Vote on marriage amendment expected Sept. 30
- Sep 1, 2004 - comment
The House of Representatives is expected to vote Sept. 30 on a constitutional amendment to protect marriage.
The Federal Marriage Amendment, H.J. Res. 56, would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. It also is designed to block courts from legalizing homosexual “marriage.”
As with other federal amendments, it will require a two-thirds majority, or 290 votes, to gain approval in the House. The Senate turned back an attempt to pass such an amendment in July, when senators voted 50-48 against invoking cloture, thereby blocking a direct vote on the measure. A cloture vote requires agreement from 60 senators to end a filibuster.
Two recent rulings in the state of Washington lent credence to the arguments of amendment supporters that state laws are inadequate in protecting marriage. State judges ruled in August and September that Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act violated the state constitution. No court in the United States had struck down such a state law prior to the rulings.
You may inform your representative of your position on H.J. Res. 56 by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard, (202) 225-3121, and asking for his or her office.
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.
Voters in two states recently approved amendments to protect marriage. In August, Missouri voters passed an amendment to the state constitution with a 71 percent majority. On Sept. 18, Louisiana voters approved an amendment banning both homosexual “marriage” and civil unions with a 78 percent majority.
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