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Category: Gay Marriage

It’s the Spirit of the Law that Matters

May. 23 Criminal Justice, Cultural Issues, Gay Marriage 7 comments

OPINION: Florida Teen Sex Case Screams for Good Old Fashioned Common Sense

By Dale Glading | The Save Jersey Blog

Holding HandsIndian River County, Florida – and Sebastian River High School, in particular – have been in the national news this week because of a story that started small and then went viral.  The story is about an 18-year girl allegedly having sexual relations with a 15-year old female classmate.

As an evangelical Christian, an ordained minister and a strong social conservative, my position on this issue may surprise you.

I do not think the 18-year old senior in question should be prosecuted.

Yes, I know that the law states that an 18-year old is considered an adult and individuals under the age of 16 cannot give legal consent to having sex.  But unless I am misinterpreting that law, it was written to protect children from predatory adults – not to shield two classmates from each other simply because one happened to turn 18 and the other is an underclassman.

CONTINUE READING….

Save Marriage By Ending It

Apr. 11 Cultural Issues, Gay Marriage 4 comments

Achieving “Marriage Equality” for All Americans is Pretty Darn Easy if Politicians, Interest Groups Would Get Out of the Way

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Wedding RingsChalk it up as another domestic policy issue where I think Rand Paul makes a lot of sense, Save Jerseyans. Foreign policy is a different story.

But as we continue to consider America’s marriage conundrum pending a summertime ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, Senator Paul may’ve hit the nail on the head during a late March interview with Slate.com ahead of SCOTUS’s oral arguments; here’s the relevant portion:

…I believe in the historical definition of marriage. That being said, I think contracts between adults—I’m not for limiting contracts between adults. In fact, if there are ways to make the tax code more neutral where it doesn’t mention the word marriage, then we don’t have to redefine what marriage is. We just don’t have marriage in the tax code. If health benefits are a problem, why don’t we not define them by marriage? Why don’t we say, you have another adult who lives in the house, and a kid who lives in the house can be part of family coverage? Then you don’t have to redefine, and have people like myself, and people who live in the southeastern part of the country, we don’t have to change our definition of what we think marriage is, but we allow contracts to occur so there is more ability to [make] the law neutral.”

Don’t just react; think about it for a moment.

For most of human history, “marriage” was strictly a property contract with a religious twist.  Women were property during this period, and the exchange of land/title/dowries for the bride was standard procedure. Then, in mid-19th century, American common-law marriages started to decline as states transitioned to marriage licenses. These licenses were issued primarily for some “good” public policy reasons (preventing polygamy) but also a few very objectively awful reasons (preventing interracial marriages in certain regions of the country).

The relevant question: though we’re obviously better off now that women aren’t property, has marriage itself been any healthier for having transformed from a contractual relationship to one regulate by way of a license? Not according to all available indicators…

CONTINUE READING….

A Third Way

Mar. 27 Gay Marriage 9 comments

As the Gay Marriage Debate Rages, Isn’t There a Better Way?

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

“Legalize gay marriage!” “Defend traditional marriage!”

Or get government out of it altogether…?

There’s another option behind door #3, Save Jerseyans. Here’s an oldie (but a goodie) video reflection on the gay marriage debate from everyone’s favorite token libertarian girl, Julie Borowski:

More Sadly Selective Outrage

Mar. 26 Gay Marriage 9 comments

Why Does the Left Disregard Your Constitutional Rights Prior to Marriage?

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Supreme CourtUnless you’ve been living under a rock, Save Jerseyans, you’re aware that the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on two gay marriage cases today.

My gut reaction? I’ll tell you what I told my Facebook friends…

The substance of the gay marriage issue is one thing. The ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by many of you people is another. Why aren’t you equally concerned about government’s intrusions into your wallet? Email box? Gun rack? Doctor’s office? Or dare I say, an unborn child’s skull? Our constitutional rights continue to erode on a daily basis in a thousand significant ways. So why do you believe that the boudoir is the only place where government needs to butt out? 

It never ceases to amaze me.

