• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About

Radio America Online News Bureau

2015 in Culture: ‘Clash of Unprecedented Proportions’

December 23, 2015 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/STAVER-CULTURE-BLOG.mp3

2015 witnessed a Supreme Court decision ruling there was a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, a federal judge jailing a county clerk for refusing to issue licenses to gay couples and the public explosion of the transgender movement, but one of the key figures in the culture wars says 2016 could well be a year of Americans pushing back against the liberal agenda.

In June, years worth of political and legal battles found their way to the Supreme Court.  By a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court ruled that the equal protections offered in the Constitution ought to establish a right to same-sex marriage.

The decision was not surprising given previous rulings by the same justices, but Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew Staver says it was disgraceful nonetheless.

“Frankly, I don’t think it deserves any respect as the rule of law.  It’s just the opinion of five justices.  However, some people are playing the games of masquerade and assuming this is what the Constitution says.  That will have a culture-changing impact at every level,” said Staver.

Although he refuses to honor the court ruling, Staver knows it is a huge moment in the battle over American morality.  He says we have arrived at a major cultural crossroads.

“This is a culture clash of unprecedented proportions that we’ve now entered into.  This will continue as we move into the new year,” he said.  “It’s going to come up in every conceivable context” private schools, churches, universities, colleges, you name it.  Every institution, every person of faith will have to address this issue.”

Staver would know.  Weeks after the Supreme Court decision, he became counsel for Kim Davis, the clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky.  Davis, a born-again Christian refused to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples, citing her freedom of conscience and free religious expression.  The federal courts disagreed.

“Two months after this 5-4 opinion, the first Christian went to jail for her sincerely held religious beliefs,” said Staver.  “Although she was the first, she certainly won’t be the last.  It will not involve only public employees or public elected officials but certainly the private sector as well.”

Staver says the entire Davis saga could easily have been avoided, but the Democratic governor refused to take action to protect the rights of conscience.

“There was no accommodation that was given by the former governor, Steven Beshear, who is no longer in office.  He refused to accommodate her so she made her own accommodation.  When she returned to work, she refused to violate her conscience, so she removed her name and title from the license,” said Staver.

Beshear was replaced by tea party Republican Matt Bevin, who scored a large upset victory over Democrat Jack Conway.

“He became elected in large part because of the marriage issue and Kim Davis.  He took the side of natural marriage and supports Kim Davis.  He’s now been sworn into office and he’s already [issued] an executive order to protect the religious freedom of Kim Davis and other clerks like her,” said Staver.

On Dec. 23, Bevin ordered the removal of clerks’ names from marriage licenses throughout the commonwealth, the very same decision Davis made unilaterally earlier in the year.

Staver says the story of Gov. Bevin ought to be a lesson to national candidates as well.

“The candidates will have to address this issue.  The voters will require that they address this issue,” said Staver, who believes pushing back is a winning issue for the GOP.

“The more and more the issue of same-sex marriage and the radical, so-called LGBT agenda moves forward, the more people will see how intolerant it is, how coercive it is.  Kim Davis is just Exhibit A in that situation.  I think most people will say, ‘This is not the kind of America we want to live in.  This is not what we bargained for,’ and they’re going to push back,” said Staver.

Staver also believes the reputation of the nation’s courts is in peril.  He says an upcoming ruling in high-profile abortion cases will be critical to how Americans view the courts.

“I think it’s pushing itself into the realm of illegitimacy.  I think the same-sex marriage case pushed it across the line.  I think if it goes the wrong way on the abortion or the contraception and the abortion-inducing drug mandate, I think that will finish off this court and people will just simply say, ‘We’re not going to obey people who just invent the law as they go,'” said Staver.

As the gay marriage debate reached a critical moment at the Supreme Court, the transgender movement also emerged much more publicly in 2015, led by Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner announcing he identified as a woman named Caitlyn.  Multiple television programs emerged to highlight the stories of Jenner and others.

“It is part of their whole movement to bring out this bizarre ‘I think, therefore I am’ concept.  We always saw that in philosophy but now they’re actually trying to make that a reality, that if you think you’re a woman then you ought to be legally recognized and treated as a woman?  It’s absolutely absurd,” said Staver.

Staver says it doesn’t take a deep faith to understand the deep flaws in embracing the movement.

“You cannot get used to something that pushes in your face and is a direct collision with your sincerely held religious beliefs and, frankly, objective, observable reality,” said Staver.

Staver admits 2015 was a difficult year for cultural conservatives but he says there is much more reason for hope than despair.

“We haven’t even begun to see this battle.  This battle is far from over and, for me, I ultimately believe we will win this battle going forward,” said Staver.

 

Standard Podcast [ 9:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Filed Under: Podcasts

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Recent

  • GOP Senate Prospects, Cable News Debate Drama, Lightfoot Fails Upward
  • Senate’s Student Loan Rebuke, ‘No Plan’ on China, Hunter’s Absurd Defense
  • Manchin’s Dismal Polling, Trump-DeSantis Surrogate Wars, Christie Crashes the Party
  • Debt Ceiling Deal, EU vs. Twitter, Neuralink’s Promise vs. Peril
  • A Memorial Day Special

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in