Editorials

Can't Legislate Morality?

Dear Friends:

I want to thank Gary Bauer, a former member of President Reagan's staff, for the following information.
I'll be quoting him for the first several paragraphs.

"Last week, on the very day when President Bush was being inaugurated for a second term, a federal judge in Pittsburgh struck down the nation's obscenity laws.

Relying heavily on Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court decision that overturned state laws against sodomy, Judge Gary Lancaster wrote, 'the government can no longer rely on the advancement of a moral code...as a legitimate, let alone compelling, state interest.'


...The government's attempt to keep this material off the streets was laudable and this JUDGE DESERVES TO BE IMPEACHED.
(Emphasis added).

Many on the radical Left, and even some 'libertarian' conservatives, like to parrot the line, 'You can't legislate morality'.
I beg to differ. ALL law is a determination of right and wrong--SOMEONE'S version of 'morality'. Let's consider the America our courts are constructing for us--under the misguided notion that we "can't legislate morality."

It is a place where unborn children can be destroyed on a whim--a nation that requires parental permission for a tattoo, but not an abortion. It is a country where a copy of the Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn is a threat to our liberty and the words 'under God' in our Pledge of Allegiance are a violation of the separation of church and state. And soon it may be a place that allows men to "marry" men, effectively destroying 2,000 years of Judeo-Christian tradition on the meaning of marriage.

The fact is JUDGES are legislating THEIR morality. And in doing so, as Justice Scalia warned, they are 'day by day, case by case,...designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.' With leadership from the president and action from the Congress, we can stop this judicial tyranny and once again make America a 'shining city upon a hill'."


Mr. Bauer sure hits the nail on the head, doesn't he!
All laws ARE a determination of right and wrong, be it murder, rape, incest, theft or other crimes against persons or property. When our legislative bodies pass laws, they are expressing the will of the people. (Usually...sometimes?) When judges refuse to enforce those laws they are setting themselves up as a higher authority. There IS a need for "checks and balances", but it needs to be on ALL three branches of our government. Unfortunately excessive judicial activism has been unchecked for far too long. It is now time for Congress to demonstrate to the left fringe judges that they will be held accountable....that there IS a check on judicial activism.

Judge Paul Enlow

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