A Utah man is refusing to eat until his state restores a ban on same-sex marriages.
Trestin Meacham, 35, has been surviving on water and the occasional vitamin pill since Dec. 21. Although he’s already lost 25 pounds, Meacham claims he won’t eat until all of Utah’s counties stop issuing gay marriage licenses.
“You can start a blog and you can complain on social networks until you’re blue in the face and nothing will happen but actions speak louder than words and I’m taking action,” Meacham told 4Utah.
One day before Meacham began his fast with “no end in sight,” federal judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
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After a federal judge struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages, dozens of gay and lesbian couples in the state have started tying the knot.
Officials in the conservative state have filed an emergency appeal against Shelby’s decision, CNN reports, asking Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor to block the ruling.
Meacham, as a Mormon, believes that such marriages are evidence of sin.
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Meacham has punched a hole in his belt to keep his pants from falling down because of all the weight he’s lost.
“I cannot stand by and do nothing while this evil takes root in my home,” the man wrote on Facebook. “Some things in life are worth sacrificing one’s [health]and even life if necessary.”
In particular, Meacham is pushing for Utah to “nullify” Shelby’s ruling. The principle can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson, who argued that the state legislatures have a right to nullify federal statutes that are unconstitutional.
Meacham believes Utah doesn’t need to enforce Shelby’s ruling.
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Trestin Meacham, 35, has refused to eat until Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages is restored.
“They can end this tomorrow,” Meacham said. “They don’t have to go through the legal court battles and waste our money, they can end it tomorrow with the act of nullification.”
Attorney Greg Skordas disagrees with Meacham’s interpretation of state’s rights.
“When individual personal liberties are at stake, the state can’t infringe on that, even if it’s the will of the people,” Skordas said.
But Meacham isn’t budging. In fact, he’s punched a hole in his belt to keep his pants from falling down because of all the weight he’s lost.
“This has nothing to do with hatred of a group of people,” Meacham wrote on his blog. ” I have friends and relatives who practice a homosexual lifestyle and I treat them with the same respect and kindness that I would anyone. This is about religious freedom, and an out of control federal government.”