DeLay Says Protecting Marriage Will Take Time

by Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
September 29, 2004

(AgapePress) - U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Tom DeLay recently addressed a national audience, stating in a nationwide telecast that traditional marriage will ultimately win out in America. These words, coming just as Congress prepares to vote on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, or FMA, were an encouragement to pro-family listeners.

DeLay told supporters of traditional marriage that nobody has the right to redefine the age-old institution of marriage. "It is now what it has always been," he asserted, "the natural and spiritual bond between one man and one woman, period. And no judge or politician can change that."

The Texas congressman did note, however, that the battle would require patience and perseverance. "Today, marriage and the nation are under attack by those who seek to impose their political agenda on an immutable moral truth," he said, adding that the upcoming House vote is only one step in what will be a long process.

"These debates are never resolved in one vote or one year," DeLay says. "Issues like this take time. They must be engaged with compassion and respect for all sides. Our opponents may want this to be an emotional debate, but we have the truth on our side, and it is the truth that will win us this argument."

The House majority leader has not hesitated to align himself with the faith community in speaking up for traditional marriage. According to an Associated Press report, the congressman joined religious and Hispanic community leaders this week at a Capitol Hill news conference on support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. Among those present was Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference, who stated that homosexual marriage is not a civil rights issue, and Hispanic churches oppose it because children need a mother and a father.

Also speaking up for marriage at the DC news conference was Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage. Noting that there is a broad national support base for a constitutional amendment protecting marriage, Daniels said most Americans support the FMA, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the major African-American denominations, and people of other religious affiliations, as well as many people of no religious faith.

At that news conference, DeLay emphasized that he does not expect Congress to pass the proposed FMA on Thursday. What this vote will accomplish, he says, is to put House members on record before the November 2004 elections. Also, he says, it will be another step forward in the long-term effort to prevent judicial activists from overriding the will of the people and legalizing homosexual marriage.

Gary Bauer

TV Ads Reveal Kerry's Same-Sex Marriage Agenda
Also this week, conservative spokesman and former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Bauer announced a new anti-Kerry television ad campaign in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The $500,000 campaign charges the Democratic presidential candidate with working against efforts to defend traditional marriage.

Bauer, who directed the half-million dollar advertising buy as president of Americans United to Preserve Marriage (AUPM), says marriage in America "must be preserved as the union of one man and one woman." He adds that his group and other pro-family activists "believe it is important for the American people to know which candidates will defend traditional marriage," and he says Kerry is not at all happy about the new ad.

The TV commercial highlights the fact that Senator John Kerry opposed efforts to stop the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and also voted against the bi-partisan 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and Bauer says the liberal candidate is now working to stop the passage of the FMA. The ad can be viewed on the AUPM website.