House Votes to Protect State Marriage Laws
Washington:
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation cosponsored by
Congressman Ron Paul that will prevent federal judges from imposing gay marriage
on the fifty states. The Marriage
Protection Act ensures that activist federal courts cannot force the state of
Texas to accept gay marriage licenses issues by other states.
“The
Founders never intended for a handful of unelected, unaccountable federal judges
to decide social policy for the entire nation,” Paul stated.
“Just as Texas is not required to recognize medical licenses, law
licenses, or driving licenses from other states, it ought not be forced to
recognize gay marriage licenses granted elsewhere.
Already some same-sex couples have sued in federal court to force the
nationwide recognition of their marriages, so the Marriage Protection Act is
needed to preserve states’ rights. Federal
judges have flouted the will of the American people for too long, acting as
imperial legislators instead of jurists. The
Marriage Protection Act represents a long-overdue exercise of the congressional
power to limit and define federal court jurisdiction.”
“The
definition of marriage- a union between a man and a woman- can be found in any
dictionary,” Paul continued. “It’s
sad that we need government to define an institution that has existed for
centuries. The best approach to
complex social problems, as always, is to follow the Constitution. This means Congress should restrict federal court
jurisdiction when necessary, and social matters should be left up to states
under the Ninth and Tenth amendments.”
The
Lawrence case decided by the Supreme Court last June is a clear example
of judicial activism. The Court
determined that Texas has no right to establish its own standards for private
sexual conduct, because these laws violated the court’s interpretation of the
14th Amendment. Rather than
adhering to the Constitution and declining jurisdiction over a state matter, the
Court decided to stretch the “right to privacy” to justify imposing the
justices’ vision on the people of Texas.
Since the Lawrence decision, many Americans have expressed their
concern that the Court may next “discover” that state laws defining marriage
violate the Court’s wrongheaded interpretation of the Constitution.
Congress has a constitutional responsibility to stop rogue federal judges from using a flawed interpretation of the Constitution to rewrite the laws and traditions governing marriage. The Marriage Protection Act, if passed by the Senate and signed by the President, will protect the people of Texas from having marriage defined by federal judges rather than the Texas legislature.