When is an oath not an oath? When you swear to uphold the Constitution… except for the inconvenient bits you disagree with. “Madison City Council voted this week to allow city officials to pledge their opposition to the state constitution’s ban on homosexual “marriage” during their swearing-in ceremonies.”
After vowing to uphold the state constitution, officials in more than 500 city positions will be permitted to make a statement that the amendment “besmirches” the constitution, and pledge to work towards its removal.
“I pledge to work to eliminate this section from the constitution, and work to prevent any discriminatory impacts from its application,” the voluntary protest statement reads.
Madison Mayor David J. Cieslewicz supports the decision, defending the move by saying the protest statement would alleviate a “crisis of conscience” over the amendment.
What makes an oath significant is that it’s supposed to bind you to a course of action regardless of other inclinations. A soldier’s oath binds him to fight even when every instinct tells him to run from the fight. A husband’s oath binds him to fidelity to his wife even when his hormones are telling him to bed another woman. But concepts such as honor and sacrifice and, oh yeah, obeying the law apparently don’t apply to liberals.
Recall in Illinois that the governor ordered all pharmacists to dispense abortifacient pills when presented with a valid prescription despite any conscientious objections. Or you may recall a circumstance related to the Wisconsin matter, when former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney ordered all city and town clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite any personal reservations. I’m sure these pious liberals were all in favor of the use of coercion to force adherence to their dogma.
But these spineless political hacks in Madison get off easy with their sacrifice-free protest against a democratically approved constitutional amendment. What they are saying is, “I pledge not to represent the people of my state, but I still think I should get my paycheck.”
If they had the courage of their convictions they’d resign their public office rather than make this cost-free pseudo-protest.
Technorati Tags:liberalism, Madison, oath, same-sex marriage, Wisconsin
