In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in what I believe was a politically motivated abuse of power. In response, with the help of the American Renewal Project and other faith based organizations, conservatives and Christians mobilized against the judicial activism and three Supreme Court Judges were removed by falling short in a retention vote in the general election. But we still have same-sex marriage and we are dealing with a trickle down effect that is showing up in education and other parts of the culture in ways that cannot be mentioned.
In December of 2022, the United States Congress passed the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” (RFMA) a bill that actually dis-respected marriage by equating same-sex marriage with the biblical standard of marriage and demanded that all states must recognize all marriages from other States. This is an abuse to the Constitution and I am bound by oath to defend it against the domestic enemies that are attacking it. A brief explanation follows…
Why Marriage Must Be Protected
Marriage is not a sexual preference. Marriage is a sacred and holy religious sacrament with deep historical roots. This sacred and holy institution was established in the beginning as a relationship between a male and a female and is a living analogy of Christ and the Church (see Eph 5:30-32). Because of this, marriage is inextricably bound to the free exercise of religion which is an unalienable right granted by the Creator. Therefore, an attack on the institution of marriage by redefining it to include same-sex relationships, is a direct attack on the body of Christ. Such attacks cannot be allowed to stand.
Three Reasons RFMA is Unconstitutional?
- For the reasons mentioned above, marriage is inextricably bound to the free practiced of religion, any attempt by the federal government to usurp or define marriage is a violation of the first amendment which says Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion. Federal government should simply have no opinion on this issue.
- For Congress to attempt to define marriage falls outside the enumerated powers of Article I, Sec. 8 of the U.S. Constitution. It is plain overreach.
- RFMA violates the tenth amendment to the Constitution by encroaching upon powers that belong to the states or the people.
I Need Your Help
I have filed a bill in the Iowa Legislature that declares the relevant elements of RFMA null and void and provides protections from legal action for Iowa Citizens. The next step is to call attention to this bill so that it moves forward and doesn’t die for lack of a committee.
- Get informed on this issue.
- Read the text of the Religious Liberty and State Sovereignty bill
- Read the text of the Marriage Amendment bill
- Pray informed and specific prayers for this bill to move forward and for God’s favor to be upon it.
- Spread The Word. Churches, newsletters, editorials, social media, clubs.
- Call your legislator and ask them to support and move forward with…
- HF508: Sherman’s Religious Liberty and State Sovereignty bill
- HJR8: Sherman’s Marriage Amendment bill
Questions & Answers
Is this Bill Relevant to the Present Culture?
The attempt to normalize same-sex marriage and the progress of such efforts has opened the door to the sexual discussions that used to cause normal people to blush. Now we are seeing obscene materials in grade schools that are simply unspeakable! Where will it stop? The answer is it won’t stop unless we take a stand and stop being afraid to address it.
Is it Too Late to Address This?
It is never too late to address this. However, the longer we wait, the more difficult it gets to do so. This issue cannot be separated from the fact that our culture has drifted away from God and His laws. Therefore, if we humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s favor, and turn from every wicked way, He will hear, forgive, and bring healing to our land. Nothing is too difficult for Him.
What about the Supreme Court Decision on this Issue?
In 2015 there was a U.S. Supreme Court case called Obergefell v. Hodges in which the court offered a 5-4 decision claiming the fourteenth amendment required states to accept same-sex marriages. The four dissenting members wrote opinions suggesting that the court had usurped the a power that belongs to the people. Justice Scalia called the decision a “threat to American Democracy” and said it was “constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine.” As you may know, the court has since changed and has overturned Roe v. Wade which stood for 50 years. Many see as a sign of more changes to come but nothing changes if we don’t challenge the status quo.
Will this Bill Solve the Problem?
The bill I have filed is just a start, but it can make a crack in the wall of status quo. This bill will not only address the definition of marriage, but it will introduce the concept of nullification and reestablish state sovereignty according to the Constitution.
What Is Nullification and Is it a Thing?
We should remember that it was the states who formed the federal government (and the federal Constitution) not the other way around. So who has the right to determine if and when the federal government has overstepped its constitutional limits? Thomas Jefferson clearly believed it was the right of the states to judge if their own sovereignty was being violated and spoke to this very issue:
“…the several states who formed that instrument [the Constitution], being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy.”
“Without this right, they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgement for them.”
