Marriage Judicially Defined?

This week the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will likely render a decision on marriage law that will have a direct impact and collateral effect throughout the nation.  Oral arguments on this issue convened on April 28^th (Obergefell vs. Hodges), and the decision is expected by the end of June, 2015. Five lawyers representing clients in favor of expanding marriage to include same-sex couples argued against the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, all of which have upheld marriage's definition. Courts have struck down laws protecting marriage in other states, including Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. SCOTUS will decide ifhomosexual couples have a constitutional right to marry or whether state laws protecting marriage can remain in place. Much is at stake regarding this decision.

The High Court addressed two questions only:

1. Does the 14^th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?
2. Does the 14^th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state? 

Pray for the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and their decision on marriage  

Possible outcomes expected from this decision include:

1. The High Court recognizes  that the Constitution, being silent on the issue of marriage, allows states the freedom to safeguard marriage as the union between one man and one woman through the democratic process. In this scenario, states are not compelled to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states. This would be the least damaging decision the court could make. (NO on both 1 and 2 above.)
   
   
2. The Court decides that while there's no constitutional "right" to same-sex marriage, states that adhere to God's design for marriage will be compelled to recognize same-sex marriages licensed by other states. (NO on 1, and YES on 2 above.) That would require traditional marriage states to provide all the same rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples married elsewhere, eventually leading to a de facto redefinition of marriage in the entire nation. While this does vindicate that there is no constitutional "right" to same-sex marriage, this decision would still negatively impact parental rights in education and religious liberties and conscience rights of business owners and others across the country.
   
   
3. The Supreme Court finds a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, thus legalizing such unions at the federal and state levels across the entire country. (YES on both 1 and 2.) This would automatically redefine all states' marriage laws, overturning 31 democratically enacted marriage amendments and ignoring the will of more than 60 percent of American voters who have cast ballots to maintain the traditional definition of marriage in their states.

"...Two out of the three most likely outcomes include an immediate or eventual redefinition of marriage – and as much as we are praying and hoping for the first outcome, many analysts believe it's a longshot. This means that it's entirely realistic to anticipate the Court might impose a definition of marriage on a country that's deeply divided on this important issue. For many of us, this decision would counter our deeply held faith beliefs and directly infringe upon our religious freedoms. If Roe v. Wade has taught us anything, it's that Americans don't simply acquiesce to rulings by Supreme Court decree when it comes to these deep moral issues." 

For the full article see Focus on the Family's review >

The proliferation and recognition of expanded marriage options will have a severe effect of family deconstruction rather than family restoration.  (See http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=269418).  Marriage was designed and will always be defined by a power much higher than the Supreme Court of the United States.  Family Restoration depends on that.