The Heart of Democracy: Citizens, Not Judges, Should Decide on Definition of Marriage

by Bill Fancher and Jody Brown
June 24, 2004

(AgapePress) - Pro-family forces are gearing up for the first real test of the Federal Marriage Amendment. It is due to come up in the U.S. Senate on July 12.

Republican Senator Sam Brownback says this will be crucial to the protection of traditional marriage. "The Senate leadership has agreed to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment up for a cloture vote [on that day]. We need 60 votes to get to cloture, to move on the [Senator Wayne] Allard amendment," the Kansas lawmaker explains, "declaring that marriage in the United States is between a man and a woman -- and that courts cannot force legislatures to redefine marriage in other fashions."

The Allard amendment (S.J. Res. 30) reads as follows: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

On his website, Allard points out that the definition put forth by his proposed amendment is "neither new nor radical," but in fact is a concept "embraced by a majority of Americans of all religions, races and political affiliations."

Brownback, one of the co-sponsors of the Allard amendment, says it will take strong support from the people to bring enough pressure on their senators in order to get them to vote to end debate and move on to the amendment. That is precisely what a coalition of pro-family groups hopes to do by declaring July 11 as "Protect Marriage Sunday" and Monday, July 12, as "Contact Your Senators Day."

The coalition hopes to mobilize Christians in support of the FMA on those days by (1) encouraging pastors on that Sunday to focus their sermons on the God-ordained institution of marriage and to discuss the serious threat presented by the concept of homosexual "marriage"; and (2) urging Christians on the following day to contact their two senators and implore that they support the amendment.

The website for Protect Marriage Sunday includes information on senators' current stance on the FMA as well as contact information for all 100 members of the Senate. The senators are categorized as those who support the measure, those who oppose it, and those who are uncommitted.

It's the Courts, Not the States
Some members of the Senate continue to argue that the issue of same-sex marriage is an issue to be decided at the state level. But Senator Allard says the FMA does not impose on the authority of the states. "A series of courts -- not state legislatures, but courts -- have sought to redefine the institution of marriage in recent years," the Colorado Republican says. "This in a country where not one state legislature has sought to change the definition of marriage."

And Senate lawmakers sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee heard this week from an elected official who offers a unique perspective -- as well as an ominous warning -- about the possible fallout that could result when activist judges in one state take matters into their own hands.

Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, where the state's highest court has legalized same-sex marriage, pleaded with senators on Tuesday to act quickly before the homosexual unions performed in his state spread across the country. When confronted by Democratic senators who contend marriage is a state issue and that states should be free to define marriage however they choose, Romney had this response:

"Massachusetts has redefined marriage for the entire country," he said. "Massachusetts residents will move to other states, and thus issues related to property rights, employer benefits, inheritance, and many others will arise. It is not possible for the issue to remain solely a Massachusetts issue; it must now be confronted on a national basis."

Continuing, Romney said the real threat to the states is not the constitutional amendment process, in which states participate, but "activist judges who disregard the law and redefine marriage in order to impose their will on the states, and on the whole nation," the governor said.

"At the heart of American democracy is the principle that the most fundamental decisions in society should ultimately be decided by the people themselves," Romney added. "Surely the definition of society's core institution, marriage, is such a decision."