Despite support for gay marriage being at a record high, Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, is arguing that the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the issue will not be the final say. Saying on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “The court is not going to settle this issue.”
The court is not going to settle this issue. In fact, I think it does a disservice to both sides if the court weighs in on public policy like this (…) The courts are designed to interpret the constitution and the constitutionality of the laws, not create public policy. When they do that, they create division and they erect barriers to reaching consensus on public policy like this
in a separate interview on “Face the Nation” Evan Wolfson, the founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said that “the courts are following where that public opinion has gone.”
What’s to be celebrated here is that the vast majority of Americans have opened their hearts and changed their minds and moved forward to embrace the freedom to marry. And the courts are following where that public opinion has gone
Wolfson also stated that Perkins is an “outlier” on the issue of same-sex marriage.
According to CBS News Perkins disputes the idea that there is an overwhelming trend in favor of same-sex marriage now that it is legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia. In the vast majority of those states, he said, it has been “imposed” by the courts rather than voted on by people.
Wolfson said that his group is prepared to keep pressing the issue even if the court does not rule in favor of gay couples who want the Supreme Court to legalize marriage everywhere.
We will build on the progress we’ve made. We will continue engaging our fellow Americans. We will continue the strategy of winning more states and winning more hearts and minds (…) and we’ll go back before, if necessary, another set of justices. But I’m very, very hopeful that this set of justices will see what all these other judges, and what the majority of Americans have seen. It’s time to end the exclusion for marriage. It’s time for the freedom to marry.
David Boies and Ted Olsen, The lawyers who argued in favor of overturning California’s same-sex ban in front the Supreme Court, said on NBC “Meet the Press” they believe the votes exist for the Supreme Court to rule in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.
In other marriage equality news here at Immortal News, a federal appeals court upheld gay marriage bans in 4 states.
