On Today's SCOTUS Ruling

For those reading this in an archive some time in the future, in my piece on the Supreme Court becoming Trans-legislators last night (on the outside they look like Justices, but on the inside they feel they were born legislators), I predicted today's ruling, saying:

Tomorrow or Monday, I expect them to rule that gay marriage is the law of the land.  Right behind that, I expect freedom of religion to be rescinded, along with the freedom of conscience.   

Commenter Erin Pallete wrote:

I'm not really clear on how allowing two consenting adults to sign a legally-binding marriage contract wrecks the nation and naturally follows into repeal of the 1st Amendment. Aren't we FOR rights, FOR freedom, and FOR fewer laws?

As I've said before, the only privilege running a blog gets you is the ability to write a wall of text to a two sentence comment like that.  If I may...

To answer the direct question: Of course.  We're all in agreement that we want more rights more freedom, and fewer laws (although I'd like an example of just once in history where getting the Fed.gov involved resulted in fewer laws).  But that's only the beginning and way too incomplete.  The problems always arise where the rights of two people collide. 

Freedom of Religion (NOT freedom of worship, as the president loves to say) is the right to believe in whatever you wish and follow those beliefs.  Pure first amendment.  Let's leave out human sacrifice because that obviously violates a whole host of laws, but my standpoint as both a libertarian and Nazarene (as ISIS says) is that if you want to believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Buddha or just believe in yourself, that's your choice.  Free will.  That's between you and God, at least as I perceive Him.  The line gets crossed if I say you have to believe what I do or else you go to jail or get otherwise destroyed (or if you do the same to me, of course).  That's taking someone else's freedom away.  

There was a story out of Georgia last week about a firefighter who gave a talk as a lay pastor (filling in) at his church where he affirmed the Biblical view of marriage and was fired over it.  From what I've heard, he didn't preach at work; no one claimed he was hostile to anyone at work, I never heard he even talked about it at work but he was fired.  The chaplain for Seal Team 6 was fired over taking a Biblical view, too.  That's a chaplain's job, isn't it?  And, of course, there are all of the cases where bakers or photographers or whatever were sued and are getting economically ruined for refusing to take part in a gay ceremony.  I've heard of gay people being fired for being gay; what's the difference?  Are people looking for equality or revenge?

This sounds like less rights, less freedom and more laws for everyone. Whenever anyone imposes their beliefs on other people, it's a problem.  

Are they going to start arresting Clergy for refusing to marry a gay couple?  At this point, that seems like a distinct possibility.  Will they get arrested when they teach on marriage from the Bible, Torah or Koran?  It seems possible.  By the way, if you say the Government would never arrest people based on what their religion says, how is the situation different from the Feds saying the Catholic church had to pay for abortions for their employees under Obamacare?    

Where is Freedom of Religion if your beliefs are mandated by the state?  Everyone is free to believe whatever they're ordered to?  Or else what?  There's way too big a chance for tyranny to grow here. 

So yeah, I'm completely in favor of more rights, more freedom and fewer laws for everyone.  And I think we'll be getting the complete opposite of that.