I watched some of the Senate debate on the Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage yesterday. I was struck by the arrogance of both sides of the argument. While the Democrats at least argued for states’ rights and individual freedom, they still assumed that government has the authority to define marriage. However, the truth is that they only have that authority as long as we give it to them. Let me explain.
The freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution is a fundamental human liberty. We have the inherent right as individuals to hang out with whomever we choose. We also have the Constitutional right to freedom of religion. We have the inherent right as individuals to worship according to our own convictions and beliefs. These two individual rights comprise the foundational components of marriage. What then is the government’s role in a marriage relationship? Until the mid-1800’s in American, that role was minimal.
Here is the convoluted logic that led us to where we are today. The first usurpation of individual rights came in colonial times when most states outlawed interracial marriage or miscegenation. By the 1800’s, all of the states had adopted such laws. The mid-1800’s brought about some societal change, particularly in the North, and some states started allowing interracial marriages under certain circumstances, however, a state license was required. So, instead of simply repealing the laws banning interracial marriage, government assumed the power to license marriage. This is an important point. There were two choices here, if they had repealed the laws banning certain types of marriages, government would have forfeited some of it’s authority and granted the people more freedom. Instead they decided that the proper remedy was to establish a government run licensing process which gave the appearance of freedom, but in fact granted government the explicit power to track, define, promote, allow, and deny marriages as they saw fit. As is always the case, once the government is granted a new power, they work to expand it at the expense of personal liberty. Within a decade states began requiring that all marriages obtain a license. In 1923 the Federal Government got into the act with the passage of the Uniform Marriage and Marriage License Act, and government’s have not stopped consolidating their power over marriage to this day. We now have judges, politicians, and government bureaucrats defining marriage across the country. In their infinite wisdom they have decided that no fault divorce is a great idea. They have also increased their monopoly on the definition of marriage by passing laws which benefitted only people with a valid, government issued marriage license. For example, employers are required by law to provide health benefits for the legal spouse of an employee.
This is right out of the pages of “1984” by George Orwell. Massachusetts has decided that the definition of marriage includes gays and lesbians, and that they are entitled to all of the same government benefits. Senate Republicans and Christian conservatives, grabbing hold of the liberal aphorism “the common good”, are now trying to “fix” the problem with more laws. They passed the Defense of Marriage Act which spends tax dollars on commercials promoting marriage, and now they are trying to pass the Constitutional amendment. More laws and government intrusion is not the answer. Christians and homosexuals alike must realize that government has no right to define and legislate marriage.
Here is my solution:
1) Remove all government benefits associated with marriage.
2) Remove all government licensing of marriage.
3) Convince your neighbor that Biblical, covenant marriage is the only true way to
get married. It is best for the children and for society, and it is what God intended.
4) Establish denomination or church-wide Biblically based marriage covenants which all members of those churches must agree to. Individuals would be free to go elsewhere to get married, but they would lose the community benefits of being a part of the church.
The churches who follow the Biblical definition of marriage will be successful. They will have healthy families with prosperous households. The churches or communities that do not follow this definition of marriage will not succeed over time. This may be rough at first, but what will happen eventually is that people who have covenant marriages will be successful in life, and those who don’t will be miserable. I believe that within a matter of 10 to 20 years, covenant marriage would be the primary form of marriage in this country. Instead, the majority of marriages end in divorce because people have nowhere to look to see true covenant marriages. The church is just as bad as the world when it comes to marriage and divorce because we have accepted the government’s definition. Instead, we need to establish an example of what marriage should be, in contrast to the government’s system, so that people will be able to clearly see the benefits of God’s plan.
My belief is that marriage is instituted by God as a covenant between two people. It goes deeper than a mere contract on a piece of paper, and involves the joining of a man and a woman at the spiritual, emotional, and physical levels. By allowing the government to define marriage on its terms, we have granted it the authority to play God and they are doing a very poor job. Let’s work to end government intrusion into God’s plan, and return marriage to it’s rightful place in the hands of the individual, and the Almighty.