1878 – Patriotic songwiter George M. Cohen is born. Many years later Hollywood toughguy Jimmy Cagney would play George M. Cohen and amaze America as an unbelievably great tapdancer who dances on a table in the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy.
But our focus today will be on July 3rd, 1863, the final day of the three-day battle of Gettysburg.
On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure, bringing the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end.
In June 1863, following his masterful victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Lee launched his second invasion of the Union in less than a year. He led his 75,000-man Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River, through Maryland, and into Pennsylvania, seeking to win a major battle on Northern soil that would further dispirit the Union war effort and induce Britain or France to intervene on the Confederacy’s behalf. The 90,000-strong Army of the Potomac pursued the Confederates into Maryland, but its commander, General Joseph Hooker, was still stinging from his defeat at Chancellorsville and seemed reluctant to chase Lee further. Meanwhile, the Confederates divided their forces and investigated various targets, such as Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania capital.
On June 28, President Abraham Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George Meade, and Lee learned of the presence of the Army of the Potomac in Maryland. Lee ordered his army to concentrate in the vicinity of the crossroads town of Gettysburg and prepare to meet the Federal army. At the same time, Meade sent ahead part of his force into Pennsylvania but intended to make a stand at Pipe Creek in Maryland.
On July 1, a Confederate division under General Henry Heth marched into Gettysburg hoping to seize supplies but finding instead three brigades of Union cavalry. Thus began the Battle of Gettysburg, and Lee and Meade ordered their massive armies to converge on the impromptu battle site. The Union cavalrymen defiantly held the field against overwhelming numbers until the arrival of Federal reinforcements. Later, the Confederates were reinforced, and by mid-afternoon some 19,000 Federals faced 24,000 Confederates. Lee arrived to the battlefield soon afterward and ordered a general advance that forced the Union line back to Cemetery Hill, just south of the town.
During the night, the rest of Meade’s force arrived, and by the morning Union General Winfield Hancock had formed a strong Union line. On July 2, against the Union left, General James Longstreet led the main Confederate attack, but it was not carried out until about 4 p.m., and the Federals had time to consolidate their positions. Thus began some of the heaviest fighting of the battle, and Union forces retained control of their strategic positions at heavy cost. After three hours, the battle ended, and the total number of dead at Gettysburg stood at 35,000.
On July 3, Lee, having failed on the right and the left, planned an assault on Meade’s center. A 15,000-man strong column under General George Pickett was organized, and Lee ordered a massive bombardment of the Union positions. The 10,000 Federals answered the Confederate artillery onslaught, and for more than an hour the guns raged in the heaviest cannonade of the Civil War. At 3 p.m., Pickett led his force into no-man’s-land and found that Lee’s bombardment had failed. As Pickett’s force attempted to cross the mile distance to Cemetery Ridge, Union artillery blew great holes in their lines. Meanwhile, Yankee infantry flanked the main body of “Pickett’s charge” and began cutting down the Confederates. Only a few hundred Virginians reached the Union line, and within minutes they all were dead, dying, or captured. In less than an hour, more than 7,000 Confederate troops had been killed or wounded.
Both armies, exhausted, held their positions until the night of July 4, when Lee withdrew. The Army of the Potomac was too weak to pursue the Confederates, and Lee led his army out of the North, never to invade it again. The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point in the Civil War, costing the Union 23,000 killed, wounded, or missing in action. The Confederates suffered some 25,000 casualties. On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address during the dedication of a new national cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War effectively ended with the surrender of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in April 1865.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The Holy Spirit has wonderful breath.
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The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, in a final attempt to avoid a full-on war between the Thirteen Colonies, that the Congress represented, and Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict. However, the petition was followed by the July 6 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, making its success in London improbable.[1] In August 1775 the colonies were formally declared to be in rebellion by the Proclamation of Rebellion, and the petition was rejected in fact, although not having been received by the king before declaring the Congress-supporting colonists traitors.[2]
1776
The Second Continental Congress paid a lucrative sum to have Irish born John Dunlop print the first 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence – a declaration of rebellion as it broke all ties with Britain.
1814
U.S. troops under Jacob Brown defeat a superior British force at Chippewa, Canada.
1832
The German government begins curtailing freedom of the press after German Democrats advocate a revolt against Austrian rule.
