The Sanctity of Marriage

“When asked by Chris Wallace [on Fox News Sunday] what ‘conservative solutions’ the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, [Rep. Mike] Pence said social issues like ‘the sanctity of marriage’ will remain the backbone of the Republican platform.” (1)

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Sanctity “1. Holiness of life or disposition; saintliness. 2. The quality or condition of being considered sacred; inviolability. 3. Something considered sacred.” (2)

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Sacred “1. Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity. 2. Worthy of religious veneration … 3. Made or declared holy … 4. Dedicated or deveoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person … 5. Worthy of respect; venerable. 6. Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices.” (3)

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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (4)

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"In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." (5)

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“Marriage is thus something more than a civil contract subject to regulation by the state; it is a fundamental right of free men. There can be no prohibition of marriage except for an important social objective and by reasonable means. No law within the broad areas of state interest may be unreasonably discriminatory or arbitrary.... The right to marry is as fundamental as the right to send one’s child to a particular school or the right to have offspring. Indeed, ‘We are dealing here with legislation which involves one of the basic civil rights of man. Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race.’ (Skinner v. Oklahoma, supra, at p. 541.) Legislation infringing such rights must be based upon more than prejudice and must be free from oppressive discrimination to comply with the constitutional requirements of due process and equal protection of the laws.” (6)

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"Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." (7)

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(1) “GOP Leader: Rebuild Party Around Sanctity of Marriage.” 9 Nov. 2008. The Huffington Post.

(2) “Sanctity.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. 2000.

(3) “Sacred.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. 2000.

(4) First Amendment. U.S. Constitution.

(5) United States. House of Representatives. Defense of Marriage Act. H.R. 3396 (7 May 1996). 104th Cong., 2nd sess.

(6) California. Supreme Court. Perez v Sharp (1948).

(7) Proposition 8 (“Eliminated Right of Same-sex Couples to Marry”) Amendment to the Constitution of the State of California, 2008.

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Note: I am aware of the difference between an “amendment” and a “law.” However, even amendments, on the federal or state level, are obliged to operate in the interests of protecting the rights of citizens and not cavalierly to interfere in either individual citizens’ rights or the operations of individual religious organizations to pronounce what is or is not sacred, holy, and consecrated within the doctrines and rituals supported in those organizations.