Sunday, June 28, 2015

Republicans React to Gay Marriage Ruling ~ UPDATED

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Previous Related Posts:
#LoveWins ~ Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court

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Republicans had mixed reactions when the Supreme Court made Gay Marriage the law of the land on Friday.

Some tried to be the voice of reason, which is rare for the GOP.

We will comply with the decision and will ensure that our departments are able to do so as quickly as possible.
~ Republican Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee

. . . I’ve long been supportive of gay rights — it’s hard not to see these people as just wanting the human dignity that the rest of us have. I’m trying to tell my party: You’re going to be a relic. You’re going to be left behind if you don’t come to terms with the fact that this is our future.
~ CNN Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp

When it comes to the Supreme Court, I'm very happy that they made the right decision on that, because we, in California, we're always a step ahead. We made the decision already a long time ago.
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger via People

Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision. I also believe that we should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments. In a country as diverse as ours, good people who have opposing views should be able to live side by side. It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate.
~ GOP presidential candidate, Jeb Bush

While I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision, their ruling is now the law of the land. I call on Congress to make sure deeply held religious views are respected and protected.
~ GOP hopeful, Ben Carson

This decision short-circuits the political process that has been underway on the state level for years. While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic and must abide by the law.
~ Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida

Given the quickly changing tide of public opinion on this issue, I do not believe that an attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution could possibly gain the support of three-fourths of the states or a supermajority in the U.S. Congress. Rather than pursing a divisive effort that would be doomed to fail, I am committing myself to ensuring the protection of religious liberties of all Americans.
~ Senator Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, running for GOP Nomination

To me, it is not freedom from religion, it is freedom of religion, which ultimately means we have the right to practice our religious beliefs and not have others interfere.
We should respect the opinions of others in America, but that in return means that they not only respect our opinions, they respect what is written in the Constitution.
~ Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin and 2016 Presidential hopeful

GOP Candidate Donald Trump to his credit, admitted that his own marriages were not spectacular:

From The Hill
“I’m for traditional marriage,” Trump told (CNN's Jake) Tapper, adding that the opinions surround the issue are “changing rapidly.”
Although Trump’s interview aired two days after the Supreme Court declared that same-sex marriage is legal in every state, it was recorded before that decision.
Trump later declared that he disagreed with the court, adding that states should be allowed to decide whether same-sex marriage is legal.
Tapper pressed Trump on his own marital history, asking how he would respond if a gay or lesbian person asked “what’s traditional about being married three times?”
“They have a very good point,” Trump responded.
He went on to defend his behavior in his previous marriages with Ivana Trump and Marla Maples. “I blame myself because my business was so powerful to me,” he said.

Others took predictably extreme views to pander to the Right or stonewall the inevitable change.

There is no such thing as same-sex marriage in the constitution. The words are not there, we've never had it in our history. Five judges on the Supreme Court, or justices, have presumed to find a fundamental right which has no basis in the history or logic or tradition of our country.
I think the law of the land is plain. It's the United States Constitution. Not an opinion of the Supreme Court which contradicts that law.
~ Roy Moore, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

UPDATE: At a Sunday church service in Alabama, Justice Roy Moore doubled down, preaching that Christians were going to be persecuted over the Gay Marriage Law.

From Al.com
"Just who do they think they are when one person can reverse 200-and-something years of precedent in our country and thousands of years of precedent in western civilization," Moore said during remarks Sunday at Kimberly Church of God.
The Republican chief justice, often a lightning rod for controversy, was careful at times to quote or paraphrase the words of dissenting justices in describing his opposition including Justice Samuel Alito's prediction that opponents of gay marriage would be vilified and Chief Justice John Robert's phrase of, "Just who do we think we are?"
"Welcome to the new world. It's just changed for you Christians. You are going to be persecuted according to the U.S Supreme Court dissents," Moore said.
. . . "Is there such a thing as morality anymore? Sodomy for centuries was declared to be against the laws of nature and nature's God. And now if you say that in public, and I guess I am, am I violating somebody's civil rights? Have we elevated morality to immorality? Do we call good, bad? What are we Christians to do?" Moore spoke at the church's "God and Country Day" on an altar decorated with American flags and beneath a projected image of Jesus on a cross.

This is something that should be decided by the people, not by, as (Roberts) called it, five lawyers. That said, those five lawyers get to impose it under our system.
~ New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie

The Supreme Court is completely out of control, making laws on their own, and has become a public opinion poll instead of a judicial body. If we want to save some money, let’s just get rid of the court.
Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that.
~ Louisiana Governor and GOP Candidate, Bobby Jindal

UPDATE: By Sunday, Gov. Jindal had flip-flopped. I guess someone smart (i.e. not GOP) had law-splained to him that Louisiana couldn't afford all the lawsuits they would get if they didn't comply with the Supreme Court.

From NBC News
Presidential candidate Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that while he disagrees with the Supreme Court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, his state will abide by the Court's decision.
"We don't have a choice," Jindal said Sunday. "Our agencies will comply with the court order."
. . . As of Sunday afternoon, Louisiana was the only state in the nation that had not issued any marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"As soon as [the courts] issue their ruling, I suspect it will be a matter of days. I don't know how quickly they will move," Jindal said when asked how soon he will comply with the law.


One size will not fit all. That's not how this country was set up. This week the Supreme Court made decisions that, I'll be real honest with you, I didn't agree with at all. I have said from the get-go that these decisions, particularly that decision about traditional marriage, needed to be made in the states. I believe that with all my heart. That is where that needs to be decided.
~ Texas Ex-Governor and GOP Candidate, Rick Perry

This is not a typical moment in American history. The last 24 hours at the United States Supreme Court were among the darkest hours of our nation.
~ Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas at a presidential campaign stop in Iowa

"The Supreme Court has spoken with a very divided voice on something only the Supreme Being can do-redefine marriage. I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.
. . . This ruling is not about marriage equality, it's about marriage redefinition.
The Supreme Court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature's God on marriage than it can the law of gravity. Under our Constitution, the court cannot write a law, even though some cowardly politicians will wave the white flag and accept it without realizing that they are failing their sworn duty to reject abuses from the court. If accepted by Congress and this President, this decision will be a serious blow to religious liberty, which is the heart of the First Amendment.
~ GOP Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee, in a prepared statement

. . . the only reason you could possibly oppose changing marriage laws in America is because you hate people of the same sex who want to marry. But that’s not true.
. . . It’s a decision based on a lie. It’s a decision based on fundamental untruths. And yet it is the law of the land.
. . . We are now faced not just with a society that’s going to say and is saying that marriage has nothing to do with children. That’s the impact of this decision. Marriage has nothing to do with children.
~ GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, Colorado



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