Supreme Court with confidence that they would judge rightly in the fear of God, in step with the Constitution of the United States and the Alabama Constitution, and representative of the traditional values that Alabamians cherish. We anxiously await their decision.
Duty to God, the preservation of our constitutional republic, and the future of families and children require no less than a prompt and resolute decision in this case. The Alabama Supreme Court should act immediately to protect the sincerely held religious beliefs of our citizens and the sanctity of the institution of marriage – as adopted by 81% of Alabama voters. They should not leave the citizens of Alabama to wonder, “Where is the Supreme Court of Alabama?”
