Thomas Jefferson would be proud

Today, the California Supreme Court lifted the ban on same-sex marriages. Whatever your opinion on the issue, Thomas Jefferson would be a proud founding papa!

Bob Barr, former Member of Congress from Georgia and current candidate for President for the Libertarian Party, issued the following statement in reaction to today's decision by the California Supreme Court allowing for the recognition of same sex marriage in that state:

Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions or not ought to be a power each state exercises on its own, rather than imposition of a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government (as would be required by a Federal Marriage Amendment which has been previously proposed and considered by the Congress). The decision today by the Supreme Court of California properly reflects this fundamental principle of federalism on which our nation was founded.

Indeed, the primary reason for which I authored the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 was to ensure that each state remained free to determine for its citizens the basis on which marriage would be recognized within its borders, and not be forced to adopt a definition of marriage contrary to its views by another state. The decision in California is an illustration of how this principle of states' powers should work.

The Defense of Marriage Act? Sheesh. I had chalked that one up to religious hypocrites. Turns out, the act was about preserving states' rights, a subject I wrote about way back when. Such is the peculiar pain of the Libertarian-leaning progressive.



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