ADF: Marriage will ultimately be defended in Georgia just as it was in Louisiana
Georgia trial judge declares state marriage amendment passed by the people unconstitutional, cites “single subject rule”ATLANTA — A state trial court judge Tuesday threw out Georgia’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, misusing a technicality that amendments must not address multiple subjects, according to attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund. ADF attorneys point out that a nearly identical situation occurred in Louisiana, and the will of the voters to protect marriage was ultimately vindicated by that state’s supreme court last year.
“Georgia’s Amendment One has one purpose: to protect marriage from attack,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson, who successfully helped defend Louisiana’s constitutional amendment on marriage from attack (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3297). “The 76% of voters in Georgia who voted ‘yes’ to the single subject of protecting marriage from all contemporary threats deserve to have their vote respected and not dismissed by radical judges.”
In Forum for Equality PAC v. McKeithen, the Louisiana Supreme Court unanimously overturned a state district court judge’s decision to strike down the Louisiana Defense of Marriage Amendment on the same grounds that the Georgia amendment has been struck. Both trial judges contended that the amendments could be thrown out because they address two subjects--marriage and civil unions.
“This ruling will be appealed, and the Georgia Supreme Court will understand, just as Louisiana’s high court did, that the sole objective of these amendments is to protect marriage and that the language of the amendment is crucial in achieving that single goal,” said Johnson. “This judge may try to assert that civil unions are a different subject than same-sex ‘marriage,’ but the people of Georgia know better. They understand that protecting marriage means protecting it from all imitations.”
Judge Constance Russell’s ruling Tuesday from the Superior Court of Fulton County in O’Kelley v. Perdue can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/PerdueDecision.pdf.
For more information on the battle to protect marriage, visit www.domawatch.org.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
