Response to kgj @ 68: One of the fundamental purposes of government is to legislate morality. Do we not have laws against murder, theft, exploitation, fraud, etc.? Are these not moral issues? Without government to restrain evil we would revert back to a state of nature where the big dominated the small and the law of the jungle prevailed. According to the Declaration of Independence, government is instituted among men to secure their rights. One way it does so is by restraining evil that would deprive people of their rights. So, unless you are a social and political libertine, don’t give me that crap about how government should not legislate morality.
My guess is that you probably have no problem with government legislating certain moral issues like murder, theft, etc. According to your last paragraph you do have a problem with government involvement on issues of homosexuality and abortion. You mention that these issues are confined to the bedroom and the uterus, but they are not. Homosexuality has spilled out of the bedroom and into society. It is taught as an acceptable practice in some public schools and it has attacked the traditional institution of marriage. Gay marriage would impact the church and church practices. Should social conservatives surrender these areas? Abortion has moved well beyond the individual uterus as well. What about tax payer funded abortions? Abortion on demand? The ability of a minor to have an abortion without the consent of the parent?
Homosexuality and abortion are no longer about individual choice but rather a societal choice. Social conservatives have a right to speak out on these issues as much as anyone.
