In just a few hours, five non-elected bureaucrats with a life-long tenure ended a struggle over 200 years in the making. They cunningly acquired powers not granted to them and deceived an entire nation to stand by in ignorant bliss. Never before has such a treacherous act been committed by a governmental body, and no movement, regardless of how prevalent or necessary it is, warrants corrupting the delicate balance of government powers.

Even to end what is arguably the most atrocious act in our nation’s history, the constitution was not violated. To legally ban slavery, three sequential amendments were approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate and State governments in 1865, 1868, and 1870, forming laws demanding no innocent man be subjected to bondage, and that all men deserve equal rights. Each amendment took years to pass and enormous efforts, but the people were fully represented in their adoption. The courts did not get involved because judges could not interpret laws which had not yet been formed. They couldn’t manipulate previous clauses to rectify their preferred edicts because it would not have been accepted by their informed constituents. Women’s suffrage, Prohibition and the Civil Rights movement all followed the same example: Amendments were formed and bills were passed into law by the wishes of the people and the integrity of their representatives.

Now, we enter a new era: one in which the government acts on its own accord. Laws are no longer reflective of what the people “do” want, but what they “should” want. The Supreme Court produces whatever legislature it deems fit; the only representative assemblies – the House and the Senate – are left stripped of their powers.

On June 26, this era was signed into reality. Five Justices hand-chosen by Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama single-handedly enacted legislature with no consent from our legislative bodies. Supposedly they were interpreting the 14^th amendment, but if the 1868 voters were told this amendment would require states to give gay couples marriage licenses, it would never have been adopted. We know this and the associate justices know this, but the people of this country are willing to forget it in exchange for an artificial victory.

Of this entire nation, those most cheated are of the LGBT community. They could have won their rights fairly, but instead took an unconstitutional victory at the resentment of the entire nation. Before the ruling, 37 of the 50 states had already legalized gay marriage, and support from the nation’s citizens had been climbing for the past 20 years. After the ruling, support for gay marriage dropped by 6%, according to an Associated Press-GFK poll, and is likely to continue to drop as people learn of its unconstitutional attributes.

They could have received national legalization in a constitutional manner, but were instead used as puppets for the acquisition of federal power. What laws the future has in store remains unseen, but it is apparent that the nation’s consent will no longer play a role.