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Originally posted by: TheBaron
Why can't that be done with a federal law? Doesnt the constitution already say that a federal law trumps a state law? Why do we want a constitutional amendment to our sacred constitution when a federal law will do?
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Baron, I honest can't answer this for sure. Maybe one of our legal scholars on the board can provide more information as to whether or not a federal law could accomplish this. From my understanding, the amendment is necessary because the Congress was not given authority to regulate this in the constitution. All rights not specifically granted to the Federal government in the Constitution belong to the states. So it would appear to me that the federal government doesn't have the authority to make laws to regulate marriage among the states without an amendment to the constitution.
As to your additional amendments based on the Bible, I would answer that the intent is not to enforce the Bible on everyone. The intent is to protect an institution, marriage, from change from moral reasons. Those moral reasons are supported by the Bible, and may very well generate there for many of the supporters. But the Bible is interpreted many ways by many people. A much larger consensus can be gathered to support a ban on same sex marriage than any of these other approvals. Mainly because the other passages you took out of the Bible are interpreted different ways and these "commandments" are not ingrained in the moral constitution of most individuals in the United States. I do not feel that this is a huge group of people following the Bible blindly, but rather following their conscience to do what they feel is right. There is a distinction, though it may be subtle to many.