Tim Wildmon
AFA president
August 2003 – Blame the Republicans for the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down the Texas law banning same-sex sodomy. The GOP is responsible. The pro-life party. The party that says they believe in traditional family values. The party that claims to be conservative. No doubt many –†if not the majority –†of Republicans in the current Congress are conservative on social issues. President Bush is for the most part. But recent Republican presidents –†especially Ronald Reagan and George Bush (elder) – failed miserably with three Supreme Court appointees.
Seven of the nine current Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents. They include William Rehnquist (Nixon), John Paul Stephens (Ford), Sandra Day OÇConnor (Reagan), Antonin Scalia (Reagan), Anthony Kennedy (Reagan), David Souter (Bush) and Clarence Thomas (Bush). Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Bryer were appointed by a Democrat – Bill Clinton.
This is a court that overturned Nebraska’s state law against partial-birth abortion. This is also the court that protected the Boys Scouts of America by only one vote last year when the state of New Jersey tried to force the Scouts to allow homosexual men to be Scoutmasters. Forget overturning the infamous Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Although I don’t necessarily believe it, I understand the frustration of those who say there’s not a lot of difference between Democrats and Republicans. Among O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter, if just two of them were conservatives we would see Roe v. Wade overturned. Instead we have three social liberals.
Think about that. President Reagan’s legacy is two liberals on the Supreme Court. What a shame. With Souter, then-President Bush chickened out to the liberals in the Senate and went with someone he knew little about to avoid a fight with Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, etc. It was a weak, pathetic decision.
Let me share with you some comments from Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries in a press release the day of the Texas sodomy decision.
"The Supreme Court today overruled not only itself, but a 3,000-year-old legal and moral tradition, by striking down a Texas law banning same-sex sodomy. It is a decision that the nation and this court will come to regret most grievously, as the implications unfold in coming years.
"The Court’s ruling is first and foremost a declaration of secular supremacy. Our nation, founded on the laws of nature and of nature’s God, is now, it seems, officially off-limits to the moral framework that allowed us to enjoy freedom and prosperity that is unique in world history.
"The moral-legal tradition that stretches back to the Code of Justinian, St. Patrick’s Book of the Law of Moses and the laws of England’s King Alfred the Great – all of which contributed to English common law and served as the taproot of the American legal system – is here today disavowed by this Court.
"This most unfortunate ruling will undoubtedly bring with it many deleterious consequences. It will greatly undermine the primacy of marriage and place in the hands of homosexual activists a powerful tool to beat down resistance to their demands for the legalization of same-sex “marriage.’ It is clear that this Court will offer no assistance on that question. Americans must now fend for themselves by passage of a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Only that will remove this question from the courts and the demands of homosexuals.
"This 6-3 ruling will also lead to other major shifts in American society. Enormous pressure will now be brought to bear against the Pentagon to lift existing restrictions on homosexuality in the military. Likewise, this opens the door to adoption by same-sex couples and will strengthen the hand of those who seek to restrict the free speech rights of individuals and groups who object to homosexual behavior.
"Finally, this Court itself will be a victim of this ruling. Just 17 years ago in Bowers v. Hardwick, the Court ruled that “The Constitution does not confer a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy.’ Now, it has changed its mind.
"In 1992 the Court in Casey v. Planned Parenthood had the opportunity to reverse itself on another searing moral issue: abortion. It did not. It said then that to overrule itself under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to reexamine a watershed decision would subvert the Court’s legitimacy beyond any serious question. For this Court, a loss of legitimacy will be the most pronounced result of this ruling.
"Once more, the Court is leading the nation down a path that will lead to enormous social conflict and moral decline. I hope that Christians will pray fervently for this nation and this Court that this appalling decision will be ameliorated in its effect and will itself, in due course, be overturned."
May God help us. 
