Senate to consider marriage amendment in mid-July
- Jun 15, 2004
The Senate will consider the Federal Marriage Amendment the week of July 12-16.
Supporters of the amendment, which is Senate Joint Resolution 30, face an uphill battle for passage. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives before three-fourths of the states vote for ratification.
At this time, it appears the FMA may even fall short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and bring the amendment up for a floor vote.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and many other pro-family organizations are urging Americans to ask their senators to support the FMA. Senators may be contacted by calling the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121.
Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention June 16 approved a resolution supporting adoption of the FMA.
State-sanctioned marriage for homosexuals became a reality May 17, when a Massachusetts high-court ruling legalizing same-sex “marriage” went into effect. Opponents are concerned out-of-state couples will return home and seek recognition of their “marriages” in their states, setting up the possibility of such unions being legal throughout the country.
The solution, the ERLC and other organizations have been saying since last year, is a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The FMA, which is H.J. Res. 56 in the House of Representatives, is the vehicle the ERLC and most other pro-family groups have endorsed.
S.J. Res. 30 says: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. 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.”
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