House Follows Senate and Fails to Protect Marriage

While a majority of Congressmen voted to pass H.J. Res. 106, the newly named Marriage Protection Act, the vote failed to receive the necessary two-thirds super-majority to pass the House last week.

The measure, if passed by both houses of Congress, would send the Federal Marriage Amendment to the states for ratification. In July the Senate failed to pass the FMA with the necessary super-majority required by the Constitution and last week the House vote was 227 in favor to 186 opposed with 20 Congressmen not voting.

Opponents claimed the proposed legislation "attacked" homosexuals. Rep. Barney Frank, (D-MA), an outspoken and openly homosexual member of Congress, called the measure "an undemocratic effort" promoted by those who find homosexual "love" distasteful.

"At its core," Rep. Frank said, "what it does is to say that no state, by whatever process it chooses, may find that two women, being willing to commit themselves to each other legally, as well as emotionally, is a good thing and not a bad thing . . . Please do not impose your views on the people of Massachusetts."

Of course the question is not whether the rest of the country will impose their views on the state of Massachusetts, but whether one state will be able to impose its view on marriage on the rest of the country thanks to judicial fiat.

Rep. Mike Pence, (R-IN), responded to his colleague’s challenge: "I have no distaste for love, and neither is it my desire to impose views, or attack any individual, or anyone in a relationship in America," Rep. Pence said. "I'm from south of Highway 40 in Indiana, but I do know the difference between defending and attacking. The truth is, as legal scholars and millions of Americans know, the institution of marriage is under attack by activist judges . . . A constitutional amendment is the only way we can express the will of three out of four — or more — Americans who desire to continue to have this fundamental institution of marriage defined as it has been through out the millennia."

The good news is that both houses of Congress have now taken a record vote on the issue of marriage – and you need to know where your elected officials stand on this issue. To find out more about how your Congressmen voted on the Federal Marriage Amendment (renamed the Marriage Protection Act in the House), visit the House Web Site or www.nationalcoalition.org and check out the Legal & Public Policy section of our site.

Citizens across the country will have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the issue of marriage on November 2 – not only will people from across the nation be selecting various representatives to elected office, but also residents in eleven states will be voting on a ballot initiative intended to protect the definition of marriage for that state. Ohio will be one of these key states – similar state constitutional amendments have recently passed in Louisiana and Missouri. Amendments are on the ballot in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.

The general election and ballot initiative are less than thirty days away – make sure you take the time to vote in this crucial election cycle.