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A constitutional amendment to protect marriage failed in the U.S. House of Representatives today. The 236-to-187 vote fell short of the 288 needed to pass.
Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said the vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) shows how lawmakers are out of touch with America.
"Once again, men and women representing their constituents in Washington have betrayed those who put them in power," he said. "Like the Senate did before them, the House has refused to protect the institution of marriage from activist judges bent on redefining it."
He said Americans have made it clear where they stand on the traditional family and will remember how this vote went down.
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"Twenty states, by overwhelming margins, have passed constitutional amendments defining marriage solely as the union of one man and one woman. That represents tens of millions of voters whose beliefs and desires have been disregarded by members of Congress."
The MPA, H.J. Res. 88, sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., proposed a two-sentence addition to the U.S. Constitution:
"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
Guy Short, Musgrave's chief of staff, told the Rocky Mountain News that the Colorado lawmaker is determined to echo the will of the people.
"The primary reason the congresswoman introduced it," he said, "is the overwhelming majority of her constituents believe in it."
The Senate shut down the MPA in June without giving it an up-or-down vote.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, called the vote a failure to represent the American people.
"The Marriage Protection Amendment is still needed to ensure that all fifty states employ a common and consistent definition of marriage," he said. "Amending our federal Constitution is a measure that should not be taken lightly. The question is whether it will be amended by the people through the ratification process or amended by fiat by activist judges."
FOR MORE INFORMATION/TAKE ACTION:
First, click on this link to see how your representative voted on the Marriage Protection Amendment.
Then, if your lawmaker voted in favor of MPA, thank him or her. If he or she voted against the measure, respectfully make it clear you have taken note. You can find contact information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action.)
