A Resolution Concerning Lawrence v. Texas was presented by fundamentalist “pro-family” activists at the June 30 Loudoun County Republican Committee meeting, calling for a reversal of the Court’s decision.
The resolution was tabled until the next meeting on August 25th, with some members cautioning that it opened the committee up to accusations of extremism.
Resolution Concerning Lawrence v. Texas
Whereas, the decision of the US Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas abrogates the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia;Whereas, the decision of the US Supreme Court on Lawrence v. Texas attempts to justify the personal opinions of a majority of unelected Justices and is not based upon sound Constitutional reasoning or legal precedent;
Whereas, it is within the purview of the Supreme Court to decide on questions of constitutional law and not on political questions or controversy concerning social mores;
Whereas, the questions presented in Lawrence v. Texas are matters of current societal debate that ought to be settled democratically through the legislatures of the several states and not by the fiat of the Supreme Court;
Whereas, the Supreme Court formerly and correctly held in Bowers v. Hardwick that,
“(a) The Constitution does not confer a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy. None of the fundamental rights announced in this Court’s prior cases involving family relationships, marriage, or procreation bear any resemblance to the right asserted in this case. And any claim that those cases stand for the proposition that any kind of private sexual conduct between consenting adults is constitutionally insulated from state proscription is unsupportable.
(b) Against a background in which many States have criminalized sodomy and still do, to claim that a right to engage in such conduct is ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ or ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty’ is, at best, facetious.
(c) There should be great resistance to expand the reach of the Due Process Clauses to cover new fundamental rights. Otherwise, the judiciary necessarily would take upon itself further authority to govern the country without constitutional authority. The claimed right in this case falls far short of overcoming this resistance.
(d) The fact that homosexual conduct occurs in the privacy of the home does not affect the result.
(e) Sodomy laws should not be invalidated on the asserted basis that majority belief that sodomy is immoral is an inadequate rationale to support the laws.”?
Whereas, the legal traditions of Western liberal societies have historically protected the institution of marriage as the foundation of the core unit of society, the family;
Whereas, throughout history, marriage has universally been considered the union of man and woman;
Whereas, the decision of the US Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas threatens not only the sovereignty of the citizens of the several states to govern themselves on matters concerning themselves but also the enduring definitions of marriage and family that have helped to nourish our society;
Whereas, our national elected officials are sworn to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas, our Virginia state elected officials are sworn to support both the Constitution of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia;
Whereas, the decision of the US Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas is inconsistent with the original intent of both the United States and Virginia Commonwealth Constitutions;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Republican Committee commends Justices Scalia, Rehnquist, and Thomas for their courage in dissenting from this egregious decision;
Further be it resolved that the Secretary of the Loudoun County Republican Committee calls upon Senator John Warner, Senator George Allen, Congressman Frank Wolf, Senator Bill Mims, Senator Russell Potts, Delegate Joe May and Delegate Dick Black to quickly lead our nation and our state in the passage of a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman;
Further be it resolved that the Secretary of the Loudoun County Republican Committee is directed to disseminate this resolution to the United States Supreme Court, to the aforementioned elected officials, to the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and to Republican Party unit chairpersons across the state of Virginia.
Resolved this 30th day of June, 2003.
LOUDOUN COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE
By:_________________________________________
J. Randall Minchew, Chairman
Presented to the Loudoun County Republican Committee for adoption by Eve Marie Barner
(Note: This resolution was tabled at the June 30 LCRC meeting and is on the agenda for the August 25 meeting.)