We the People of the United States ... and so begins the Constitution of the United States. Most of us are familiar with that famous first line. The Constitution of the State of California is in the news right now due to Proposition 8 being on trial. But how many of us are familiar with its words? The first line reads, "We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution." Hmm, I wonder what would happen if a lawyer tried to argue in court that their position, rather than their opponent's position, will secure blessings from the Almighty God for the people of California?
Many are arguing that Proposition 8 is taking away their rights. I've written about "rights" before, but I'd like to address the issue again. What is a right? According to a legal dictionary I found it is: a power, privilege, demand, or claim possessed by a particular person by virtue of law. The key here is "by virtue of law." In other words, the law giveth and the law taketh away rights. In my view it's not a matter of what is or is not a right by virtue of law, but what should be a right. It looks like, for California at least, the laws should be based on what will secure blessings from God.
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