Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
The Supreme Court seems likely to strike down same-sex marriage bans in the states where they remain, and Rep. Steve King is Very Unhappy about that. Even though marriage equality has been the law in his home state of Iowa since 2009, King is up in arms and kicking off an effort to block the Supreme Court from hearing a case on the issue—a case it's slated to hear
next week.
According to King, his bill "strips Article III courts of jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court of appellate jurisdiction, 'to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, any type of marriage.'" Why?
“For too long, federal courts have overstepped their constitutionally limited duty to interpret the Constitution.” King said in a news release. “Rather, federal courts have perverted the Constitution to make law and create constitutional rights to things such as privacy, birth control, and abortion. These Unenumerated, so-called constitutionally-protected rights were not envisioned by our Founding Fathers.”
Let's play a game: How many things can you list that were not envisioned by our Founding Fathers that are legal and Steve King doesn't have a problem with? (Or at least wouldn't admit he has a problem with—I wouldn't want to make any assumptions on women and black people voting.)
While King's bill has zero chance of becoming law, he is not the only Republican enthusiastic about the idea. The bill has seven cosponsors, and before King stepped up with an actual bill, Sen. Ted Cruz was talking up the same strategy. Their fury is in marked contrast to the new poll showing record support for marriage equality.
These guys need to calm down. We already know they're on the wrong side of history—they don't need to try to strip the Supreme Court of its authority to prove it.