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HOWARD CENTER SAYS IT’S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO RECONNECT WITH REALITY
ON MARRIAGE
Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center for Family,
Religion and Society, congratulated the leadership of the House of
Representatives for bringing up the Marriage Amendment for a floor
vote.
At the same time, Carlson noted that the vote – 227-to-186 in
favor of the amendment (significantly short of the 2/3rd majority
needed for passage) --reflects a serious disconnect between
politicians and the public on the crucial matter of marriage.
“Almost every opinion poll on the subject shows the American
people support traditional marriage by lopsided margins. In every
state where it’s gone to a vote, natural marriage has passed by
landslide majorities – including such bastions of liberalism as
California and Hawaii,” Carlson disclosed.
Said Carlson: “Less than two weeks ago, Louisiana voters approved
a marriage amendment to their state constitution by a vote of 71
percent. On November 2, ten states could have marriage amendments on
the ballot. After the election, as many as 42 states could have
defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman – either by
amendment or statute.”
“But that all could be an exercise in futility if Congress
refuses to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. It’s disingenuous
for opponents of the amendment to say: ‘Let the states decide.’ The
states have decided. The states are deciding. What opponents really
are saying is: ‘Let the judges decide.’” Carlson charged.
“Absent a constitutional safeguard, ultimately the question will
be decided by the federal judiciary – just as in Massachusetts, gay
marriage was mandated by the state’s highest court,” Carlson
commented.
“As Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out in
an address at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government earlier this
week, some things are too fundamental to be left to the
determination of judges. Whether the millennia-old definition of
marriage will be changed surely is one of those things.”
Carlson noted that when there’s this wide a gap between popular
opinion and elite opinion, something has to give. “Usually it
foreshadows a political revolution – like the Republican takeover of
the House of Representatives in 1994. Those 186 House members who
voted against the amendment are on the wrong side of history and
thus are in danger of being swept away by the coming tide.” |