Bring the constitution in line

That’s what Mike Huckabee thinks we need to do, as seen in this clip from MSNBC, of a speech that Mr Huckabee made on Monday in Warren, Michigan:

I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do, is to amend the constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.

I don’t have the context — the story’s been widely reported, of course, with just that segment taken from his remarks — but my guess is that he was talking about abortion, and favours amending the U.S. Constitution to make abortion unconstitutional. But where does it stop? I mean, once you’ve put that aspect of the constitution into “God’s standards”, you’ll easily find more that needs to be done.

And this is what you get when you align public policy and law with ancient religious writings:

Using strict enforcement of Islamic law, the judicial authorities in a restive region of southern Iran amputated the right hands and left feet of five convicted robbers this week, part of what the government said was an effort to deter other troublemakers.

[...]

Amputation has been a punishment in Iran since the Islamic revolution of 1979 installed Islamic law, but Iran’s judicial authorities have rarely publicized examples of its use and have rarely ordered double amputations. In the newly publicized instances, the courts ordered the right hand and left foot cut off, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the condemned to walk, even with a cane or crutches.

A statement by the Judicial Branch in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, where the convicted robbers were punished, said it hoped the double amputations would “teach a lesson to other criminals,” the news agency ISNA reported.

I hope that the double amputations teach a lesson to other nations, including ours, about how dangerous it is to follow this path... and about why Mike Huckabee is a frightening fanatic who would lead us farther along a very, very wrong path.