(on why they lost the DOMA/Prop 8 cases at SCOTUS)
We are reluctant to sound unkind to the pro-family legal people who worked hard on these cases. But this is such a horrible outcome that something must be said.
Both of these cases suffered from an unaggressive and short-sighted approach that bordered on incompetence. The pro-family side did not present a credible case in either of these cases. They were deathly afraid that telling the truth about homosexuality might offend someone. By not effectively countering the absurd arguments and assumptions by the homosexual movement, they made it easy for the judges to rule as they did.
In the Federal District Court case in 2010 the homosexual lobby's lawyers bombarded the court with their well-honed talking points on "marriage", "family", the welfare of children of same-sex couples, and the like. They portrayed same-sex "marriages" as natural constructs that conservatives don't happen to like.
But as we reported at the time, the pro-family lawyers refused to consider using the medical and psychological dangers and moral issues surrounding homosexuality as counter-arguments. Instead they came up with soft arguments like "every child needs a father and a mother." In fact, the lawyers on our side accepted California's civil union law, which allows homosexual "parenting," as a legitimate compromise. This made their "mother and father" argument impossible to defend.
The handling of the case was so bad that the Federal District Court judge -- the "out" homosexual -- rebuked the pro-family lawyers for the lack of evidence they presented! It was almost as if the judge had no choice but to rule against us, based on what he had to work with.
When it got to the Supreme Court, it was no better. Our lawyers gave no credible reasons why same-sex couples should be treated differently, nor did they point to the immorality or destructiveness of that "lifestyle".
The DOMA case was even worse. Issues such as the morality of homosexuality, the perversion of the behavior itself, the absurd "equality" of homosexual relationships to heterosexual relationships, the bizarre effects on children having "two dads", and the overwhelming medical and psychological problems associated with homosexuality were the underlying reasons for the law's original passage. These are all legitimate issues. But the pro-family lawyers were afraid to use these arguments.
Thus, the Justices accepted the premise that homosexuals are a "class" of people who are born that way, and that there is nothing immoral or perverted (or destructive) about that behavior.
The cowardly nature of the pro-family movement has wrought terrible consequences and continues to be a huge problem. The DOMA case represents the tip of the iceberg. This unwillingness to address the underlying issue of homosexuality itself -- the behavior, its associated health risks, the profound moral issues, and the "born gay" myth -- gives that movement free rein to continue its march through our institutions.
As comfortable an argument as it is, we must stop deluding ourselves that this war is about the definition of marriage or children needing both a mother and a father. It's a bare-knuckles battle about truth versus lies that we cannot afford to continue to lose.