AMERICA'S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE HOMEPAGE
Week 3 - How we got off Track !
62. In Santa Fe Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Doe (2000), the Court made it illegal for students to participate in a
short student-led prayer at sporting events.
63. In 2000, the case of the Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640, was an opinion of the
Supreme Court of the United States overturning the New Jersey Supreme Court's application of
the New Jersey public accommodations law forcing the Boy Scouts of America to re-admit assistant
scoutmaster James Dale, who had been expelled after publicly declaring his homosexuality.
The Supreme Court held that the lower court's decision unconstitutionally violated the Boy Scouts'
rights, specifically the right of free association, which allows a private organization to exclude
whomever it wishes.
64. In 2003, the Supreme Court explicitly overruled Bowers in the Lawrence v. Texas decision, and
held that sodomy laws are unconstitutional. In the 6-3 ruling, the justices invalidated the criminal
prohibition of homosexual sodomy in Texas. The Lawrence court held that intimate consensual sexual
conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
65. The justices cited the European Court of Human Rights and the Canadian Court overturning of
sodomy laws. Other than the Fourteenth Amendment, there is no reference to the U.S. Constitution
in the decision.
66. The dissenting justices, led by Justice Scalia, objected to the Court's decision to revisit Bowers,
pointing out that there were many subsequent decisions from lower courts based on Bowers that,
with its overturning, may now be open to doubt. He went on to state that the majority's findings
would lead to a "right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you
have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything," Scalia also claimed that "State laws
against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication,
bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers validation of laws based
on moral choices." Scalia asserted that with this decision, the Court "has largely signed on to the
so-called homosexual agenda," adding that he has "nothing against homosexuals, or any other group,
promoting their agenda through normal democratic means."
67. On November 18, 2003, in Massachusetts the case concerning same-sex marriage,
Hillary Goodridge & others vs. Department of Public Health & another. The Supreme Judicial
Court of Massachusetts found "barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations
of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the
Massachusetts Constitution."
68. The court remarked that its decision "does not disturb the fundamental value of marriage in our
society." the court stated "That same-sex couples are willing to embrace marriage's solemn
obligations of exclusivity, mutual support, and commitment to one another is a testament to the
enduring place of marriage in our laws and in the human spirit,".
69. The court stayed the entry of judgment for 180 days "to permit the legislature to take such
action as it may deem appropriate in light of this opinion."
70. May 17, 2004 Massachusetts is forced to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Massachusetts alone has now issued over 2,500 same-sex �marriage� licenses to residents of
27 states and the District of Columbia, creating state-recognized legal standing to challenge
DOMA nationwide.
71. As of May 17, 2004, 37 states have adopted Defense of Marriage Acts or State Constitutional
Amendments banning Gay Marriage and establishing marriage as only between a man and a woman.
This is enough for a � ratification of the Federal Marriage Amendment by the states.
72. Two pro-family decisions were handed down August 19, 2004. First, a federal bankruptcy
court upheld the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996. The judge correctly
upheld the federal DOMA in his finding that two women who had married in Canada last year
cannot file for joint bankruptcy,�
73. Second, Massachusetts superior court that affirmed a 1913 state law that prohibits marriages
from being performed in Massachusetts that would be illegal in the home state of the couple.
74. On September 18, 2004, an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution banning same-sex marriage
was passed by 78 percent of the state's voters.
75. On October 5, 2004, Judge William Morvant rejected the amendment, saying it failed to pass
constitutional muster because it had more than one purpose � banning both same-sex marriage
and civil unions. Basically, 1 person overturned the will of 78% of the population of Louisiana,
calling a constitutional amendment � �unconstitutional�.
76. This election day, November 2, 2004, 11 more states will have Constitutional Marriage Amendments
on the ballot.
77. In the next four years, two to three Supreme Court Justices should be retiring as well as countless
other federal and District Court Judges. The next President of the United States will have the chance
to name Judges and Justices who could either continue this trend of Judicial Tyranny or Judges and
Justices that would protect the Constitution and the people�s rights. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!