Ted Olson And Tony Perkins Debate Marriage Equality; Brian Brown: Huckabee Is Right

AFER Attorney Ted Olson (who represented the plaintiffs in Virginia's Bostic case as well as the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case from California) and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council debated the merits of marriage equality and discussed the SCOTUS decision to deny certiorari in the marriage equality cases before it last week on FOX News Sunday.

From JMG:

Perkins: "You still have two circuits that have decisions coming up that look favorable toward natural marriage. I think the effect here is what you need to look at. I think the effect here is that the court did a back-alley type Roe V Wade judicial decision that let the lower courts do their evil bidding." Olson: "We have a Constitution and a Bill Of Rights precisely because we want protections from majority rule. When the majority in a legislature or a popular vote take away rights of individuals that are protected by the Bill Of Rights, then we have an independent judiciary to rectify that situation. It's happened again and again and again throughout this country's history."

Here is a video of the segment:

The desperation in Tony Perkin's voice and arguments is fairly clear, IMO.

And, Jeremy Hooper adds this note on his blog, goodasyou, with regard to the interchange:

Note Tony's deliberate use of the phrase "back alley." You're going to be hearing lots of that kind of talk, with folks like Tony adding hyperbole like that in order to make the court action seem dirty. And shady. And secretive. And dangerous. And it only means we're winning.

Oh, and note to conservatives: when it comes to facing off against lawyers, you really need to find pundits whose credentials are more than just being personally against homosexuality. Had you all realized this years ago, you might be better off. You'd still be losing, because marriage equality is a winning issue. But at least our discourse would be more honest and informed.

Also, Brian Brown of the National Organization For Marriage (theirs, not yours) says that he agrees with Mike Huckabee. Religious (far) right conservatives should leave the GOP if they will not fight marriage equality till the bitter end.

Brian Brown On NOM's Blog:

"Governor Huckabee is exactly right and is speaking for millions of Americans who are sick of Republican elitists remaining silent and refusing to fight for the survival of marriage, the principal building block of society and the foundation of civilization. Republicans who remain silent on marriage do so at their own peril and risk losing elections across the country. If conservatives see Republican candidates fail to lead on marriage — or worse, come out in favor of redefining marriage — then conservatives will abandon those candidates. We are grateful for those leaders who have spoken out to condemn the Supreme Court for their unprincipled and outrageous decision to allow the redefinition of marriage to occur in these states. We are prepared to work tirelessly to support them and others who lead in the fight to preserve marriage. But Governor Huckabee is right. If more Republican leaders do not speak up and join the fight, then millions of conservatives will abandon them and join with officials who will fight. Marriage is on the line in our country, and it's time for people to get off the bench and into the battle."

Via JMG