There’s a lot more separating the U.S. and Puerto Rico than the Atlantic. Based on Tuesday’s news, the two regions are also oceans apart on judicial activism. [Tuesday], the little island made a big splash in the marriage debate by becoming just the second federal court to uphold the local law. In an opinion that was a breath of fresh air to disenfranchised voters everywhere, Judge Juan Perez-Gimenez shocked everyone by following 40 years of legal precedent.

Unlike his peers, who could win awards for their judicial gymnastics, Perez-Gimenez practiced what is becoming a lost art in U.S. courtrooms: self-restraint. After a year and a half of watching courts elevate political correctness above the rule of law, Perez-Gimenez dared to inject a little common sense into his ruling, writing one of the most unflinchingly pro-Constitution opinions on the subject in the last decade. Calling natural marriage “the fundamental unit of the political order,” the judge argues that “Ultimately, the very survival of the political order depends on the procreative potential embodied in it.”

In a jab at the runaway courts, Perez-Gimenez insists, “These are well-tested, well-proven principles on which we have relied for centuries. The question now is whether judicial ‘wisdom’ may contrive methods by which those solid principles can be circumvented or even discarded.”

For the Left, which has prided itself on exaggerating the popularity of same-sex “marriage,” this court’s decision highlights a serious problem for the Democratic Party – the minority divide on social issues. Apart from being the first Democratic-appointed judge to break with the Left’s agenda, Perrez-Gimenez is also Hispanic. And his unapologetic decision very literally draws a line in the sand for a party that continues to disregard other communities’ deeply-held convictions on marriage.

In the meantime, Puerto Rico’s decision creates an interesting scenario for court-watchers. For starters, this puts the First Circuit Court – whose New England states all recognize same-sex “marriage” – in play. In the race to get the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in, most experts agree that the circuit courts will have to disagree on marriage. This case could be the very split conservatives were waiting for.

“For now,” Perez-Gimenez writes, “one basic principle remains: the people, acting through their elected representatives, may legitimately regulate marriage by law. This principle is impeded, not advanced, by court decrees based on the proposition that the public cannot have the requisite repose to discuss certain issues. It is demeaning to the democratic process to presume that the voters are not capable of deciding an issue of this sensitivity on decent and rational grounds.” If the people can’t be trusted to decide marriage, what can they be trusted to decide? Once the courts start substituting their own views for voters’, every issue is fair game.

Speaking of people who ignore democracy, Mayor Annise Parker is still in hot water in Houston, where her chorus of critics grows louder by the day. By now, most Americans have heard about the city’s sermon-grab and, based on the polling, are equally horrified. In a sharply divided country where Americans rarely agree on anything – let alone social issues – Rasmussen Reports found a shocking amount of consensus on the city’s church overreach. A whopping 77 percent of voters don’t think the government should not be allowed to prosecute religious leaders for talking about policies that contradict their faith. Only 14 percent disagree. In their haste to redefine marriage, some Americans hadn’t stopped to make the connection between the homosexual agenda and the fallout for individual liberty.

Now that Houston is helping to make that point, an overwhelming majority of voters (82 percent) think it’s more important to give people the right to free speech than it is to “make sure no one is offended by what others say.” As for Christian wedding vendors, who are under attack in every corner of America, most people – 73 percent – think they should have the right decline to work a same-sex ceremony. Finally, voters are starting to realize: this was never about “discrimination” but forced participation in an event in direct conflict with their faith.

Fowle Returns to His Roost: U.S. Christian Freed by North Korea

North Korea is the world’s most repressive nation, especially when it comes to Christians. So, it’s especially good news that Ohioan David Fowle has been released by North Korea after serving six months in prison. His “crime?” After arriving in North Korea in April, he “was detained after apparently leaving a Bible in the bathroom of a nightclub in the northern port of Chongjin.”

The Associated Press pointed out that the North Koreans cited the “repeated requests” of President Obama to free Mr. Fowle. And while we applaud the White House for making this a priority, two other Americans still remain in North Korea. Last month, Matthew Miller was sentenced to six years of hard labor for a “crime” that remains unclear, and Kenneth Bae, a Christian tour leader who previously had taken 15 groups to North Korea, is allegedly being held for carrying a Bible or some other religious literature.

Bae, a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated from South Korea, has been in captivity for two years and “suffers from health problems including severe back and leg pain, kidney stones, dizziness, blurred vision and loss of vision. He was already dealing with diabetes. His family says he has lost more than 50 pounds.” The Bae family has thanked Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama administration for their advocacy, but also last month called on them “to step up every diplomatic effort to release Kenneth, a U.S. citizen.”

Then, of course, there’s the case of Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini, whose family has yet to receive a single phone call from the Obama administration after two years. Pastor Abedini, an American citizen with two young children, continues to suffer for his faith in one of the worst prisons in all of the Middle East, enduring beatings and torture while his own government turns a blind eye.

You can help raise awareness about his plight and that of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller by clicking over to www.state.gov/contact/ and asking them to free these men. Then, to learn more about what you can do to help persecuted Christians worldwide, visit the sites of the ministries Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors. Watch the joyful reunion of the Fowle family here.

Elections 2014: Victory or ‘Bus’t!

Update from the FRCA Bus Team

As part of our final push to energize like-minded voters to take action at the ballot box during the important election in November, FRC Action is traveling across the country, hosting the “Faith Family Freedom” bus tour October 20-30. The tour will visit seven important states in 10 days, focusing on issues like natural marriage, religious freedom, national security, the protection of life, and economic liberty. We can have a huge impact and advance these issues if together we remember to vote our values!

U.S. Senate candidates, congressmen, state legislators, and other local leaders and activists have joined us at each event to show support. On Monday, we kicked off our bus tour in Springdale, Arkansas where a crowd gathered as we were joined by U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Cotton and other conservative leaders. Other speakers at our stops have included Arkansas Governor candidate Asa Hutchinson, State Senator Jason Rapert, Rep. Bruce Westerman, and Col. Steve Russell.

We also joined a patriotic event with bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs. [Wednesday] morning, people arrived at the Oklahoma State Capitol to listen to Josh Duggar, Executive Director of FRC Action, U.S. Senate Candidate James Lankford, and other state leaders. The turnout and response from the crowds has been encouraging.

During the upcoming week, FRC Action’s tour has a series of stops in Kansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. We encourage you to spread the word on these important issues, join us at one of our tour stops, and vote in 13 days! For more information on the Faith Family Freedom Tour, please visit FRCAction.org/bustour. Also, please support us by spreading the word on social media and using our hashtag #FFFTOUR14.

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This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.