1865 Salvation Army is founded by William and Catherine Booth in London, England. Since then it has spread to many nations including America. It is the second largest charity in America next only to United Way, and it exists to bring the poor to Christ and provide for them.
Inventor Andrew Beard was born a slave but was emancipated when he was 15. On July 5, 1892, he was issued a patent for the first rotary engine. A few years later he invented the “coupler” for trains, saving many a man from losing his fingers, arms, or lives. Beard was inspired to invent it after losing his own leg in a coupling accident.
1943
The Battle of Kursk in Russia became the largest tank battle in history. It began on July 5.
On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Reard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit at the Piscine Molitor, a popular swimming pool in Paris. Parisian showgirl Micheline Bernardini modeled the new fashion, which Reard dubbed a “bikini,” inspired by a news-making U.S. atomic test that took place off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier that week.
1950 – First casualties begin immediately as the American military, for the first time since World War II, entered into the Korean War at Oson, South Korea.
1954 Elvis Presley records “That’s All Right (Mama)” and is immediately the most controversial performer of that era and still considered by many to be the most talented performer of that era.
1996 First successful cloning of a mammal was Dolly the sheep was pampered throughout her life but had to be euthanized at the age of 6 1/2 because of severe arthritis in a hind leg and a tumor growing inside her. Since then there have been many cloning’s of birds and animals.
2015 Greeks went to the polls in record number today and overwhelmingly voted no to remaining with the euro and putting Greece’s role in the European common market in great jeopardy. The no vote was more than 60%. The ripple effect of this decision could shake many other nations financially.
My July 5th choice from history today took place in 1921: Eight Chicago Black Sox are banned from baseball forever.
Thanks to ESPN SportsCenter for this Flashback:
Eighty years ago, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox from baseball. On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, ESPN Classic will present a special look back at the Black Sox scandal. SportsCenter Flashback: Chicago Black Sox – Banned from Baseball uses testimony, photos, film and experts on the subject to bring the scandal into focus.
Key moments in the Black Sox scandal
October 9, 1919
The fix is in
Amid rumors that the World Series is fixed, the Chicago White Sox lose the eighth and deciding game to Cincinnati, 10-5, on the 48-year anniversary of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow causing the worst fire in Chicago history. The Reds win the best-of-nine Series five games to three.
Chicago starter Lefty Williams was 23-11 during the season but had lost his first two Series starts. He doesn’t last long today, removed with one out in the first after allowing two singles followed by two doubles. In 1921, Williams will be one of eight Black Sox banned from baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for throwing the Series.
The Reds score four runs in the first on the way to a 10-1 lead in Chicago. Hod Eller gains his second complete-game victory as Cincinnati wins its first Series.
Chicago’s Shoeless Joe Jackson, who also will be suspended, leads all hitters (with at least eight at-bats) with a .375 batting average and his six RBI top the White Sox.
September 29, 1920
“Say it ain’t so, Joe”
Yesterday, a Cook County (Illinois) grand jury voted indictments against eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox after pitcher Eddie Cicotte and outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson told how the 1919 World Series was fixed for the Cincinnati Reds to win.
Today’s Chicago Herald and Examiner reports that after Jackson left the courthouse, “one little urchin in the crowd grabbed him by the coat sleeve.
” ‘It ain’t true, is it?’ he said.
” ‘Yes, kid, I’m afraid it is,’ Jackson replied.
” ‘Well, I’d never have thought it,’ the boy exclaimed.”
Passed down over the years, it is from this newspaper story that we get the famous tale — one that many think is apocryphal — of a young boy saying, “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”
March 12, 1921
Suspension
While the eight Chicago White Sox accused of throwing the 1919 World Series await trial, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, just two months on the job, suspends the players. Landis’ ruling follows a report that the trial in Chicago will be delayed.
“I deeply regret the postponement of these cases,” Landis says. “However, baseball is not powerless to protect itself. All of the indicted players have today been placed on the ineligible list.”
The eight players are Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandil, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Claude “Lefty” Williams, “Happy” Felsch and Fred McMullen. They will be acquitted by a jury in August, but Landis will ban the Black Sox for life.
