Marriage Under Attack
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, June 27, 2014 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Good morning, Jim. June used to be the month for brides, but for the last few years the administration has proclaimed it LGBT Pride Month to support alternate lifestyles. Such efforts intensified after the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which was not defended by the attorney general.
Currently, every state in the union has been sued to overturn bans on same-sex marriage. The last state sued was North Dakota on June 6, 2014, the same day a federal judge overturned Wisconsin’s ban against same-sex marriage. On June 25th, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado ruled against Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage and so did a U.S. district judge in Indiana, where 50 marriage licenses were issued by mid-afternoon, with hundreds waiting in line for a license. Reportedly, 19 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage; 71 lawsuits have been filed to overturn bans in 31 states or territories; and the Freedom to Marry movement claims victory for over-turning marriage laws in six states – Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, Illinois, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
This is the situation in Georgia. The 2004 Georgia General Assembly passed a proposed constitutional amendment recognizing marriage only as the union of man and woman and prohibiting the recognition of such unions performed elsewhere. It passed the House 122-52, two over the required two-thirds vote for proposed constitutional amendments. The Senate vote of 40-14, also, surpassed the two-thirds requirement, and voters ratified it by a simple majority on the November 2004 ballot. Now, Georgia’s marriage amendment is under attack. On February 24th, Congressman John Lewis and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed launched a Southerners for “Freedom to Marry” campaign, claiming support of 12 southern equality organizations, 400 mayors from across the U.S., and a million-dollar campaign chest. Groups actively supporting same-sex marriage are Lambda Legal, Georgia Equality, MEGA Family Project, as well as the Freedom to Marry organization.
In addition to that, on behalf of a widow and three same-sex couples that want same-sex unions legalized in Georgia, Lambda Legal filed suit on April 22nd to overturn the marriage amendment passed by the General Assembly 162-66.
Another million-dollar campaign, “Reform the Platform,” was launched in April 2014 to take advantage of what they call “the growing division between older and younger GOP voters.” So, on June 4th Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry began a national tour to “modernize” the marriage plank in the Republican Party Platform.
That raises this question: Were the parents of these young GOP voters aware that their children’s values were being changed and their behavior was being modified in the classroom? For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.