Ohio, Michigan Lawmakers Moving to Defend Marriage

by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
January 23, 2004

(AgapePress) - Pro-family groups in Ohio and Michigan are excited about the fact that the lawmakers in their respective states are standing in defense of the traditional, biblical concept of marriage.

An Ohio-based pro-family organization is pleased that legislators in that state put a Defense of Marriage Act on the fast track for approval in order to head off the possible ramifications of a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling. The Ohio legislature has passed a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) after seven years of haggling and delays. The measure now goes to Governor Bob Taft, who has pledged to sign the bill, pending a legal review.

David Miller, vice president of the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, praises both the Ohio House and Senate for responding in favor of families.

"I think we've seen an urgency since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has commanded the legislature to find some kind of law to allow homosexuals to marry," he says. "We've seen our Ohio legislators see the need -- finally -- to get a Defense of Marriage Act on the books in Ohio."

The CCV spokesman says he is grateful the legislators put the legislation on "a fast track" because they were concerned about the ramifications of the Massachusetts ruling.

Miller says he expects homosexual groups and their supporters will challenge the measure in the courts once the governor signs it into law. One of those groups is likely to be the Log Cabin Republicans of Northwest Ohio, which has actively lobbied against enactment of a DOMA in the Buckeye State. The group claims the DOMA is "punitive, a waste of time, and bad for business."

And in Michigan ...
A little further to the north, another pro-family spokesman is applauding a bipartisan effort in the Michigan House of Representative introducing a Marriage Protection Amendment to that state's constitution. The proposed amendment reads as follows:

To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, only marriage between one man and one woman shall be recognized as valid in this state. No other relationship shall be recognized as a marriage or its legal equivalent by the state, its political subdivisions, or educational institutions under Article VIII, regardless of whether such a relationship is recognized by the laws of any jurisdiction outside of this state.

Gary Glenn

Gary Glenn, president of the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan, is confident the amendment will find strong support among the state's electorate. "If lawmakers support the right of the people of Michigan to vote on and decide this extremely important issue for ourselves, there's no question the Marriage Protection Amendment will be overwhelmingly approved by voters this November," he says.

Glenn credits particularly the strong backing of the amendment by two members of the Michigan House of Representatives: Rep. Triette Reeves, who is chaplain of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus; and Rep. Gary Newell, the primary sponsor of the measure. According to Glenn, Newell organized the support of more than half of the House members before it was even introduced.

The bipartisan support for the measure, says Glenn, "proves how broad and strong support is throughout Michigan for protecting and preserving marriage."

If the amendment is approved by two-thirds of the members in both houses, the amendment would appear on the general election ballot this fall.