Defeating CJC with Conversion Therapy

Mar. 26 Chris Christie, Conversion Therapy, Election 2013 3 comments

Democrats Rely On Old Tricks Instead of Pocketbook Issues to Battle Christie Campaign

By James Beattie | The Save Jersey Blog

Christie, Lautenberg and MenendezDuring the 2012 campaign, Save Jerseyans, we observed Democratic operatives expertly developing divisive stories and messages surrounding social issues to discredit Mitt Romney and his leadership in his campaign for the White House. And it worked.

The Obama Campaign was very successful in capitalizing on various gaffes made by Romney, turning any little thing he said into a campaign ad, and moreover, a referendum on the entire GOP which led to an epic defeat and a political “autopsy report” released by the Republican National Committee last week.

The New Jersey gubernatorial race is a little different, but Garden State Democrats hope voters here are just as easily moved. In your state news cycle we have seen, virtually out of nowhere, a major push to ban “Gay Conversion Therapy” as a part of the state’s larger anti-bullying campaign. This bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-38), himself an openly gay politician running for reelection in one of the more competitive legislation districts, one which both state parties consider winnable this fall.

CONTINUE READING….

CPAC Snubs Are Bad Policy

Feb. 27 Chris Christie, Cultural Issues, Gay Marriage, Republican Party 18 comments

Gov. Christie & Gay Conservatives Should Be Allowed to Plead Their Cases at Annual Conservative Conference

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

American Flag Patch BW

Back in 2004, Save Jerseyans, your Blogger-in-Chief was an undergraduate at Washington, D.C.’s Catholic University of America when a couple other friends and I interned at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

It was an amazing experience for a wide-eyed young conservative nerd to interact with so many distinguished politicians, media personalities and career activists in one place.

It was also a very different time in the Republican Party, and I discovered a healthy level of intellectual diversity on display from the right-of-center CPAC attendees. Libertarians, neocons, paleocons, fiscal conservatives and social conservatives from across the country mixed, drank, shared  cabs, and downed hot dogs while discussing equally hot races in long book signing queques.

The common thread among the CPAC patrons? A healthy disdain for large, active, expensive and intrusive federal governance.

We all had slightly different ideas regarding what that meant, but this fundamentally united conservative coalition helped defeat a far-left Democrat, John Kerry, just eight months later. I worked with many of the same folks on the ground in Ohio for President Bush! And while some at CPAC ’04  weren’t thrilled with the incumbent Republican’s spending habits or Patriot Act, you need to remember it was happening trillions of dollars ago, well before Barack Obama ran up more debt in his first 1 1/2 years in office than President Bush accrued in eight full years.

But oh, how times have changed!

CONTINUE READING….

Save Jersey Talks to GOProud, the Leading Gay Conservative and Libertarian Organization

Oct. 26 Cultural Issues, Election 2012, Gay Marriage, Josh Einstein, Save Jersey 43 comments

I had the opportunity to chat with GOProud Co-Founder Jimmy LaSalvia last week, Save Jerseyans.

What is GOProud? It’s a growing community of Gay Americans who are conservatives, libertarians, and definitely not Obama supporters in 2012. In fact, they recently endorsed Mitt Romney for President.

Mr. LaSalvia and I discussed the upcoming election, key races, and the interesting challenges associated with advocating for Republican principles/candidates as a gay conservative/libertarian in an era when gay marriage is a topic of much debate.

Listen and please share your thoughts:

To learn more, check out GOProud.org.

 

“Liberty” is Polling Pretty Well These Days!

Jun. 01 Abortion, Cultural Issues, Drug Legalization, Gay Marriage, Uncategorized 3 comments

Be of good cheer, Save Jerseyans, because Americans are once again becoming a liberty based people.

This may seem like an odd observation particularly in the Obama years, but recent polling shows that more Americans are pro-life than pro-abortion (http://www.gallup.com/poll/154838/pro-choice-americans-record-low.aspx), believe marriage for all (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States#Polls_in_2012), and support the decriminalization of marijuana (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/may_2012/56_favor_legalizing_regulating_marijuana).

Of course, there are caveats…

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