Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
September 2004 – In Washington, D.C., the battle to preserve traditional marriage continues to rage, after Democrats in the U.S. Senate led a successful effort to filibuster a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA). Next up – the House of Representatives.
The FMA would amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. If passed, no federal judge could legalize same-sex marriage. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House, then ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Two other pieces of legislation affect the marriage issue. One is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 federal law that says individual states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
The second is the Marriage Protection Act (MPA). Passed by the House in July by a 233-194 margin, the MPA removes jurisdiction from federal courts – including the U.S. Supreme Court – to hear challenges to DOMA. The Senate has yet to take up its own version of the MPA.
Activist federal judges are a concern for those defending marriage, because homosexual activists are sure to push the courts to strike down state laws banning same-sex marriage.
Opponents of the FMA argue that DOMA, and state laws that define marriage as being between one man and one woman are sufficient to keep homosexual marriage illegal.
“There is no adequate defense against rogue federal judges except the FMA,” said AFA Chairman Don Wildmon.
Already two lesbians residing in Florida, who were legally married in Massachusetts, have filed a lawsuit to force Florida to recognize their marriage.
Wildmon said the MPA is a good first step, but it doesn’t completely remove the threat of same-sex marriage. “Since it is a law, and not an amendment to the Constitution, it could simply be repealed by the next session of Congress,” he said. “We need the FMA just to be sure.”
The House is expected to vote on its own version of the FMA in September, and Wildmon encouraged voters to contact their representatives. “Let them know that it is very important to you that they support traditional marriage,” he said. 
