Thigpen Statement on Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

MCPP President Forest Thigpen issued the following statement regarding the ruling by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves which overturned Mississippi's Constitutional provision defining marriage:

For any judge to be able to overrule an almost-unanimous legislature and 84% of the voters is not justice, it's tyranny, regardless of the subject matter. The problem is not so much that Judge Reeves has overstepped his authority (though I believe he has) but that we have reached this point where the voice of the people and their elected representatives doesn't matter. The rapidly growing tendency is for judges to appoint themselves as super-legislators, merely substituting their opinions for those of the other two branches of government, and in this case, the choice of the people themselves.

No matter what you believe about the morality of same-sex relationships, marriage itself has been defined as a relationship between male and female for thousands of years and throughout the world, with rare exceptions. That definition has simply been affirmed by the legislature and the people. No court should be allowed to overrule that affirmation.

I do appreciate Judge Reeves' decision to delay the effective date of his ruling so that the state may appeal.

DONATE TO THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION

magnifiercross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram