A Federal Marriage Amendment

January 1, 2004 - "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."

by Gary L. Bauer

The above words form part of a proposed Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Who would ever have thought that something so basic would need to be spelled out this way? But that is exactly what our nation needs today. Here's why:

Though Scripture is clear when God says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24, NKJV), radical special-interest groups see things differently. Helped by liberal judges, they are working hard to legally recognize "same-sex marriage."

Recently the Supreme Court struck down a dozen state laws that prohibit homosexual sodomy. Using shockingly broad language, the Court in its decision established the philosophical basis for imposing same-sex marriage on America.

Homosexual rights groups have been filing lawsuits around the country demanding the right for same-sex couples to marry. And now in Massachusetts the Supreme Court has ruled in their favor.

Same-sex marriage has been voted down in every state that has considered it. But now, because of this decision, thousands of homosexual couples will flock to Massachusetts to wed. Then those couples will return to their home states and demand their marriages be legally recognized under the "Full Faith and Credit" clause of the Constitution, which requires states to honor contracts made in other states.

Anticipating this, pro-family and religious groups in 1996 successfully got through Congress the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which permits a state to refuse to recognize homosexual marriages performed elsewhere. But because of the Supreme Court's broad language in the sodomy case, legal scholars suspect DOMA will be struck down.

That leaves only one way to guarantee that marriage in America remains between a man and a woman—a constitutional amendment.

A broad coalition of religious groups and pro-family organizations has been working in Washington, D.C., with members of Congress to draft such an amendment. We know that passing it will be difficult—it takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures to ratify it.

But marriage must be defended. Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God to bring together His creation in a perfect union. Homosexual relations must not be elevated to moral equality with the love of a husband and a wife in marriage.