This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Liberalism," and a decline in "moral principle" led to the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision in February recognizing gay couples' right to marry, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Monday.
And that decision - prompted by "liberal" justices and the elected officials who nominated them - will resonate, depending upon the outcome of the November election, the state's senior senator said.
"This election may be the most important election in history, at least from the standpoint of whether the Constitution is going to be amended by judicial fiat or not," Hatch said Monday during a presentation at the University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics.
"If [John] Kerry gets elected, or if [President] Bush gets elected - depending upon which side you're on - that president is going to have at least two, and maybe three and maybe four Supreme Court justices."
Speaking to about 25 people at the annual Huntsman Seminar in Constitutional Government for Teachers, Hatch was adamant that if Kerry, the Democratic nominee, is elected those justices would be "liberal" and would "fuss
issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. "You can count on them being pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage and a whole riff of other things," he said, referring to the Massachusetts decision on gay marriage.
Prompted by a suit from seven gay couples, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state's Constitution did not preclude gay couples from marrying. And the nation will have to experience the effects of that decision, said Hatch.
"Four liberal justices versus three - and one is a lesbian - that came down with the opinion on same-sex marriage that under the Constitution we have to recognize," he said.
"You can see why judges are very, very important . . . and depending on your point of view, you're going to find [this election] one you'll want to participate in."
While Hatch was adamant in his defense of traditional marriage, teachers gathered for the seminar were particularly focused on the issues of national security, a proposed constitutional amendment against flag burning and the defense of stem-cell research.
While Hatch supports President Bush, he disagreed with the president's approval of the 9-11 Commission's recommendation that an intelligence czar oversees the nation's various intelligence agencies. Bush's proposal, however, would not give the top intelligence official control of budgets.
"I'm not against what the 9-11 Commission has said," Hatch said. "I just think we should go slow on this . . . they ought to have some allocative right. They ought to have some right in the budget."
Hatch also said he expects his proposal to amend the Constitution to prohibit burning the U.S. flag to be considered in September.