Bible or Constitution?

Bible or Constitution?
On Wednesday, March 1, 2006, at a hearing on the proposed Constitutional Amendment to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor of law at AU, was requested to testify.

At the end of his testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"

Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."

The room erupted into applause. --Baltimore Sun

By Frederick Clarkson
Wednesday, March 15, 2006


Raskin's fearless and focused response to the religiously-informed and anti-Constitutional statement of a top Christian Right state senator sets a new standard for what we should expect from our elected officials and candidates for public office. An upstart candidate running in the Democratic primary for Maryland State Senate may be poised to stage a remarkable upset. The candidate, Jamie Raskin is becoming nationally known as an advocate for marriage equality -- and for coining a phrase so important and so memorable that it deserves not only be to be widely quoted -- but considered part of an essential lesson that should be deeply learned by everyone concerned about the rise of the religious right, especially those who hold or aspire to public office at all levels.
Linguist George Lakoff is right about framing. And this is an instance in which the right phrasing helps us to crystallize the frame in a way that defends the Constitutional rights of all against the dominionist excesses of the Christian Right. The entire episode is worthy of some study as an exercise in reframing by standing up for the constitution rather than debating religion; and in how the longer term answer lies in electing better people to public office.

Jeremy Learming, writing at the blog, Wall of Separation, tells the story of the Raskin's testimony (which was covered by The Baltimore Sun) at a hearing in the Maryland legislature on proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage. Raskin, a professor of Constitutional Law at American University had been asked to testify by Equality Maryland, a marriage equality organization. More dramatic than his tesitimony was his exchange with Republican State Senator Nancy Jacobs who said, "As I read biblical principles, marriage is intended, ordained and started by God - that is my belief, ... For me, this is an issue solely based on religious principles."

Raskin replied:

"People place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution. They don't put their hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."

Wow!

In one stark colloquy, the dominionist Christian view of law was demolished and rebutted as effectively as I have ever seen.