House to vote Sept. 30 on marriage amendment

By Tom Strode - Sep 30, 2004 - comment

The House of Representatives will cast an important vote Sept. 30 on the legal status of marriage in the United States.

Representatives will vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), H.J. Res. 106. The amendment would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. It is designed to block courts from legalizing homosexual “marriage.”

The proposal is nearly identical to one already rejected by the Senate. In July, senators voted 50-48 against invoking cloture, thereby preventing a direct vote on the amendment. A cloture vote requires 60 senators to end a filibuster.

The amendment faces an uphill battle not only for ratification but for approval in the House, where a two-thirds majority is needed. You may inform your representative of your position on H.J. Res. 106 by calling the Capitol switchboard, (202) 225-3121, and asking for him or her.

The MPA says neither the U.S. Constitution nor a state constitution “shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.”

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R.-Colo., is the sponsor of the MPA, which she introduced Sept. 23. She also sponsored its predecessor, the Federal Marriage Amendment, H.J. Res. 56.

Ratification of a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress, as well as approval by three-fourths of the states.

A massive rally in support of marriage is scheduled Oct. 15 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Among the “Mayday for Marriage” rally speakers will be Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family; Chuck Colson, chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council. The rally will be from noon to 3 p.m.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Family, Marriage, Sexual Purity, Homosexuality

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