Someone will undoubtedly cite the supremacy clause in Article VI of the Constitution and claim that federal government has authority to overrule the states. But the supremacy clause refers only to laws that are pursuant to the Constitution. Hamilton spoke to this issue:
“… acts of the [Federal Government] which are NOT PURSUANT to its constitutional powers … [are] merely acts of usurpation and will deserve to be treated as such.”
The so-called Respect for Marriage Act, is a usurpation of state sovereignty and James Madison and Alexander Hamilton told us what to do about it:
“schemes of usurpation will be easily defeated by the State governments, who will be supported by the people.”
“the state governments, with the people on their side, would be able to repel the danger.”
“If the [cooperation] of the State legislatures be necessary to give effect to a measure of the Union, they have only not to act, or to act evasively, and the measure is defeated.”
I am not a lawyer nor a theologian, just a simple person trying to do God’s will. In my study and examination of the nullification doctrine I have come to the understanding that at its core nullification is an extraconstitutional measure. If we advocate that we are at the point of using Nullification then we concede that the compact has been broken and we no longer as a state intend to abide by the US constitution. It is plain to me researching this that nullification voids the US constitution and anarchy will ensue. Here is Madison’s words on this. “But it follows from no view of the subject, that a nullification of a law of the U. S can as is now contended, belong rightfully to a single State, as one of the parties to the Constitution; the State not ceasing to avow its adherence to the Constitution. A plainer contradiction in terms, or a more fatal inlet of anarchy cannot be imagined” . It is easy to take one quote of context and use that to illustrate our side or point of view. I find it prudent that we would look beyond any one quote. It seems to me that Madison makes it plain that if a state acts without a consensus among the states it would not be constitutional. If one state acted on its own to nullify any law they felt violated their rights or sovereignty soon no state would follow Federal Law unless it suited their purposes.
I do agree that our system of government allows for the states and requires the states to interpose on behalf of their citizens. We must be mindful of the Doctrine of Interposition advocated by Madison. We must use the other methods of interposition prior to the extraconstitutional measure of nullification. We must ask ourselves have we exhausted these other methods prior to the last methods of nullification and revolution,
Eight Methods of Interposition
A. Public Relations
B. Lobbying Congress
C. Judicial Challenges
D. State Legislative Action
E. Coordination Among States
F. Article V
G. Nullification and Revolution
Our founding fathers understood that nullification would lead to a revolution and for more than a decade before they used nullification methods such as the Boston Tea Party they pressed every legal method with Great Britain and the King to afford them relief. The founders knew that nullification would come with a great personal cost to every American. I have seen nullification play out in our present time and it always comes with a cost. In our present day this cost is borne by the individual. The baker who would not bake a cake, The clerk who would not sign a marriage license, the restaurant owner who would not close her essential business. The J6ers who rot in jail without a trial.
There is a time that we maybe called by God to use nullification as a tool to stand against evil. For each of us we must discern if that is God’s will. It is easy for our elected leaders and prominent party officials to call for nullification because it cost them nothing! How many of our elected officials have themselves used nullification? How many were removed off plains and arrested for refusing to wear a mask? If our leaders call for nullification or a national divorce, we must as than ask them to pull the log out of their eye and be the example for us. HR8404 Disrespect for marriage act allows for civil lawsuits that may affect religious organizations like adoption agencies. The brunt of any nullification effort will surely be a burden to individuals. Will you stand for them? Will you put up your money, your freedom or life for them. Has our state elected official, and leaders called for the removal of our national representative who voted for HR8404. If this law is unconstitutional then surely you have called for our three national leaders who voted for this to be impeached? How many of these leaders wrote an op-ed and said they would not vote for them?
I find it repulsive that our elected state representatives would ask their constituents to use nullification instead of doing their duty given to them to arrest this evil and tyranny. Yes, the US constitution gives the states and more precisely the state legislatures the ability to arrest the abuse and overreach of the federal government. When our elected officials ask us to use nullification instead of doing their duty under the constitution you must ask yourself why? Our state elected representatives are duty bound by the constitution to interpose to arrest the progress of evil upon their citizens. When we ask them to do their duty and if they fail to do it and we experience tyranny and oppression we should hold them accountable! But, do not ask me to send my sons and daughters to sacrifice their life when our state legislators have been given the power to peacefully act and are to fearful to do so.
May God have mercy on us,
George Caron
[…] he spoke Saturday in Cedar Rapids. Sherman, who is also a pastor, was the lead sponsor of the Religious Liberty and State Sovereignty bill as well as the Marriage Amendment bill this past legislative […]