Trampling Free will, Freedom to Contract and Freedom of Conscience (Freedom of Religion)
Under the NATURAL LAW tab at the head of this page, in Free Will: the First Principle of Natural Law, I explained that we all have a right to our free will. No one else can lay claim to it without violating our ownership of our will. It is through this undeniable individual ownership of our will that all other Natural Rights follow, and Universal Morality is established. Essentially, morality is a function of whether or not we violate another person’s free will. When we do so, we violate Natural Law. And when we force our will on another, it is tyranny. That is what this next story represents: government tyranny.
It is a state court decision that could have national reach. In the words of Red State’s Erik Erickson, “You will be made to care.”
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Christian wedding photographer violated the state’s human rights law by refusing to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony.
Natural vs. Civil Rights In examining this story, we must start by understanding that ‘human rights’ is merely another term for ‘civil rights.’ The term ‘human rights’ is intended to be an equivalent term to Natural Rights, but the two terms are not equivalent. Natural Rights rests on the existence of a Creator whereas human rights rest solely on the reason of man. Thus, though some may try to elevate it beyond the position, human rights are merely civil rights as they exist only as an act of legislation. But Natural Rights exist independently and in spite of man’s law. So we need to understand that human rights are always subordinate to Natural Rights.
The Natural Right to Contract The next thing we need to understand is that all business transactions are essentially the result of people exercising their Natural Right to contract. Civil/human rights cannot alter this Natural Right: they can only subvert and trample it. The Constitution rests on the same Natural Right. The Constitution is the result of a social contract between every citizen in this nation. If they seek to claim the protections established by the Constitution, they must also agree to live according to its restrictions. And if they reject those restrictions, they cannot claim its protections; rather, society has a right to direct the full force of those protections against those who reject the terms of the Constitution. In the same manner, wherever they would conflict with the protections of the Constitution, States cannot claim their own civil/human rights. To do so is a violation of the terms of the Social Contract that have been set above the authority of the States.
Now, let’s look at this story. First, the State of New Mexico has declared that its ‘human rights’ are superior to the protections of the U.S. Constitution. This is a violation of the Social Contract, thus it constitutes an attack on every American who still claims those protections – including the citizens of New Mexico. Second, there is no such thing as a Natural Right to not be discriminated against. Any attempt to prohibit discrimination requires that the government force its will on others. This is a clear violation of Natural Rights because it tramples the free will of the individual. Though we may find it disagreeable, so long as it does not physically or materially harm someone, we have a right to be bigots, or to discriminate. We also have a Natural Right to do business according to our biases. We do not have an individual right to force each other to do business with us, and we are not harmed because someone refuses to do so. We can do business with others or do without, but the absence of an action does not cause harm: personal or otherwise. Therefore, the State of New Mexico is not only violating the Constitution by forcing someone to do business against their will, it is violating Natural Law and this – by definition – is tyranny.
The same applies to forcing the State’s will over an individual’s objections of conscience. So long as our beliefs do not cause positive harm, any attempt to force us to do something against our conscience is a violation of our free will. Once again, the State of New Mexico is violating the Constitution and committing an act of tyranny.
Hence, this story is not about ‘gay rights.’ That is a false argument. This story is about a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution and an overt act of tyranny by the State of New Mexico – period! And any attempt to make this into anything other than a violation of the Constitution and act of tyranny is an attempt to deceive — a further violation of Natural Law.