Today marks a long-overdue but nevertheless greatly welcome reversal of the High Court's 1986 defense of Sodomy Laws. It's a notable loss for the "Religious Right" that was so central to the Republican Party of the Impeachment Era, and increasingly seems to be on its way out in favor of the foreign policy hawks and domestic libertarians (and the single-issue grassroots campaigns of the NRA). The response on the right ranges from Sullivan's celebration to Will's argument that sodomy laws are wrong but a purely local issue (like segregation?) and a constitutional right to privacy is a step on a slippery slope to damnation (like interracial marriage?), to some inspired Lamentations from the Christian News Service: In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul says men whose "foolish hearts were darkened" exchanged the truth of God for a lie. His warning about man's wisdom has apparently gone unheeded in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down an anti-sodomy law in Texas -- effectively telling states they can no longer punish homosexual couples for engaging in activities the Bible says are "unnatural" and sinful. Fortunately for AgapePress, the Supreme Court is yet to rule on whether the right to privacy includes other Biblical prohibitions like eating fish without fins and scales (same Hebrew word - to'evah - as is used to describe homosexuality). "Under our constitutional republic, it is the place of the state legislature, acting through its duly elected representatives, to decide what is moral," [American Family Association Chief Counsel Steve Crampton] says. "For a handful of un-elected judges to impose their views of morality is not law, it is tyranny." Actually, today would be a shining example of what a Supreme Court should do - hold a nation's legal system to its own best values. Crampton may be thinking of this. A Florida attorney believes the decision handed down will awaken Americans who want to preserve traditional marriage. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, says the decision will galvanize the majority of Americans who want to preserve family values but who have ignored the radical agenda of homosexual activists. "This particular decision essentially is a shot over the bow and a wake-up call that I believe will galvanize the sleeping giant of the majority of Americans who believe in traditional family values and traditional marriage so that every American will get involved in this cultural war," Staver says. "If we don’t, in the next decade or two, we could lose traditional family values and marriage in this country." See my parents' marriage, as I testified in March, is holy because of the love with which it's infused, not because they get legal recognition our gay friends don't. It's sad to me that some people see anything that expands and democratizes the legal institution as chipping away at the worth of the personal bond. It's a shame to see people convinced that their marriage needs to compete for significance and exclusivity. Staver also says the decision underscores the importance of the next Supreme Court appointment. Indeed. Bring it. P.S.: In case there was any confusion, Justice Scalia wants us to know that he has nothing against gay people personally. Well that's a relief. It's easy to lost track of his personal preferences when you get so caught up in his exercise of power as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States... But I'm sure some of his best friends are gay, right? Well, let me clear up any confusion now by sharing that some of my best friends are people like Justice Scalia...