Craig James — the former Fox Sports host who now works at the Family Research Council — hosted “Washington Watch” yesterday, where he attacked the federal judge who struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban for “overriding and striking down the will of the people.”
James’ statements prompted a caller to ask him if he believes a judge should then similarly uphold a ban on interracial marriage if it was supported by the state’s voters. James responded that the courts in that case should overrule the people because judges should decide cases based on the Bible and “the Bible doesn’t speak against that.”
Of course, a startling number of voters — including half of Mississippi Republicans — believe that interracial marriage should be illegal, and that was the view held by a majority of Americans only a few decades ago.
“Among religious groups, evangelicals remain the most opposed to interracial marriage,” Christianity Today notes, and leading Religious Right pastors like the late Bob Jones believed that the Bible unambiguously opposes miscegenation and desegregation and pastors who support integration have “gotten away from the Bible.” “The Bible is clear on this,” Jones said.
Later in the show, another caller said that while bans on interracial marriage are wrong, they are constitutional nonetheless: “If the people voted for it and it became the law, then we would have to abide by it…. If the people voted against interracial marriage and it became the law, then we would have to live by that. ”
James didn’t disagree: “You know, unfortunately, I’m 53 years old and the country is changing and the rule of law is something that now is kind of, use it when it is good to you and don’t in other times. We are definitely in a changing mentality in this country.”