August 3, 1921
Clean Sox are banned
Last night, several hundred spectators in a Chicago courtroom boomed “Hooray for the clean Sox!” when seven former White Sox players and two gamblers were acquitted by a jury on charges that they conspired to defraud the public through the throwing of the 1919 World Series.
The players’ joy doesn’t last 24 hours. Today, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis bans the eight Black Sox for life. Landis issues this statement: “Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ballgame; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.”
The seven Chicago players who were acquitted and banned are Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Buck Weaver, Swede Risberg, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch and Lefty Williams. The eighth man out is Fred McMullin, whose case didn’t go to trial.
January 13, 1922
Weaver appeal denied
In the summer of 1921, a jury in Chicago acquitted the Black Sox of conspiracy to defraud the public concerning the 1919 World Series. Two days later, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the eight players for life.
The New York Times reports today that Buck Weaver, one of the eight, had personally appealed last week to Landis for reinstatement to organized baseball. The third baseman told Landis that though he was offered the bribe to throw the Series, he never accepted the money and played his best.
Landis will never lift the ban for Weaver — or any of the Black Sox.
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When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;2 and [a]large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to [b]Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to [c]divorce his wife for any reason at all?”4 And He answered and said,“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, andthe two shall become one flesh’?6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”7 They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and sendheraway?”8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to [d]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.9 And I say to you, whoever [e]divorces his wife, except for [f]immorality, and marries another woman [g]commits adultery[h].”
10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”11 But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.14 But Jesus said, “[i]Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be [j]complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on [k]His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [l]or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive [m]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author was born. A prolific writer, two of his most famous books were The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables.
July 4 1807
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian military leader and unifier of modern Italy was born.
July 4, 1826
The birth date of Stephen Foster, American composer who wrote songs like “I dream of Jeannie with a light brown hair” and “My old Kentucky Home”.
While Steven Foster was being born, Former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on that same day just a few hours apart.
Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice’s Adventures Underground to the Liddell sisters. He would then write what he told them in a book that soon became an international classic.
July 4, 2015 South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley stands her ground and wants the Confederate flag removed from their state’s capital building following last week’s church massacre in Charleston.
But right now let’s focus on a very special event that has deeply impacted every American – July 4, 1776……
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first volleys of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts and marked an ideological expansion of the conflict that would eventually encourage France’s intervention on behalf of the Patriots.
The first major American opposition to British policy came in 1765 after Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. Under the banner of “no taxation without representation,” colonists convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the tax. With its enactment in November, most colonists called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors. After months of protest in the colonies, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766.
Most colonists continued to quietly accept British rule until Parliament’s enactment of the Tea Act in 1773, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. The low tax allowed the East India Company to undercut even tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, and many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny. In response, militant Patriots in Massachusetts organized the “Boston Tea Party,” which saw British tea valued at some 18,000 pounds dumped into Boston Harbor.
Parliament, outraged by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property, enacted the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, in 1774. The Coercive Acts closed Boston to merchant shipping, established formal British military rule in Massachusetts, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America, and required colonists to quarter British troops. The colonists subsequently called the first Continental Congress to consider a united American resistance to the British.
With the other colonies watching intently, Massachusetts led the resistance to the British, forming a shadow revolutionary government and establishing militias to resist the increasing British military presence across the colony. In April 1775, Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, ordered British troops to march to Concord, Massachusetts, where a Patriot arsenal was known to be located. On April 19, 1775, the British regulars encountered a group of American militiamen at Lexington, and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired.
Initially, both the Americans and the British saw the conflict as a kind of civil war within the British Empire: To King George III it was a colonial rebellion, and to the Americans it was a struggle for their rights as British citizens. However, Parliament remained unwilling to negotiate with the American rebels and instead purchased German mercenaries to help the British army crush the rebellion. In response to Britain’s continued opposition to reform, the Continental Congress began to pass measures abolishing British authority in the colonies.
In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, an influential political pamphlet that convincingly argued for American independence and sold more than 500,000 copies in a few months. In the spring of 1776, support for independence swept the colonies, the Continental Congress called for states to form their own governments, and a five-man committee was assigned to draft a declaration.
The Declaration of Independence was largely the work of Virginian Thomas Jefferson. In justifying American independence, Jefferson drew generously from the political philosophy of John Locke, an advocate of natural rights, and from the work of other English theorists. The first section features the famous lines, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The second part presents a long list of grievances that provided the rationale for rebellion.
