THOUGHTS
Imagine yourself taking a cruise on a ship with your family. This beautiful self-contained vessel is moving along through the water following a course that was charted years before because it is safe and reliable. The course is being strictly followed and monitored by the ship’s captain. You are blissfully unaware of all the things going on to make your trip smooth and enjoyable. You rely on the ship’s captain to make appropriate decisions in the operation of that ship to keep you and your family safe and comfortable and to get you to your destination.
You are totally unaware of any danger that lurks beneath the surface of the water, but you know that there are those on the ship who are monitoring sonar and other equipment carefully to make sure the way ahead is clear and free from hazards.
Now imagine that somewhere another ship fires a torpedo that is programmed to hit your ship and pierce a hole in its hull. This hole will let in the water; you and your family will go down with the ship unless you are lucky enough to get on a lifeboat. Suddenly all the comfort and safety you have been enjoying will be a distant memory and your family will be at the mercy of the sea.
However, sonar detects the torpedo, giving the captain time to make some decisions that will save the ship. The torpedo is on a fixed course that is calculated to hit the ship on its present course, so he must decide to do something to keep the torpedo from hitting the ship or all is lost. Your family’s future depends upon what decision the captain makes and as you and the rest of the passengers look anxiously at him, he shrugs his shoulders and says "I think that even if the torpedo hits, we will be safe. We have installed an anti-torpedo hull in this ship and even though we are not completely sure that it will protect us, I am relying on it to keep us afloat." You look at each other in dismay; your life is dependent upon his assessment of the effectiveness of this shield and his decision to rely on that shield. You can see the torpedo now and it is going to hit soon. What can you do?
An allegorical torpedo was launched from Massachusetts and it is headed for all the traditional marriage cruise ships in the United States. A three-judge panel launched the torpedo in a decision that allowed homosexual couples to marry. Rather than being a danger just in the isolated waters of Massachusetts, this torpedo is aimed at a "target-rich environment" of every matrimonial ship in the union. Traditional marriage is the target; the protected and reliable vessel for you and your children. If the torpedo manages to sink the traditional marriage ship, our children will be bobbing helplessly in a raging sea. The reliable ship that has protected families will be at the bottom of the sea.
Under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution, a marriage performed in Massachusetts might have to be recognized in other states even though they do not sanction homosexual unions. Kansas has its "torpedo-resistant hull" in form of legislation that defines traditional marriage: the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Kansas legislators, as the captain of the ship, chose to rely on DOMA to protect marriage in Kansas. They made the decision to stay the course and hope that DOMA works, denying the people of Kansas the opportunity to have a say in whether to add additional protection or even to launch the lifeboats. Some vehemently and eloquently argued that the DOMA was not enough and that we needed more protection, but they were not heard. The people of Kansas called, wrote and e-mailed their legislators by the thousands, but they were not heard either. Some legislators did not even consider the torpedo a legitimate danger and were eager to move on "to more important matters." In other words, let’s just leave the ship on its course and hope for the best.
Fortunately, the torpedo is still moving relatively slowly and some ships of state have taken diversionary tactics. Our neighbors, Missouri and Oklahoma, will be voting on marriage amendments to their state constitutions that will protect them more effectively than legislation. The passengers of their ships will have a say about how to best protect the ship and their lifeboats will be launched, just in case.
The people of Kansas have been denied their voice by some in the Legislature. The sonar is screaming danger, but Kansas sits and watches and waits.
In Him,
Judy Smith
State Director