Gay Marriage Case: What Hangs in the Balance

WASHINGTON -- Whenever the high court hears a case dealing with same-sex marriage, as it did Tuesday, partisans on both sides fill the Supreme Court plaza with witty signs, colorful costumes, songs, chants and lots of yelling at each other.

As CBN News passed a traditional marriage advocate, he could be heard fighting with a gay marriage supporter.

"You're just like the Pharisees," the gay marriage supporter said.

"Jesus loved the sinners and we're loving you just like Jesus loved the Pharisees," the traditional marriage advocate replied.

Meanwhile, a group of bearded Orthodox Jews dressed in black suits condemned LGBT sexual activity, with one yelling over a loud speaker, "LGBT is against God and against humanity."

Most Justices Already Decided?

All these efforts are intended to influence the Supreme Court as it mulls Obergefell v. Hodges. It's the first case the court could use to impose same-sex marriage on the entire nation.

Is the high court on the verge of a landmark ruling like Roe v. Wade? Brad Jacob, associated professor at the Regent University School of Law, addressed that question and more on CBN News, April 29.

But according to some court-watchers, there's little chance the demonstrators or even the lawyers arguing before the justices will affect their decision.

Some have suggested the four justices on each side of the argument have made up their minds, once again leaving Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote to decide the crucial question: Should the high court force same-sex marriage on all 50 states?

John Bursch, the attorney who argued on behalf of the states, thinks Justice Kennedy might be leaning toward letting the states and the people decide rather than the justices.

"And he (Kennedy) said, 'This is the marriage definition that we have had for millennia.  How are we in a position that we can decide better than everyone else in the history of the world?'" Bursch paraphrased the words of the high court justice.

'Constitutionalizing' Second-Class Status

But Mary Bonauto, the attorney leading the charge for national gay marriage, predicted what she believes the justices will do to homosexuals and their families if the Supreme Court rules against same-sex marriage nationwide.

"You are constitutionalizing a second-class status for gay and lesbian people," Bonauto stated. "You are endorsing that the families are deficient and inferior.  And that will invite discrimination, as this court has recognized in other situations."

Bonauto also intimated the justices had been hard on her side.

"Of course the court asked tough questions today. That's their job," she said.

Bursch, on the other hand, sounded confident the justices heard his position -- that the states and their citizens should decide this central question about marriage, not the Supreme Court.

"That's our core position," Busch said. "We thought that the justices were very receptive to that. That it's not the job of the federal courts or nine people to step in and decide for the whole country what something as important as marriage is. And that you do have to let the people decide or else you lose the very democratic principles our country was founded on."

Cutting Off the Debate

Outside the court, Busch paraphrased Chief Justice John Roberts, saying, "'Hey, if we decide this question, it's going to cut off the debate that people ordinarily would have through the democratic process.'"

The homosexuals campaigning for national legalization of same-sex marriage --like Jim Obergefell, the Ohio gay man who gave his name to Obergefell v. Hodges -- cite the Constitution and equal rights.

"I trust in the Supreme Court to uphold those ideals that our Constitution enshrines: equal justice under the law and equal treatment. We all deserve the same civil rights, the same fundamental rights," Obergefell said after Tuesday's hearing.

Amy Cotton, the National Council of Jewish Women's senior policy manager, seconded that sentiment.

"The U.S. Constitution should mean exactly what it says: equality under the law for everyone and civil rights for all," she said.

Bonauto added, "The court: it's their job to make sure that every individual's liberty and equality is protected regardless of state laws."

Lesbian: 'I Know I'm Right'

Another woman on the Supreme Court plaza, Leah Lax of Houston, was there Tuesday to push for equal recognition of gay marriages across state lines.  That's the second question to be settled by Obergefell v. Hodges.

The mother of seven had divorced her husband after 26 years and fallen in love with a lesbian. This week, they're in the nation's capital to tie the knot.

"I'm here in D.C. to marry my beloved partner of 10 years," she said.  "We came here because we live in Texas and we can't get married there."

She's hoping the court will force Texas as well as any other state to recognize her new union.

Meanwhile, nearby were Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontac -- a Davis, California, couple waving a sign that said "Life Feels Different When You're Married: Shelly & Ellen Together 41+ yrs, Legally Married 6+."

Pontac contends the nation is ready for gay marriage, except for a misguided souls.

"People not really understanding that we're just like everybody else because someone somewhere had taught them something different," she said. 

Bailes said gay marriage opponents don't discourage here, stating, "It's hard to feel bad when you know you're right."

But Barrett Duke, a leading official on the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, disagreed.

"God defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman," Duke said.  "Regardless of what humans decide to do about that, it doesn't change what marriage really is.  And the Supreme Court should leave the definition that God has given us alone."

Duke doubts the country is as ready for gay marriage as Pontac believes.

"The states have spoken on this, and when the people have spoken, they've said they believe marriage only is the union between a man and a woman," he told CBN News.

A Rebellion against God?

Leading the Orthodox Jewish opposition to "same-gender marriage" was Rabbi Dovid Feldman. He pointed out traditional marriage is as old as the Garden of Eden.

"It's ever since the creation of the world, when God created the world, God created Adam and Eve, God created nature of marriage with a man and a woman," Feldman stated.  "It was accepted throughout all generations until our times."

He said if the federal courts and government sanction gay marriage, "This is considered a rebellion against God."

He begged Americans to keep the thought that they may well be offending this God uppermost in their minds.

"We plead with our government leaders, we plead with our judges, we plead with our fellow people," Feldman said, "let's remember there's a God in the universe.  Let's remember there's One ruling us all.  Let's remember there's One giving us air to breathe and keeping us alive."

'I Was Queer, Then I Found Jesus'

Another person demonstrating on the plaza held a unique sign unlike any other seen Tuesday.  It read, "I was queer, then I found Jesus."

Lauren Handy explained to CBN News what her former lesbian lifestyle was like.

"Most of my life I identified as queer and I participated in same-sex behaviors,  and depression, suicide attempts, pornography addiction -  the whole nine yards," she said.

But Handy was also a fierce and activist opponent of abortion, and her time spent protesting or counseling outside abortion clinics led her into frequent contact with Christians witnessing outside those same clinics.  They eventually led her to Christ and that led her away from the gay lifestyle.

Now she said she tells homosexuals, "There is full redeeming healing through Jesus Christ, and it's never too late.  That's what I tell people: it's never too late."

Abortion, Gay Marriage Parallels

What being a pro-life activist and former practicing lesbian has shown Handy is nationwide, government-backed gay marriage will in its way hurt America as much as the court legalizing abortion.

"1973: legalized abortion, then one-third of my generation gone.  And if the court decides in their (gay marriage advocates' ) favor,  it's going to be just like that," she said.

Duke added, "I believe God will hold us, as well as any nation, accountable when we stray further and further away from His truth."

The Supreme Court will likely announce in late June its decision about whether or not to impose same-sex marriage on all 50 states.