On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve a Virginia motion calling for separation from Britain. The dramatic words of this resolution were added to the closing of the Declaration of Independence. Two days later, on July 4, the declaration was formally adopted by 12 colonies after minor revision. New York approved it on July 19. On August 2, the declaration was signed.
The American War for Independence would last for five more years. Yet to come were the Patriot triumphs at Saratoga, the bitter winter at Valley Forge, the intervention of the French, and the final victory at Yorktown in 1781. In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris with Britain, the United States formally became a free and independent nation.
Into the Storm, Chs. 3, 4 & 5: A Frightening Future…
Taylor Graham, the pilot who flew Judd and Ryan to Israel, has kidnapped Judd while Judd was attending Pastor Bruce Barnes’ memorial service. Now Taylor has told Judd that he is a double agent, working for the Global Community under the Antichrist but secretly working for someone else. Judd doesn’t know whether to believe him. Meanwhile, Rayford Steele, is ministering over Bruce’s coffin to a huge crowd at New Hope Village Church. And Chaya has another funeral to attend against her father’s wishes – the funeral of her mother.
Into the Storm, Chs. 3, 4 & 5: A Frightening Future…
A closer look at the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage law from Christian headlines.com
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a sweeping, moralizing opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy. He delivered the ruling softly and without much expression, but outside the courtroom, huge crowds swarmed the Supreme Court plaza in celebration, singing the national anthem. and on that evening, President Obama lit up the White House with the colors of the gay flag, undoubtedly stating by those colors that he had won a major victory with the Supreme Court – the second of the week. His first victory happened when the US Supreme Court continued to sanction Obamacare.
As anticipated since the high court first took up the case, the same-sex marriage ruling was 5-4, with Kennedy joining the court’s liberals: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. The dissenters—Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a sweeping, moralizing opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy. He delivered the ruling softly and without much expression, but outside the courtroom, huge crowds swarmed the Supreme Court plaza in celebration, singing the national anthem. and on that evening, President Obama lit up the White House with the colors of the gay flag, undoubtedly stating by those colors that he had won a major victory with the Supreme Court – the second of the week. His first victory happened when the US Supreme Court continued to sanction Obamacare.
As anticipated since the high court first took up the case, the same-sex marriage ruling was 5-4, with Kennedy joining the court’s liberals: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. The dissenters—Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito—each penned separate dissents, an expression of profound frustration. Scalia opened his apoplectic dissent, concurring with Roberts’ dissent, by saying, “I write separately to call attention to this court’s threat to American democracy.”
“Just who do we think we are?” Roberts asked in the courtroom. “This is a court, not a legislature.”
With soaring rhetoric, Kennedy declared in his ruling that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marriage licenses, just as opposite-sex couples do. He said marriage had evolved over time, pointing to the end of arranged marriages and coverture, where women were treated as a legal non-entity after they married.
“These new insights have strengthened, not weakened, the institution of marriage,” Kennedy wrote.
Then he attempted to define what marriage is: “The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality.” (Scalia, in his dissent, picked out such statements and called them “mummeries” and “the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie.”)
Kennedy emphasized several times throughout his ruling that marriage is between “two persons,” likely in response to the questions during the oral arguments about whether legalizing polygamy would necessarily follow a legalization of gay marriage.
Though technical legal arguments were not central in Kennedy’s opinion, the legal question before the court was whether state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process (the right to liberty) and equal protection. Kennedy’s ruling said the state laws violated both.
But he did not create a new “suspect class” for sexual orientation, a legal term that means he did not give sexual orientation the same protections as race or gender. He confined the ruling to say that state marriage licensing laws violated the 14th Amendment. That means, for now, the sweeping “fundamental rights” language is limited to gay couples’ interactions with the state in acquiring a marriage license.
But the language in Kennedy’s ruling about state laws demeaning gay people could be used in other legal scenarios. He talked about state marriage laws that “demean” the “dignity” and “nobility” of same-sex couples.
“It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy,” Alito wrote in his dissent. “In the course of its opinion, the majority compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.”
