The Debate Over Gay Marriage

Written between April and May 2^nd, 2004 as a High School Writing Workshop Piece

Edited on February 1^st, 2016

            Same-sex marriage is becoming a more and more important and widely debated issue, and is creating controversy and inspiring rallies across the country. Recently, the City of San Francisco, California legalized same-sex marriage, challenging the state’s constitution, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. In the first week beginning February 12^th, almost three thousand gay and lesbian couples were wed. The city’s decision, which was opposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Bill Lockyer, was put into effect to purposely question whether California and the United States would allow same-sex marriages in the future. A proposition that was passed in California in 2000 states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Illinois’s law states that any marriage between two people of the same sex is considered invalid.

            The proposition in California’s law – which states that gay marriages are invalid, and denies gays a right that all heterosexuals have – directly opposes the 14^th Amendment by denying homosexuals equal rights. According to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, any law against gay marriage is unconstitutional. Two states have officially legalized gay marriage; one being Massachusetts, where judges say laws prohibiting gays from marrying are forms of segregation that make homosexuals and heterosexuals unequal. The other state is Vermont, where the law technically provides for “civil unions”, but not “gay marriage”, the only basic difference being that in marriage, the couple receives a marriage license.

            The 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified after slavery was abolished, states “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” This clearly includes any homosexual who is a legal citizen of the United States. In a literal interpretation of this amendment, marriage is a privilege to which every U.S. citizen is entitled. Therefore it is illegal to deny the right to marry to any citizen. However, the unconstitutional proposition passed in California, as well as 37 other states, still stands. Some people who oppose gay marriage, including President George W. Bush, say that it will require a new constitutional amendment to allow gays to marry. To do so would require approval from 67 senators, approximately 300 representatives (depending on when the law would be passed), and the legislatures of 38 states. If it were to be formally proposed and passed, all previous state laws forbidding same-sex marriage would be invalid.

            Prior to the date when Vermont became the first state to legalize homosexual civil unions, the law’s treatment of gays had been similar to the treatment of blacks between the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement one hundred years later. State laws segregated African-Americans and whites, forcing them to be apart from each other in public settings at all times. Many Southern states had laws that forbade whites from marrying any person who was less than 7/8 white, but non-whites, then categorized as “coloreds”, could marry those of their own race. These laws, which were called segregation laws or “Jim Crow” laws, also required blacks and whites to have separate bathroom facilities, separate buildings to buy alcohol, and separate movie theaters. Under these laws, blacks and whites were considered “separate but equal”, and therefore the laws were not considered unconstitutional.

            Today, many Christian groups are against any efforts to pass laws legalizing gay marriage. Some are seeking the White House’s support in opposing any propositions that “redefine” marriage. According to them, marriage between two men or two women, and any homosexual acts, are immoral. Some, like Kenneth Howell, the director of the Newman Institute of Catholic Thought, oppose gay marriage because he thinks laws should reflect morals. The Catholic Church does not condone it because homosexual marriage serves no purpose; specifically, to create children. Some say that allowing either civil unions, marriages, or domestic partnerships – which allow gays, and also heterosexual couples whom do not want to marry, to have benefits such as jail and hospital visitation and funeral arrangements, but not the right to be recognized as “married” – would undermine the religious values of Christians and Jews.

            If the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (Note: there are alternative legal options that could also be effective in prohibiting this across the country; an amendment is not necessary the only way to do it) were to be officially proposed, voted on, and passed, then it would be the first amendment in United States history to take rights away from people. If any state were to legalize gay marriage before the amendment, married gay couples would have to be broken up by law, and they would no longer be able to visit each other in hospitals or have power of attorney over them and the ability to decide what happens to them when they die. Homosexuals, a significant percent of the population, would have one of the most important freedoms taken away from them; the freedom to love, and the freedom to be considered a married couple by the law.

            Although in Illinois, marriage between two people of the same sex, performed in other states, is invalid, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has expressed support for the possibility of Cook County legalizing gay marriage, along with the mayors of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as Gifford Miller, the Speaker of the New York City Council. SO far, the same number of states that would have to approve any constitutional amendment allowing gay marriages, has already passed laws against them. Still, with the changes made in the last few years advancing gay rights, such as San Francisco’s and Massachusetts’s gay marriage laws, Vermont’s civil unions law, and Cook County, Illinois and New York City’s domestic partnerships laws, the possibility remains that homosexuals will soon be entitled to get married and have the same rights as heterosexuals, and with the help of voters making the decision in favor of love and freedom, it could become a reality soon.

48-Point Platform for My 2012 Wisconsin Congressional Run

Written on December 2^nd, 2012

1.      Establish peace and diplomacy with all nations, and a humble foreign policy without interventionism.

2.      Nullify and interpose the implementation and enforcement of the USA PATRIOT Act, its reauthorizations, and any and all NDAAs and AUMFs which violate 5th and 6th Amendment rights.

