The Supreme Court on Monday rejected requests from five states – Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana – aimed at keeping bans on same-sex marriage in place, a decision that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, characterized as “tragic and indefensible.”
“This is judicial activism at its worst. The Constitution entrusts state legislatures, elected by the people, to define marriage consistent with the values and mores of their citizens,” the Texas Senator said in a statement published on his website. “Unelected judges should not be imposing their policy preferences to subvert the considered judgments of democratically elected legislatures.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to let rulings by lower court judges stand that redefine marriage is both tragic and indefensible,” he said. “By refusing to rule if the states can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution. The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.”
The freshman senator explained that decisions like the one on Monday are why he introduced legislation to defend the authority of state legislatures to define marriage. Further, he added, he will introduce a constitutional amendment in the U.S. Senate to block the federal government or the courts from overriding or striking down state marriage laws.
“It is for the elected representatives of the people to make the laws of marriage, acting on the basis of their own constitutional authority, and protecting it, if necessary, from usurpation by the courts.
“Marriage is a question for the states,” he said. “Traditional marriage is an institution whose integrity and vitality are critical to the health of any society. We should remain faithful to our moral heritage and never hesitate to defend it.”
The Tea Party-backed senator is joined by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision to toss the five cases.
It is “disappointing,” Lee said in a statement. “Nothing in the Constitution forbids a state from retaining the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”
“Whether to change that definition is a decision best left to the people of each state — not to unelected, politically unaccountable judges. The Supreme Court owes it to the people of those states, whose democratic choices are being invalidated, to review the question soon and reaffirm that states do have that right,” Lee added.
Lee’s and Cruz’s statements are notable in that they are the few remarks made by Republican lawmakers in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to ignore the cases. Excluding the two Tea Party-backed senators, the reaction from Republican lawmakers has been minimal.
