SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A constitutional amendment adopted Tuesday by voters in Texas that protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman and does not allow for so-called "civil unions" is an excellent example of the type of amendment needed by all states, according to attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund.
"You can't protect marriage without also excluding the possibility of marriage imitations," said Glen Lavy, senior vice president of ADF's Marriage Litigation Center. "The Texas amendment, like ones passed in some other states, prevents marriage from being undermined through the back door. Homosexual advocacy groups have already attempted to use civil unions to undermine marriage in several different states."
Among other examples, Lavy pointed to a recent decision from a California Superior Court that held, "That California has granted marriage-like rights to same-sex couples points to the conclusion that there is no rational state interest in denying them the rites of marriage as well" (
www.alliancealert.org/2005/20050314.pdf).
Texas voters adopted their amendment by an approximately 3-to-1 margin. The amendment states, "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
In Maine, voters have twice overridden the legislature's attempts to add "sexual orientation" to non-discrimination laws but apparently narrowly failed a third time Tuesday. Lavy noted that, like "civil unions," such additions are yet another path to undermining marriage. "Homosexual activist groups outspent proponents of the override 10 to 1. The fact that the Maine override did not pass does not reflect a change in the public mood, as some groups may claim."
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