3.      Encourage and permit counties, cities, and municipalities to forego federal assistance in the provision of transportation security.

4.      Repatriate Wisconsin-based military infrastructure, personnel, and the economic industry of military personnel.

5.      Nullify and interpose the implementation and enforcement of all egregious federal laws, and emulate all appropriate federal legislation at the state level.

6.      Join other states to call for a convention to propose amendments to the federal Constitution.

7.      Call for a repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, restoring the influence of the state legislatures on the U.S. Congress.

8.      Urge other states to join Wisconsin in supporting dual federalism (co-equal sovereignty of the federal and state governments) over cooperative federalism.

9.      Sue the federal government for infringing on the autonomy of the state, and / or revoke the state’s consent to share co-sovereignty with the federal government.

10.  Expatriate Wisconsinites to Wisconsin from federal sovereignty and citizenship.

11.  Try representatives, government employees, and voters having participated in the perpetuation of federal supremacy within the state, for rebellion, insurrection, sedition, and / or treason.

12.  Ask the federal Government and the United Kingdom to re-affirm their recognition of the United States as “free, sovereign, and independent”.

13.  Establish embassies, consulates, foreign posts, and / or other diplomatic offices, for the purpose of conducting interactions with the foreign federal government.

14.  Issue passports on behalf of the state, urge and permit localities to issue passports on their own behalves, and accept the U.N. World Passport.

15.  Decline to pursue full U.N. membership for Wisconsin, and oppose the oligopolization of the United Nations Security Council.

16.  Lobby the international community to recognize Wisconsin as a free and independent nation.

17.  Pass legislation defining the provision of all government services as commercial, and invoke court precedent affirming the constitutionality of anti-trust laws in order to abolish the geographical monopoly jurisdiction of governments.

18.  Offer Wisconsin citizenship to persons in areas in which the logistics of the delivery of public services would be feasible and efficient, and offer Wisconsin citizens to become citizens of other governments under the same circumstances.

19.  Pass legislation criminalizing the diminution of choice from among governments based on location or residence.

20.  Promote geographical decentralization – from Washington, D.C. to the states, and from Madison to the counties and communities of Wisconsin – in decision-making.

21.  Pass legislation criminalizing the exclusivity of geographical and subject-matter jurisdiction.

22.  Promote greater and more direct citizen influence on – and participation in – government, including the removal of barriers to ballot access, and to the referendum process.

23.  Promote term limits and pay cuts for elected and appointed officials; initially through voluntary gubernatorial self-imposition, and urging other officials to take the governor’s lead.

24.  Support amendment of the U.S. Constitution to end the apportionment of representatives on the basis of population, favoring instead the basis of number of willing citizens.

25.  Combat partisanship in the state legislatures by applying developments in computer technology to the redistricting process, thereby eliminating the influence of political parties on the process.

26.  Pursue reforms to the consent of the governed, including by applying developments in political science to election systems, and by considering the implementation of ranked preferential voting.

27.  Promote the full information of the consent of the governed by ensuring the privity of contract between voters and public servants; require ballots and oaths of office to be written, signed, sealed, delivered, witnessed, and acknowledged by all interested parties.

28.  Pass legislation permitting the public scrutiny of election results.

29.  Support amendment of the U.S. Constitution to criminalize the bestowal and recognition of titles of nobility and aristocratic emoluments by agencies of government.

30.  Increase criminal penalties for voter intimidation, and broaden the definition of voter intimidation to include pandering and other forms of coercive interference in the independence of voter choice.

31.  Promote the security of elections through supporting measures to require photo identification for voters, and to enact an identification provision system funded by taxpayers.

32.  Oppose efforts to end or increase regulations on same-day voter registration for elections.

33.  Support making Election Day a national holiday – or moving elections to a weekend – at the federal level, and a state holiday at the state level.

34.  Support amending Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in a manner which explicitly and simplistically defines the relationship of persons and their legal rights, privileges, and immunities to the state and federal governments.

35.  Support invalidating Section 2 of the 14th Amendment to – and Article I, Section 2 Clause 3 of – the U.S. Constitution to legalize the questioning of the federal public debt.

36.  Support an amendment invalidating Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, legalizing the confederation of states.

37.  Promote the responsibility and responsiveness of elected officials, including by supporting amendment of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution to revoke elected federal representatives’ privilege to refuse to respond to questioning.

38.  Support criminal justice reform, including by supporting amendment of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution to remove elected federal representatives’ privileges from arrest.

39.  Support campaign finance reform, including through the nullification and / or interposition of the McCain-Feingold Act, and through the passage of prohibitions against the influence of foreign nationals and corporations on campaign finance.

40.  Support the polyopolization of all commercial markets and industries by invoking court precedent affirming the constitutionality of anti-trust laws.

41.  Pursue “corporate personhood” reform by restoring responsibility and responsiveness to businesses and other corporations, and through reforms to the charter system.

