The Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges was divided 5 to 4 for legalizing gay marriage.  What is interesting about this ruling is not what many might think.  The 4 dissenting votes were not because these individuals were against gay marriage, but that the definition of marriage should not be determined by law.  Justice Roberts said, “judges have the power to say what the law is, not what it should be” (Supreme Court of the United States, 2015, p. 2).  The judges felt that they were stepping outside their role to interpret the law and were creating law.  Justice Curtis said that when the “fixed rules which govern the interpretation of laws [are] abandoned, and the theoretical opinions of individuals are allowed to control [the Constitution’s meaning,] we have no longer a Constitution; we are under the government of individual men, who for the time being have power to declare what the Constitution is, according to their own views of what it ought to mean” (Supreme Court of the United States, 2015, p. 11).

The repercussions of this will infringe on religious liberties.  We are already seeing some of this in the news and other court cases.  We are seeing a cultural shift that is silencing those who speak out in support of marriage and families.  Justice Alito warned that “those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools” (Supreme Court of the United States, 2015, p. 7).  We see this a lot in the media and even within our own communities.  People are becoming scared to speak up.

I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.  I believe that marriage was established by God with the first man and woman on the earth, Adam and Eve.  I believe that marriage is important both in the eyes of God and as a fundamental unit of society.  Those of us who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman need to be willing to stand up for our beliefs.  We need to share the importance of marriage.  When individual states voted on same sex marriage, a majority of the people voted against it.  With the cultural shifts we are seeing, these voices cannot allow themselves to be silenced.  We need to stand united together to promote marriage and protect our religious freedoms.

Works Cited

Supreme Court of the United States. (2015). Obergefell v. Hodges.