Three states file bills to circumvent ‘gay marriage’ rulings by federal courts
In the national “gay marriage” battle, the state legislatures in Oklahoma, Texas, and South Carolina are now taking active steps to fight back. Legislators in all three states have filed bills to defund and prohibit any creation or recognition of “gay marriages” by the government, no matter what the federal courts may decide.MassResistance has been working with the people involved in each of those states!
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The Texas State Capitol. The history of Texas is not one of backing down to tyranny. |
And it’s not standing still. The bill in Oklahoma was passed in committee this past week and is on its way to the House floor! Plus, other states (such as Utah) are possibly in the wings to follow. Among other things, this could rekindle a constitutional battle that goes back to the founding of America.
The “gay marriage” juggernaut
In just the past two years we’ve all watched in horror as liberal activist federal judges have arrogantly “struck down” laws and constitutional amendments upholding real marriage in 23 states around the country. Some of these amendments were passed by an 80% margin.
Although the US Supreme Court has announced it will be ruling on “gay marriage” this summer, it’s completely unpredictable what will happen. Many people rightly fear that the political momentum toward this madness – even among “good” Supreme Court judges” – is out of control. Will they rule (against all reason) that “gay marriage” is a protected right across America? They just might.
The recent legal attempts by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore to stop “gay marriage” in that state, though “overruled” by a federal judge” was a bold stand that inspired a lot of people, adding to the momentum of this fight
Cutting off state funds . . . the power of the purse!
Pro-family legislators in all three states have filed similar bills — that cut off all state funding (including pay and pension) from any state employee or activity that processes a “gay marriage” certificate, or legitimizes, enforces, or recognizes, a “gay marriage” in any way.
This idea of establishing “state sovereignty” on an issue not assigned to Congress in the U.S. Constitution — or a clearly illegal act by the federal government — is not new. And it has predictably set off a firestorm among homosexual activists and the local liberal media, reaching all the way to the New York Times and US News and World Report.
Here’s what’s happened so far in the three states:<
1. OKLAHOMA
[In 2004, 76% of Oklahoma voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It was “struck down” by U.S. District Court Judge Terence C. Kern on Jan. 14, 2014.]
Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern is a fearless pro-family advocate. (She spoke at the MassResistance banquet in 2011.) Rep. Kern filed bill HB 1599 in January. The bill says:
B. No taxpayer funds or governmental salaries shall be paid for any activity that includes the licensing or support of same-sex marriage. No employee of this state and no employee of any local governmental entity shall officially recognize, grant or enforce a same-sex marriage license and continue to receive a salary, pension or other employee benefit at the expense of taxpayers of this state. No taxes or public funds of this state shall be spent enforcing any court order requiring the issuance or recognition of a same-sex marriage license.
C. The courts of this state shall dismiss any challenge to any portion of the Preservation of Sovereignty and Marriage Act, with an award of costs and attorney fees to defendants. No employee of this state and no employee of any local governmental entity shall violate or interfere with the implementation of this act and continue to receive a salary, pension or other employee benefit at the expense of taxpayers of this state.
D. If a judge violates this act, the judge shall be removed from office pursuant to Section 1 of Article VIIA of the Oklahoma Constitution.
Read entire bill HB 1599 here.
This past Tuesday (Feb. 17) the Oklahoma Legislature’s Judiciary and Civil Procedure Committee approved the bill by 5-3, sending it to the House floor.
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Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern is nationally known as a fearless and principled pro-family advocate. |
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The Committee session consisted of the members grilling Rep. Kern about the bill and its effects. You can tell that some of them are lawyers and a bit skittish about the legalisms of taking on the federal government. She handled it very well. Here is the audio of the Judiciary Committee questioning Rep. Kern about her bill,from the OK State House website:
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AUDIO of the Judiciary Committee legislators questioning Rep. Sally Kern about her bill, then voting to pass it. (35 min. 44 sec.) |
We spoke with Rep. Kern on Friday. The homosexual activists have started their predictable campaign of disinformation and intimidation to try to stop the bill But in Oklahoma the bill seems popular enough among lawmakers to withstand that.
The session is relatively short, so things should start to move fast. The deadline for the House to deal with it is March 12. The Senate deadline is April 29. Bills must be signed the Governor by May 29.
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Rep. Kern addresses the MassResistance Banquet in 2011. |
2. TEXAS
[In 2005, 76% of Texas voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It was “struck down” by Federal District Judge Orlando Garcia on Feb. 26, 2014.]
