Judicial Tyranny Rules Against Utah

It is with a heavy heart I write this blog post today. On Friday, Judge Robert Shelby of the 10th Circuit Court indulged in a gross overreach of his power, violating the 10th Amendment rights of Utah, and overturned the 3rd Amendment to Utah's Constitution. Sixty-six percent of Utahns voted for this Amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Amendment 3 reads:

1. Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman.

2. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.

An article in the Deseret News read:

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge Friday struck down Utah's voter-approved constitutional amendment — which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman — finding that it violates rights to due process and equal protection as set forth in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld earlier this year that it would be left up to the states to decide whether they would accept gay marriage within their borders.

The 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8), nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Judge Shelby not only ignored the SCOTUS ruling, but also the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land. In so doing, Shelby followed a long line of judges who feel they are allowed to legislate from the bench. It is called judicial tyranny, and it was in fine form in the 10th Circuit Court on Friday.

Utah was founded by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who fled America so they could worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. For more than a century Utah's communities were defined by that which was important to them: God, family and country. We knew we'd begun the battle for freedom in heaven, and it continues today, seven thousand plus years later.

The Proclamation on the Family reads:

THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

On Friday, when Shelby decided to defy his oath of office, he chose to tell the 66% who voted to maintain traditional marriage, finding it so important we amended our state constitution, that the voice of "We the People" was of no consequence to him. He chose to rule against thousands of years of precedent, and the U.S. Constitution. He should be promptly impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, but I fear they haven't the backbone for that either.

This has happened in state after state. The people vote to maintain traditional marriage, and the courts overturn it. It is a huge mistake and one that will cost America dearly in the long run. I defy history to show one incident where the embracing of homosexuality served society well.

Marriage, as a sacrament, is the sole purview of churches and has been for millennia. The federal government pushed its way in, in order to gain a piece of the pie, and messed it up as they have everything else. It has been suggested, and I am seeing the wisdom of it, that the government get out of the marriage business altogether. Leave it to the churches to manage, and then the issue of protection is no longer of importance.

Yes, there are many who will castigate me for this position, but mine is based on religion, history and current law as defined by the Supreme Court of the United States, not by the 10th Circuit Court.

To date, Robert Shelby denied the oral emergency motion to stay, but has agreed to hear the written motion to stay his decision in an expedited fashion. This will, again, find it's way to SCOTUS where they should strike down the 10 Circuit Court decision to overturn our 3rd Amendment, if they follow their own decision rendered earlier this year.

All in all, there are a huge amount of saddened individuals in the state of Utah.

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Copyright 2013. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.