I was reading Lisa's blog, and her most recent excellent entry regarding the gay marriage arguments. I recommend it to all.

http://www.buddhajones.com/Lisa/Blog/

I made some comments there, including the one that follows, posted here with some expansion. I think it's an important issue.

I had a thought about the boneheads who think that amending the Constitution to restrict gay marriage is a good idea. The Constitution was instituted to guarantee and protect rights. Its Preamble states:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

If you read the entire document (which I highly recommend - it's quite short), you see definition and granting of specific powers to the government, with a lot of restrictions to go along with them, intentionally limiting the size and scope of government.

On the other hand, you see, in the body of the Constitution and even more so in the Bill of Rights (the first ten Amendments), a guarantee that the "inalienable" rights we all are born with to life, liberty and property will not only not be infringed, but that a government shall not even attempt to do so. Many rights are enumerated, and even if they are not there, they are still ours by virtue of the fact that they are not specifically denied (see the Tenth Amendment).

It's a marvelous document, all in all. Sure, it was flawed from the beginning, for a bunch of reasons having to do with what was going on at the time and political necessity and, most importantly, the fact that it was put together by a bunch of squabbling and flawed human critters. Universal sufferage (the vote), slavery, term limits, and a few other bloopers remained for later generations to correct through the amendment process, and for the most part that has happened.

But look at it, still. Those corrections consisted of granting MORE rights and freedoms, and served to further guarantee and protect the rights we enjoy. (The notable exception - Prohibition - failed, which must say something, too.)

An amendment to limit "marriage" to mean only a man and a woman is an amendment specifically and intentionally meant to restrict or limit individuals' rights. People who support such a thing clearly have no real clue as to what the Framers had in mind, or what this great nation is all about. They can wave the American flag until the next millenium, but that does not mean that they understand what it stands for.

The Blessings of Liberty are for all of us, and we should all be prepared to fight for them.