Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) doesn’t really know anything about gays and lesbians except for one thing: He doesn’t like them. Not one bit.
So you can imagine this whole pro-marriage equality Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges is really messing with his head right now. He is very unhappy. Thus, he has introduced legislation that would “reaffirm traditional marriage,” which is the equivalent of throwing a legislative hissy fit.
“The traditional definition of marriage is a union between one man and one woman,” King said in a statement. “In a blatant act of judicial activism, the Supreme Court perverted the word ‘marriage’ to create an unconstitutional right to same-sex marriage.”
It’s pretty easy to imagine King crossing his arms, stomping his foot and pouting as he says this. The right wing is always hollering about “judicial activism” whenever a court rules in a way they don’t like.
It’s a nice touch that King uses the word “perverted” in order to underscore the fact that he thinks homos are a bunch of depraved sinners. This was the guy who last year said of gays, “What was a sin 2,000 years ago is a sin today, and people that were condemned to hell 2,000 years ago, I don’t expect to meet them should I make it to heaven.”
Sounds like a nice guy.
King is appalled that SCOTUS would dare rule in a way he doesn’t personally approve of.
“Five unelected judges imposed their personal will on the states and the American people by overturning at least 30 states whose constitutions define marriage as a union between one man and one woman,” he said.
And he’s not going to take it any more! So he wants to impose his personal will on America. That’ll show ‘em.
“It is time for Congress to speak out against this constitutionally baseless decision,” his statement continued. “That is why I have introduced a resolution of disapproval to ensure the American people know that the House of Representatives strongly opposes the majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.”
I suspect the American people already know this. Or at least the ones who pay any attention to the number of right-wing blowhards in the House of Representatives, a body of government dominated by Republicans that has managed to get jack shit done while Obama has been in office, aside from trying to take health insurance away from poor people.
King’s resolution would let America know that he and his House friends accept no other definition of marriage besides “a union between one man and one woman” and that “the majority opinion unconstitutionally and indefensibly perverts the definition of marriage.”
He also asserts that states can just ignore the ruling, essentially telling the Supreme Court to fuck off. In King’s America, states “are not required to license same-sex marriage or recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.”
Is it against the law? Sure. But this guy’s last name is King, so I guess he thinks he’s the boss of the land.
Also, no surprise, there’s a religious-liberty net in his resolution so that “individuals, businesses, churches, religious groups and other faith-based organizations are encouraged, empowered and protected to exercise their faith without fear of legal or government interference.”
In other words, this resolution encourages, empowers and protects people who are hateful and stupid, which pretty much sums up King’s voter base.