Date: December 8, 2022
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Mat Staver
MP3 | Order
Mat Staver is the founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel. He is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He’s an author and the host of the radio broadcasts Faith & Freedom and Freedom’s Call.
The first quarter hour involved Matt’s views concerning the latest on the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act.” 39 Republicans and all 219 Democrats in the House of Representatives wasted no time passing this act which is now on the way to President Biden for his signature.
Mat noted that while this has the same-sex portion, it originally opened up the door for polygamy. Due to push-back, an amendment was issued that said it won’t do that. However, a loophole hasn’t been closed to child-bride marriages because what the law says is that one state has to give recognition to another state’s marriage and it’s not just on same-sex marriage; this also applies to child-bride marriages that come out of California (where you can marry a 10 year old). Most states have laws against such marriages but all those would now be overruled.
This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that collides the LGBTQ political agenda with not simply religious speech, but all free speech. It will determine whether individuals can be forced to violate their own religious convictions that don’t conform to state accepted beliefs. Mat filed an amicus brief to the high court on behalf of Lori Smith in the case known as 303 Creative v. Elenis.
Lori is a creative web designer who makes unique websites for each couple she meets and that want her to use her artistic talents to help them celebrate their marriage. Obviously marriage is the union of a man and a woman so for her to say that marriage is the union of two people of the same sex violates her religious beliefs.
She filed a preemptive lawsuit challenging her state’s law because she’s in the same state that Jack Phillips is from. Jack is the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood, Colorado. Jack was part of a similar case involving artistic talents that went all the way to the Supreme Court, but as Mat indicated, they never reached the ultimate conclusion of whether the First Amendment was actually violated.
This broadcast is highlighted by audio clips from Jack Phillips, Associate Justice’s Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson, as well as listener comments from both sides of the issue.
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