While Americans are glued to the story of one high-profile deserter, the courts seem packed with them – lawless judges eager to walk away from the Constitution and the oath they swore to uphold it. Unfortunately, the country is all too familiar with one of those activists, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb, who’s been tied to the National Day of Prayer, which she tried – unsuccessfully – to strike it down. Obviously, Crabb hasn’t learned anything since her rogue days in 2010, when a higher court rebuked the ideologue for her obvious political agenda.

Now, the Wisconsin judge is back to her old ways, ruling late Friday afternoon that natural marriage belongs in the same garbage pile as public prayer. Like her past outrages, this ruling makes a case for same-sex “marriage” absolutely devoid of religious or legal authority. “This is not about whether marriages between same-sex couples are consistent or inconsistent with the teachings of a particular religion, whether such marriages are moral or immoral, or whether they are something that should be encouraged or discouraged. It is not even about whether the plaintiffs in this case are as capable as opposite-sex couples of maintaining a committed and loving relationship or raising a family together. Quite simply, this case is about liberty and equality, the two cornerstones of the rights protected by the United States Constitution.”

But what about the liberty and equality of the majority who disagree? Under decisions like this one, they’re forced to suppress or violate the basic teachings of their faith – or face the government’s punishment and harassment. Of course, Judge Crabb will have an even tougher time explaining away the 1,264,310 votes she canceled out to drag the state into the courts’ lawless parade. Since last summer’s Supreme Court ruling, 15 states have watched helplessly as a single judge invalidates – not just millions of votes, but the entire democratic process.

In Wisconsin, officials also joined an elite club of wedding chaos, as clerks in Madison and Milwaukee opened their doors to a flood of same-sex ceremonies over the weekend and issued licenses that a higher court could (and should) void. Although Attorney General J.B. Holland raced to apply for an emergency stay and stop the processional, the damage will have already been done. “We’ve seen the disruption to couples and families throughout the U.S. when courts have first allowed same-sex marriage,” he said, “only to have those marriages subsequently called into question by another court.”

Meanwhile, this mutiny lies directly at the feet of the Left and their leader, President Obama, who has created an atmosphere in which the Constitution is silly putty in the hands of liberal activists. Slowly but surely, he is making American soil more fertile for the radical redefinition of society. While judges like Crabb can make same-sex “marriage” legal, they will never be able to make it right.

The courts, for all their power, can’t overturn natural law. What they can do is incite a movement of indignant Americans, who are tired of seeing the foundations of a free and just society destroyed by a handful of black-robed tyrants. As poll after poll makes clear, the only shift in public opinion on marriage seems to be in the judiciary. (Thanks in large part, as this article points out, to the President’s intentional effort to remake the courts.) As we saw with Roe v. Wade in 1973 – despite the Left’s earnest hopes, the courts do not have the final say. You do. Raise your voice at the 2nd annual March for Marriage, next week, June 19 in Washington, D.C.!

Hawaii Draws a Line in the Sand on Sex Ed

One person can make a difference, President John F. Kennedy said, and thanks to Hawaii State Rep. Bob McDermott ® more people might try. The conservative dad took on the state’s Education Department and scored a partial victory. Since December, Rep. McDermott has been a campaign of one, working to roll back Hawaii’s explosive sex ed curriculum – which is so explicit it would make most adults blush. Homosexuality gets the state’s support, as well as other controversial practices that parents should reserve the right to explain to their kids themselves.

“I can assure you my 11-year-old girl knows nothing about anal sex, and one of the reasons is because she’s not exposed to Pono Choices… I am a little uncomfortable saying [that], but this is what your children, your [sixth grade] children, are being taught,” the state rep said. “To me, this is outrageous.” Six months and an 18-page critique later, the agency finally budged, announcing that it would only teach the course to middle schoolers whose parents opt in, meaning that children are all exempted until their families say otherwise.

Not surprisingly, the Left (whose agenda is built on sexual liberalism) is howling that asking moms and dads’ permission is somehow “gutting” the program. If only McDermott and others were so lucky. For the Hawaii representative and countless parents, however, the news was a major relief. Our hats go off to Bob McDermott for showing the kind of leadership too many elected officials lack!

Texas GOP Walks the Plank on Key Values

Don’t be surprised if the Texas GOP lands on the Left’s list of “hate groups” after their convention this past weekend. In affirming its state platform upholding natural marriage and the sanctity of life, the Lone Star’s GOP threw its weight behind a host of key values, including the right of patients to seek “reparative therapy” for unwanted same-sex attractions. In fact, the endorsement was so non-controversial that the issue was never even debated among the 7,000 delegates. Under the new language, Texas Republicans recognize “the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle.”

Jonathan Saenz, a good friend to FRC and head of Texas Values, thinks the plank is a no-brainer. “The platform reflects what the people in the Republican Party have asked for, and that should be no surprise: family values, protection of marriage between one man and one woman, and everything that goes along with that.” The New Jersey GOP could stand to learn a thing or two from Texas, after Governor Chris Christie ® not only refused to support reparative therapy but signed a law banning it across the state. GOP moderates complain that conservatives are trying to keep the party in the past. But their reaction and that of liberals across the country proves once again that “choice” is only respected when that choice is to advance homosexuality.

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