Defending D.O.M.A.

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have announced that they will no longer defend DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) in court. Perhaps they have forgotten what their jobs entail. They represent the Executive Branch of government. This means they are not responsible to make law (the job of the Legislative Branch) nor interpret law (the job of the Judicial Branch), but enforce law. Nowhere do they have the authority to forget about those laws they don't like or don't think appropriate. The President and the Executive Branch is charged with the task of executing the laws passed by congress. Article II of our Constitution requires the President to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." His job is not to re-interpret it.

The Defense of Marriage act was passed by congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The house voted 342-67 to pass and the senate voted 85-14. Clearly, they reflected the mandate of overwhelming public opinion. In every state where homosexual marriage has been on the ballot, it has lost. Once again, he is trying to bypass the will of the people and allow the liberal judges to remake the law and the morality of this country. Clearly, President Obama is out of step with the American people.

But more importantly, President Obama is out of step with God. It was God who instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden by creating one man for one woman and uniting them for life. Throughout the Bible, we see God's anger at the distortion of His plan, and homosexuality is a distortion of God's plan for sexual intimacy and marriage. Homosexuality turns God's plan for the family on its head. It was never meant to be two guys playing house, but it was the institution for the procreation and protection of children so that they could be raised to productive maturity. God designed it best. He knew that not only would it take a male and a female to procreate, but He knew that children need both a mother and a father in the home to provide the best conditions to raise them. Society has always understood this definition of family.

I would urge President Obama and Attorney General Holder to do your job. Defend the law. Live up to your campaign rhetoric when you declared that you believed marriage was between one man and one woman. President Obama, do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing that panders to your base. I would urge our Republican Congress to stop playing the wimps. House Speaker John Boehner stated,

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversy that sharply divides the nation."

Real tough, John. Where is the outrage at this abrogation of duty on the part of the president? Where are the elected leaders who will step up to the plate and defend marriage?