Marriage amendment reintroduced in Senate
- Feb 15, 2005
Supporters of a constitutional amendment to protect marriage have initiated what they hope will be a successful effort in the new Congress.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R.-Colo., reintroduced the Marriage Protection Amendment, S.J.Res. 1, with 24 cosponsors Jan. 24. Two more cosponsors have since been added. A House of Representatives version has yet to be introduced.
The amendment would define marriage as the “union of a man and a woman.” The text also says, “Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, 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.”
Shannon Royce, executive director of the Marriage Amendment Project of the Arlington Group, said the number of cosponsors is “very exciting.”
“It demonstrates the importance of the issue to the American people and the understanding in the Senate that this issue must be addressed,” said Royce, also a consultant for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “I look forward to working with Southern Baptists to preserve the biblical and traditional definition of marriage.”
The Arlington Group is a coalition of pro-family organizations working together on marriage and other issues. The ERLC is a member.
Attempts to pass an amendment last year after same-sex marriages were approved at state and local levels fell short in both the Senate and House. To be ratified, a federal amendment must be approved by two-thirds of both the Senate and House, as well as by three-fourths of the states.
President Bush restated his endorsement of a federal marriage amendment in his State of the Union speech Feb. 2.
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