A Good Day for the 14th Amendment...

AMENDMENT XIV

SECTION 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

In a speech this evening at the Human Rights Campaign's New York City Gala, Attorney General Eric Holder disclosed that on Monday, the Obama Administration will announce some major changes to same sex marriage couples and their rights when it comes to federal legal matters including bankruptcies, prison visits and survivor benefits. This change will be effective nationwide including the 34 states where same-sex marriage isn't legal, but be limited to those legal areas where the federal government holds jurisdiction. 

Not surprisingly, voices from the conservative world reacted with dismay.  Brian Brown, president of the National Organisation for Marriage, commented that "to undermine the authority and sovereignty of the states to make their own determinations regulating the institution of marriage. The American public needs to realize how egregious and how dangerous these usurpations are and how far-reaching the implications can be. "The changes being proposed here to a process as universally relevant as the criminal justice system serve as a potent reminder of why it is simply a lie to say that redefining marriage doesn't affect everyone in society."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said the change, "is yet another illustration of the lawlessness of this administration."

To be clear, the announcement doesn't force states to conduct same sex marriages if they don't want to. The changes are all at the federal level, not the state.

When the 14th Amendment says "equal protection" it, at least to this Administration and this Attorney General, is worth enforcing. Its ironic watching the folks that usually love to wrap themselves in the flag, the constitution and the Bible, reacting the way many have today. Where's the rejoicing for this more literal interpretation of the 14th?

I'm tired of being asked to accept that the 2nd Amendment MUST be taken literally when it comes to bearing arms, but that same standard is wholly inappropriate when it comes to same sex marriage. 

I'm tired of hearing from one political party that government is too big and interfering in too many places in Americans lives, yet this same political party seems hellbent on inserting government into consenting adults marriages, bedrooms, women's vaginas, etc. (If that's not intrusive, I don't know what is.)

Just who's shredding the Constitution, here? I say good for the Obama Administration to take this very proper step on behalf of thousands of same sex couples across the country. Polls suggest that younger conservatives have less of a problem with this issue than older ones do, which bodes well for the future of conservatism. When exactly will the future of conservatism get here, is anybody's guess.

Sources: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/more-federal-privileges-to-extend-to-same-sex-couples.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=1
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/08/politics/holder-same-sex-marriage-rights/

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304450904579371011452246646?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304450904579371011452246646.html

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-06-22/news/fl-gay-marriage-conservatives-20130622_1_florida-republicans-gay-marriage-ryan-anderson