In referring to those who might oppose gay marriage, Kennedy never used the word “animus,” which could be helpful to religious groups. He said those who oppose gay marriage could do so “based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises.” But in the next sentence he writes that when such personal beliefs are “enacted” in public policy, that “demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied.”
And in a later paragraph, he attempted to quell the dissenters’ concerns about religious liberty.
“[I]t must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned,” Kennedy wrote. “The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they have long revered.”
Roberts didn’t buy it. “The majority graciously suggests that religious believers may continue to ‘advocate’ and ‘teach’ their views of marriage,” Roberts wrote in his dissent. “The First Amendment guarantees, however, the freedom to ‘exercise’ religion. Ominously, that is not a word the majority uses. … Unfortunately, people of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.”
Roberts said he expects the court will soon be asked to consider cases about how religious exercise conflicts with the “new right to same-sex marriage.”
Jim Campbell, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who handles such constitutional issues, said he expects that in litigation between gay couples and religious groups, each will use different language in the Kennedy opinion. His side will point to the paragraph on religious protections, and “the other side will pull out the lofty language.”
“I don’t know how much we can get out of that paragraph,” Campbell said, referring to Kennedy’s assertion that religious organizations will still have First Amendment protections.
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
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So until the next newscast this is Ray Mossholder, praying for you my friend. Have a miraculous day!
Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito—each penned separate dissents, an expression of profound frustration. Scalia opened his apoplectic dissent, concurring with Roberts’ dissent, by saying, “I write separately to call attention to this court’s threat to American democracy.”
“Just who do we think we are?” Roberts asked in the courtroom. “This is a court, not a legislature.”
With soaring rhetoric, Kennedy declared in his ruling that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marriage licenses, just as opposite-sex couples do. He said marriage had evolved over time, pointing to the end of arranged marriages and coverture, where women were treated as a legal non-entity after they married.
“These new insights have strengthened, not weakened, the institution of marriage,” Kennedy wrote.
Then he attempted to define what marriage is: “The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality.” (Scalia, in his dissent, picked out such statements and called them “mummeries” and “the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie.”)
Kennedy emphasized several times throughout his ruling that marriage is between “two persons,” likely in response to the questions during the oral arguments about whether legalizing polygamy would necessarily follow a legalization of gay marriage.
Though technical legal arguments were not central in Kennedy’s opinion, the legal question before the court was whether state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process (the right to liberty) and equal protection. Kennedy’s ruling said the state laws violated both.
But he did not create a new “suspect class” for sexual orientation, a legal term that means he did not give sexual orientation the same protections as race or gender. He confined the ruling to say that state marriage licensing laws violated the 14th Amendment. That means, for now, the sweeping “fundamental rights” language is limited to gay couples’ interactions with the state in acquiring a marriage license.
But the language in Kennedy’s ruling about state laws demeaning gay people could be used in other legal scenarios. He talked about state marriage laws that “demean” the “dignity” and “nobility” of same-sex couples.
“It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy,” Alito wrote in his dissent. “In the course of its opinion, the majority compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.”
In referring to those who might oppose gay marriage, Kennedy never used the word “animus,” which could be helpful to religious groups. He said those who oppose gay marriage could do so “based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises.” But in the next sentence he writes that when such personal beliefs are “enacted” in public policy, that “demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied.”
And in a later paragraph, he attempted to quell the dissenters’ concerns about religious liberty.
“[I]t must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned,” Kennedy wrote. “The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they have long revered.”
Roberts didn’t buy it. “The majority graciously suggests that religious believers may continue to ‘advocate’ and ‘teach’ their views of marriage,” Roberts wrote in his dissent. “The First Amendment guarantees, however, the freedom to ‘exercise’ religion. Ominously, that is not a word the majority uses. … Unfortunately, people of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.”
Roberts said he expects the court will soon be asked to consider cases about how religious exercise conflicts with the “new right to same-sex marriage.”
Jim Campbell, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who handles such constitutional issues, said he expects that in litigation between gay couples and religious groups, each will use different language in the Kennedy opinion. His side will point to the paragraph on religious protections, and “the other side will pull out the lofty language.”
“I don’t know how much we can get out of that paragraph,” Campbell said, referring to Kennedy’s assertion that religious organizations will still have First Amendment protections.
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
A closer look at the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage law Christian headlines.com