42.  Reverse the corporatization of the person and the commodification of human beings by pursuing informed-consent reforms to the birth certificate and Social Security account systems.

43.  Augment the rights of the accused by requiring the accused to be informed of their right to be presented with written evidence that some party claiming injury has a complaint against them.

44.  Augment the right to a fair trial, including through requiring judges to present written oaths of office and anti-bribery pledges, criminalizing the misinformation of juries by judges and the dismissal of prospective jurors due to awareness of jury nullification, and requiring juries to be informed about jury nullification.

45.  Oppose attempts to reinstate the death penalty in Wisconsin, and nullify and the implementation and enforcement of federal laws which carry the death penalty as a potential punishment.

46.  Oppose attempts to criminalize and / or increase penalties for recording public proceedings and the actions of civil servants, including police officers.

47.  Legally re-define the power of attorney to be separate and distinct from the powers of political representation, adjudication, and arbitration.

48.  Nullify and interpose the implementation and enforcement of the federal anti-drug laws, and pardon – and pursue the reduction of the duration of sentences of – all non-violent drug offenders in the state.

Immigration and Borders Policy

I believe that there is an urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform which is humane and tolerant; as well as conducive to the freedom of travel, the openness of trade, and the normalization of commerce. As such – and given that the constitutional clause which had denied the Congress the power to prohibit the states from enacting migration policies which they deem proper has expired – I feel that it is desirable and appropriate to pursue passage of federal legislation prohibiting all agencies of the federal and state governments from constructing or maintaining fencing along our international borders.

                Although a system permitting federal jurisdiction over immigration policy would seem to have authorized the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (D.R.E.A.M.) Act, I would vote to support a repeal of that legislation on the grounds that it was enacted through an executive order, which I feel is an inappropriate, expansive exercise of presidential power. I would urge states which have passed similar legislation to transition the responsibility to provide D.R.E.A.M.-Act-type goods and services to the county- and municipal-level governmental agencies within them, as well as to private-sector agencies; and I would urge states which have not passed similar legislation to allow local governments to do so, and to allow the widespread provision of such goods and services to come into being organically through the efforts of private-sector agencies.

                As the forms of compensation which are procured through employment are the most productive form of welfare, such private-sector agencies should include places of employment. I would support the right of immigrants – documented and undocumented alike – to negotiate with their employers to obtain the compensation which they deem appropriate for their own subjective purposes, irrespective of federal and state minimum wage standards. I would also voice opposition to mandates on employers – by governments at any level – to participate in the eVerify system, which has been described as obligating hirers to police illegal immigration. Additionally, I would oppose all existing and proposed laws providing for mandatory identification documents for all persons, such as the REAL ID Act.

                In order to help provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, I would urge the president and the governors of the several states to grant pardons to all non-violent transgressors, especially to minors who did not have intent or informed awareness of the illegality of the actions of the parents or guardians who accompanied them into the country. Punishment – and law-enforcement requests for the identification documents – of suspected illegals should be contingent upon their conviction for either physically harming or threatening to harm persons; stealing, damaging, or otherwise diminishing the utility of their property; or trespassing on their occupied landed property; provided that some victim claiming that direct harm has occurred has pressed formal charges by filing a Verified Criminal Complaint.

                I would assert that deportation and extradition of non-violent illegal immigrants would only be permissible were the status of a transgressor as a foreign subject entered-into with informed consent and without duress, and that the pertinent foreign country has laws explicitly prohibiting illegal emigration. I would also defend the position that the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not automatically grant federal citizenship to the native-born, but that it merely makes the extension of an offer of citizenship permanent and irrevocable.

                I feel that opponents of illegal immigration would have less justification for their personal and legal views were they to become aware that the federal government has conducted cross-border weapons-for-drugs programs and arms-trafficking-and-tracking operations (such as Project Gun-Runner and Operation Fast-and-Furious) which have destabilized and undermined the sovereignty of Mexico, and caused death of American border personnel. Voting to stop – and investigating to uncover the facts about – such operations is crucial for restoring America’s reputation and credibility abroad; ameliorating artificial antipathy towards minority groups and improving race relations; and saving lives of American civilians, law enforcement officers, and politicians alike.

                Additionally, I would work to restitute government theft of immigrant property; sponsor legislation which would prohibit government agencies at the state and federal levels from making English the single official language; and urge governments at all levels – including the governments of Mexico and Central America – to uphold rights to bear arms and rights of the accused which are either on-par with or more protective than the 2^nd and the 4^th through 8^th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

For more entries on borders, immigration, and territorial integrity, please visit:

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/jurisdictional-aterritorialism-bastiat.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/01/immigration-and-minimum-wage.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2013/10/map-of-contiguous-united-states-in.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/02/cascadia-proposal.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-piscean-ethic-in-government-ecology.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/thoughts-on-illegal-immigration.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-immigration.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/social-policies-for-2012-us-house.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/taxpayer-funded-benefits-for.html