Things got started earlier in Texas. In September a major pro-family activist in Texas phoned MassResistance and asked us to be on two state-wide conference calls on the effects of “gay marriage” on a state. In October, the Texas group followed up by sending copies of our video, “What gay marriage did to Massachusetts,” to 15,000 pastors across Texas. All this was to lead up to the bill’s filing.
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Texas State Rep. Cecil Bell |
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In December, State Rep. Cecil Bell, a great pro-family supporter, filed bill HB 623 in the Legislature. It says:
(c) State or local taxpayer funds or governmental salaries may not be used for an activity that includes the licensing or support of same-sex marriage.
(d) A state or local governmental employee officially may not recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license. If an employee violates this subsection, the employee may not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense of the taxpayers of this State.
(e) Taxes or public funds may not be utilized to enforce a court order requiring the issuance or recognition of a same-sex marriage license.
(f) A court of this State shall dismiss a legal action challenging a provision of this section and shall award costs and attorney’s fees to a person or entity named as a defendant in the legal action.
(g) A person employed by this State or a local governmental entity who violates or interferes with the implementation of this section may not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit.
So far the bill hasn’t been assigned to a committee. We were told that MassResistance would likely be asked to come and testify when it got before a committee. The session ends June 1, so it must pass the House and Senate by then. We were told that the bill’s chances of passing are “very, very good.”
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Last October a Texas activist group mailedour DVD on “What ‘gay marriage’ did to Massachusetts” to 15,000 pastors across the state! |
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3. SOUTH CAROLINA
[In 2006, 78% of voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It was “struck down” by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel on Nov. 12, 2014.]
In December, State Rep. Bill Chumley filed bill H 3022 in the General Assembly. It says:
(B) No state or local governmental employee officially shall recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license. If an employee violates this subsection, the employee must not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense of the taxpayers of this State.
(C) No taxes or public funds may be utilized to enforce a court order requiring the issuance or recognition of a same-sex marriage license.
(D) A court of this State shall dismiss a legal action challenging a provision of this section and shall award costs and attorney’s fees to a person or entity named as a defendant in the legal action.
(E) No person employed by this State or a local governmental entity who violates or interferes with the implementation of this section may continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit.
On Christmas Eve, MassResistance got an email from an activist in South Carolina asking us if we could mobilize our supporters in that state to fight for the “sovereignty” bill that they had just filed, for the upcoming session starting in January.
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South Carolina State Rep. Bill Chumley is another fearless and principled legislator. MassResistance has been working with him on strategy issues. |
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On January 19, MassResistance got a phone call from Rep. Chumley, and talked about strategy issues. Since then we’ve been involved with several calls about moving the bill forward. Support around the state seems to be growing quite fast.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, though the hearing has not yet been scheduled. The 2015 session ends on June
4. UTAH: WAITING IN THE WINGS?
[In 2006, 78% of Utah voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. It was “struck down” by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby on Oct. 20, 2013.]
We’ve been working with Utah activists and a few state legislators on the marriage issue since the judge’s ruling in October, 2013. In October 2014, major activists crafted a Utah resolution of state sovereignty and presented it to the Legislature. State sovereignty has always been a big issue in Utah. Activists are pressuring pro-marriage legislators to introduce text of a “sovereignty” bill similar to the others. So far the politicians have not pulled the trigger on that. We’re continuing to work with statewide activists and helping the best we can.
Why this MUST be done
Many people feel that the time for a such a confrontation by the states and the people is greatly overdue. We hope that this is the beginning of an awakening nationwide before it’s too late.
Probably even more than the infamous Roe v Wade ruling in 1972, the unbelievable distortion of the Constitutional that federal judges have been using to force “gay marriage” on states is itself lawless. In case after case these judges use an utterly absurd reading of the 14th Amendment, peppered with pronouncements about current marriage law not having a “rational basis” (as if that were a legitimate basis for court decisions) to reach their predetermined conclusions. Many of these judges are radical Obama appointees, and others are strongly influenced by them. They are clearly far more interested in being right politically than judicially.
The “gay marriage” putsch by the federal courts on the people is only the latest example — stretching back to the early days of the nation — of a judiciary often willing to ignore the plain text of the law and the Constitution in favor of the prevailing political winds.
All of this is combined with the ceding of enormous power to the Courts by Congress and the American people over the years. It is something that the founding fathers (particularly John Adams) greatly feared and tried to protect us against.
Thus, the people must now deal with a judiciary that had already become arbitrary, oppressive, and very powerful — and now is infiltrated by radical people whose aim is to bring a progressive brand of “social justice” to America rather than the actual legal justice that a free society must have to exist.
If nothing else, we must not forget that it was the states that existed first and created the federal government — not the other way around. Bravo to Oklahoma, Texas, and South Carolina for understanding that. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
