Judson Cox, March 8, 2004

If a Constitutional amendment is the only way to prevent the tide of gay marriages spreading across our nation like a disease, then I am going to have to support it. However, it is a bad option. There are better ways to stop this plague, but our "leaders" are too cowardly to pursue them

A Constitutional amendment would be in opposition to the philosophical core of our founding documents for the federal government to have any dictate over marriage. Our founders strived to create a government that would stay out of the personal and contractual affairs of its citizens, under the philosophy that government is best when it governs least. Our founders created a system of government where, if laws that would intrude into the personal and contractual relations of our citizens were desired, they could be implemented by state government.

We are now a nation in which government has some role in nearly every aspect of our lives. The extent, costs and ramifications of federal intrusion into the lives of private citizens are too numerous to list, no matter the length of this column -- beneath every level of bureaucracy lies another layer of regulation and over-reaching law. Regardless of the intent of these laws, the result is that states and individuals are now almost completely beholden to, and controlled by the federal government. Federal over-reach is a double edged sword that should never have been forged, but it is a reality whether small government conservatives like it or not. If it was the only weapon we could wield in this culture war, pragmatism would dictate we do so.

However, it is not our only weapon, and certainly not our best.

The best way to prevent legalized gay marriage is courage. The overwhelming majority of Americans oppose gay marriage. America ’s reaction to gay marriage has become even more negative as we have watched thousands of gay couples wed from California to New York . However, not one of our politicians, in this pole driven democracy, has had the guts to condemn gay marriage in explicit and absolute terms. They ramble hypnotically about the sanctity of marriage, and claim that gay marriage undermines the institution of marriage. Maybe it does in a vague, general sense; but, gay marriage is neither vague nor general. Real homosexuals are being married, and a real majority of American citizens are disgusted and outraged that these unions are being approved by their government. We are a government by and for the people -- we are angered when the laws of our nation are disregarded by judges or rogue officials.

If a politician of either major party had the guts to say, "I oppose gay marriage because it is illegal, immoral, unnatural and unhealthy. If you elect me, I will do everything in my power to prevent the legal sanction of such unions in our state. My opponent either approves of gay marriage or lacks the courage and conviction to prevent it," that politician would win election even in California ! If conservatives were to focus every local, state-wide and congressional election in the country on the issue of gay marriage, conservatives would sweep the nation -- that is what the polls show. By lacking the courage to state strongly their opposition to gay marriage, conservatives enable liberals to blur the issue into vague notions of civil rights and legislative minutia. Once the issue is obfuscated, the gay agenda advances, and the vast majority of Americans remain frustrated by our continual defeat in every battle of the culture war.

Consider why our Founding Fathers never addressed the issue of gay marriage -- the very concept of homosexuality was considered too perverse to even be alluded to in civil discourse. Now , our culture is saturated by homosexuality and nearly every other perversion imaginable. We have already banned religion from the public square, and legalized the murder of the unborn. We have disvalued western culture and degraded nearly every value that has enabled America to rise to its place as the pinnacle of civilization. Our complacency and timidity has made even the most innocent among us complicit in the moral sewer our nation has become. Will we have the courage to make a stand on this issue, or will we give rise to entire generations of John Walker Lindhs, children so scarred by the homosexuality and moral relativism of their parents that they reject America and ally with our enemy? The silent majority must be silent no more.

Judson Cox is a political columnist from the mountains of North Carolina. He is quickly gaining recognition as one of the most popular and influential voices of his generation. As a college student, and a young entrepreneur, he has a unique perspective on matters of politics, economics and culture.

Copyright © 2004 Judson Cox