Gay Marriage Threatened?

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WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - Following Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's announcement of his retirement Wednesday, homosexual activists and pro-family advocates alike are questioning the future of so-called gay rights in the United States.

German Lopez, writing for Vox Wednesday afternoon, called Kennedy's retirement "devastating for LGBTQ rights," characterizing Kennedy as "a reliable swing vote" in favor of the homosexual agenda.

Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the 2015 Supreme Court case legalizing gay "marriage," told CNN, "I don't think the word 'devastated' is too strong of a word upon hearing this news."

Kennedy has in fact been at the forefront of pushing for gay rights, his Supreme Court track record littered with cases advancing the LGBT agenda, culminating in his personal triumph Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 legalizing gay "marriage" in all 50 states. With Kennedy gone, LGBT activists fear they're losing an advocate on the High Court, while pro-family advocates hope to reverse the pro-gay trend in the United States.

Bob Vander Plaats of The Family Leader, in an appearance with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, said, "I think this is an opportunity to restore a Culture of Life in this country that honors God and blesses people." Plaats continued, "We definitely see this as an answer to prayer."

Plaats went on to say, specifically on the question of true marriage, "I think God's design for marriage and family, we will revert back to that. We think marriage needs to be debated again."

Kennedy authored the 5–4 opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex "marriage" in all 50 states. Obergefell was the latest in a string of Supreme Court victories delivered to the homosexual lobby by Kennedy, a longtime judicial advocate of gay rights.

Beginning in 1996, Kennedy joined the majority in Romer v. Evans, which overturned a Colorado prohibition on recognition of homosexuals as a protected class.

In 2003, Kennedy authored Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned anti-sodomy statutes as well as the 1986 High Court case Bowers v. Hardwick. Kennedy said in his opinion, "Bowers was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today. It ought not to remain binding precedent. Bowers v. Hardwick should be and now is overruled."

Kennedy authored the majority opinion in the case United States v. Windsor in 2013, which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Obergefell came only two years later.

Senate Democrats are calling for no nomination to take place until after the midterm elections. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a tweet Wednesday afternoon, "McConnell set the rule. Now, he and Senate Republicans need to follow it. No vote on a Supreme Court nominee until after the new Congress is seated."

Kennedy has been less predictable on abortion, at times upholding restrictions and at other times reaffirming the right to abortion. Co-author of the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the opinion famously admits that contraception leads to abortion, stating that people have "organized intimate relationships and made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail."

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