tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post477655473740305343..comments2023-12-28T01:25:53.093-07:00Comments on Henry Mark Holzer: WORST DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: REYNOLDS V. UNITED STATES (98 U.S. 145 (1898))Henry Mark Holzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09152550314383172733noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post-38360367920371887412020-07-13T09:27:03.139-06:002020-07-13T09:27:03.139-06:00Several bad ideas are in play here.
One is that t...Several bad ideas are in play here. <br />One is that the State can regulate what is solely a religious institution, i.e., marriage. Once the State bestowed certain special rights upon those who got married under State statutes, the State then assumed governance over all other aspects of marriage, even usurping the authority to define "marriage" from the clergy.<br />The second bad idea is that, as is pointed out in the essay, there is no such <i>thing</i> as "society." "Society" is merely the result of individuals' actions and preferences into the creation of a body of fashions accepted by a (usually -- but not necessarily -- large majority of) the members of a given group. Thus, individuals trump "society," not the other way around.Tim Kernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13311378469790949468noreply@blogger.com