Brownback Calls for Pressure on Senate Dems to Support Marriage Amendment
by Bill Fancher
May 4, 2006
(AgapePress) - - There is good news and there is bad news for supporters of a federal marriage amendment. The good news? The bill should be acted upon soon. The bad news? There may not enough support to pass it.
Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback says the federal marriage amendment will finally see action within a matter of days. "We will have it up probably coming to the full Judiciary Committee in two weeks," he says. "It will probably pass on a strict party line vote, defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman."
Then the measure will come to the Senate floor, he explains. "And I wouldn't doubt that the same thing will happen this time around that happened last time. That is, the Republicans will vote for it, and the Democrats will vote against it," he states.
That could be a problem -- because the current make-up of the U.S. Senate shows 55 in the Republican column. A two-thirds vote (67) would be necessary for the bill to move out of the Senate to the House for consideration. Brownback says without help, the amendment will not make it out of the Senate.
"I would urge people to contact their senators, particularly Democratic senators, and urge them to support the definition of marriage by the United States Congress as a man and a woman," the Kansas lawmaker says, adding that he sees that as the only way the amendment will have enough votes to pass.
Meanwhile, about 100 African-American and Latino pastors and religious leaders from around the country met in suburban Washington on Wednesday (May 3) to learn what they can do to work for passage of the federal marriage amendment scheduled to be introduced next month in the Senate. The gathering was hosted by Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church, in Lanham, Maryland.
Jackson, who is also the founder of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, tells Associated Press that a marriage amendment is needed to cover holes in existing law. "There is a superseding amendment needed because of the things that may happen if a person tries to take a marriage license from Massachusetts and then go and get all the benefits of marriage in the state of Maryland, for example," he says.
Rev. Jackson says the Church has always had a role in the formation of marriage laws, and that contrary to what the press might report, the marriage amendment is not anti-"gay."
"There is a Judeo-Christian basis for all of our laws in America, and marriage came from the Church -- in a sense -- to the secular society," he explains. "We believe that marriage is a sacred right, not a civil right, and that there are ways that we can make sure that the civil rights of gays are taken care of.
"We don't have anything against gay people. This is for the protection of marriage, and we think a national 'umbrella' is necessary."
Jackson says support of the proposed legislation crosses cultural lines -- and that minority church leaders should be involved in promoting the marriage protection amendment. He cites a startling statistic.
"In the black community we have such a breakdown in the family structure now -- seven out of ten of our babies are born out of wedlock -- and there is a postponing of marriage," he states. "Therefore we can't sit idly by and let this go on. The whole Church -- black and white -- needs to say marriage is important ...."
Jackson says social justice issues such as justice and poverty are no less pressing, but that protection of marriage is critical.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
Bill Fancher, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
