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Pearce: Supreme Court Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage Ignores The Will Of The People

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM 2)

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which addressed the issue of whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

 

“I was deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court's activist decision which ignores the Constitution, the will of the people in the states, and our religious liberty.  I respect every individual’s right to liberty. However, marriage has always been and will always be the union between one man and one woman.  Moreover, every child deserves both a father and a mother,” stated Pearce.

 

“We are a nation of laws, not of men, and not of arbitrary rule.  Today’s ruling casts aside the Constitution, the voice of the people, longstanding precedent, and the natural law.  The legal definition and regulation of marriage should continue to be left to the will of the people in the 50 states and their elected representatives.

 

“I agree with the dissenting opinions in this case.  Because of this decision, parents are now at greater risk.  Justice Alito wrote, ‘I assume that those who cling to old beliefs . . . if they repeat those views in public . . . will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by . . . schools.’  Schools should not teach that parents are bigots for believing in marriage between one man and one woman.

 

“The Supreme Court has also taken over the issue of marriage.  Chief Justice Roberts wrote, ‘Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage . . . ’  In 2013, judicial activism was similarly imposed in New Mexico, when five judges on the N.M. Supreme Court enacted their own vision of marriage into our state law.

 

“I will continue to defend traditional marriage, the Free Exercise of Religion, and Free Speech.  We must now protect the liberty of those who affirm marriage as a union between one man and one woman in keeping with the observance of their faith. For this reason, I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 2802 - First Amendment Defense Act.  This bill will ensure that the federal government cannot discriminate against those who exercise their freedom of speech and religion in upholding traditional marriage,” Pearce added.