HECK, IT HASN'T EVEN STARTED:

Good laws that reflect the truth about marriage, frequently passed with overwhelming democratic support, have been struck down by judges without any compelling argument that they are unconstitutional.

We should recognize this for what it is: Dozens of minor acts of judicial activism, rather than one major one.

If this is the case, where do we go from here? What should we do to continue defending marriage?

Marriage is too important to allow unelected judges to redefine it without a fight. Even if the umpires are colluding with the other team, that's no reason to allow them an unopposed victory. Even if many of the courts of law are biased, we can still win in some of them--indeed, many who favor redefining marriage think the Sixth Circuit Court will uphold Ohio and Michigan's marriage laws, and the battle continues in other circuits, including the Fifth Circuit, which will review Texas and Louisiana's laws (a federal judge recently upheld Louisiana's law). And the composition of the Supreme Court might well change for the better before the Court ends up actually deciding the marriage question.

We should use these legal battles as opportunities to make the case in the court of public opinion. Each legal proceeding presents an opportunity to educate our fellow citizens on how constitutional self-government works, and to explain what marriage is.

Nothing in these legal opinions changes the actual reality of what marriage is or why it matters--it simply codifies a faulty vision of marriage in law and thus makes it harder for future generations to understand and live out the truth about marriage.

Yes, laws that distort the nature of marriage will have an effect on people's lives, but conservatives have never thought that law or government is the primary vehicle for social and cultural transformation. Even with bad laws about marriage, we still have a duty to speak the truth and encourage our neighbors to live out the truth.

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