GOP discusses same-sex marriage

COEUR d'ALENE - The legalization of same-sex marriage became the hot topic during Thursday's meeting of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans.

Originally the plan for the group's weekly meeting, which drew approximately 15 people to The Fedora Pub and Grille in Coeur d'Alene, was to discuss three recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, last month's 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment requires a state to issue a marriage license between two people of the same sex, generated the most discussion from the group.

"A lot of these court cases have to do with the fact, not that we're changing government policy, but the idea is to change Americans," said president Jeff Ward. "In and of itself, I think that is the basis of an authoritarian, even a totalitarian, state."

Ward began the discussion on the same-sex marriage decision by asking attendees if the government should be in the business of issuing marriage licenses at all.

"Since marriage, in essence, was originally not an institution of the state, but an institution of the church and contractual arrangements between individuals and families," he added.

Rob Moser responded to Ward's question by stating that "Sodomites" have been given power over both the church and the state.

"Anything they want, they can have, because now they can cry discrimination if anyone dares say no to anything they want," Moser added. "They're going to come into the church and take over. They will. You can't keep them out."

Moser's statements were not followed up on by anyone in attendance, and the discussion then turned to whether the decision paved the way for polygamy to be recognized in America. From what he has read about the decision, Ward said, he doesn't see how polygamy couldn't be considered legal.

Ward then stated it was his belief the ruling was never about giving same-sex couples the right to marriage. Instead, he said the push was primarily to get society as a whole, particularly religious institutions, to accept homosexual behavior.

Arthur Macomber, a Coeur d'Alene land-use attorney, told attendees he stopped worrying about the issue of same-sex marriage after reviewing a national study on sexual orientation. The study, he said, found that less than 3 percent of people polled were homosexual.

"The decision is dangerous from the point of view of, if the state has to issue a license for same-sex marriage - what does that mean for the rest of us, these private citizens out here?" Macomber asked. "From some people's point of view, if the state has to issue a license then nobody in the private sector can discriminate against gay people."

He continued by telling the group members they should focus on the path forward, rather than focusing on complaining about the recent decision. In Macomber's opinion, Republicans should insist on being colorblind.

"So if this issue about add the words comes up," Macomber said. "I would like to say 'Let's get rid of all the words' and stop the government from separating us as free people for its purposes."

Chris Fillios, a Coeur d'Alene Realtor, wrapped up the discussion by stating once the spiritual component is removed from the institution of marriage "pretty much anything goes."

"If you take spirituality out of it then basically everything is relative so anything can be moral," he said. "Your absolutes are gone and that's where we find ourselves as a society."

The Kootenai County Reagan Republicans are a group of individuals who are, according to the KCRR website, dedicated to actively building the new conservative majority through things like party building, activism and training.

The group meets weekly on Thursdays at noon at The Fedora Bar and Grille. On the first Thursday of every month, the group meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Avondale Golf Course in Hayden Lake.