Massachusetts High Court Says Yes to Gay Marriage

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us tonight.

Huge news day today.  Michael Jackson (search) could have more trouble involving a child.  Scott Peterson (search) faces execution if he's found guilty.  And President Bush (search) facing large protests in London.  We will analyze all of those stories coming up.

But first, the high court in Massachusetts says yes to gay marriage.  First in the nation.  That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

By a four to three vote, the Commonwealth's highest judges ruled the state's ban on same sex marriages as unconstitutional.  Apparently the wording of the ban does not include a marriage description that mentions men and women.

So four judges used that to OK gay marriage.  And the court has ordered the legislature to fill out a way to allow gays to wed.  Ironically, one of the judges is a lesbian.  She voted against gay marriage, saying the court didn't have the right to make such a law.

Now here's what's going to happen.  The legislature will draft an amendment to the Massachusetts constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  If that passes, the court's decision will be overturned.

Personally I couldn't care less about gay marriage.  If Tommy and Vinny or Joanie and Samantha want to get married, I don't see it as a threat to me or anybody else.  But according to a poll by the Pew Research Center (search), only 32 percent of Americans favor gay marriage.  And the will of the people must be taken into account here.

We simply can't allow this country to be run by ideological judges.  Marriage is not a right, neither is driving a car.  Both are privileges granted by the state.  Just 100 years ago, most Americans even didn't bother getting married.  They shacked up, but marriage has been defined as a union between a man and woman ever since the Catholic Church (search) made it a sacrament in the year 1215.

Now the secularists want to redefine marriage against the will of the majority of Americans.  They are defining it as a rights issue.  But again, it's not a rights issue.  Anyone can form a partnership that will protect assets and allow access to personal endeavors.  The state issues a marriage license.  And the state is entitled to set the rules.

If the good people of Massachusetts want a secular approach to marriage,  let them vote on it.  But judges have no right to find loopholes in the law and  impose their views on everybody else.  That's happening all over America.  And if it continues, the core values of this country will be changed dramatically.  Another secular victory today, this Massachusetts marriage deal.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for the "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day."

Our pal, Jesse Jackson (search), believes Rush Limbaugh (search) might be better off in jail.  Jackson said, "Here in the case of Rush Limbaugh, he has bought excessive amounts of an illegal substance.  If the law remains the same, he'll face prosecution as other Americans do."

Ridiculous?  Well, you make the call.