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Jul 2006 Issue
[photopress:patriotic_family.jpg,thumb,pp_style]by Richard Ziser, Chairman, Nevada Concerned Citizens
The U.S. Senate has once again failed to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment to a vote. This of course was disappointing but not unexpected. The U.S. Senate does not reflect the will of the nation on this issue.
Twenty states have amended their constitutions by an average vote of 71% and an additional twenty-five states have marriage protection in state statute. That’s forty-five states that have found it necessary to define marriage to be between a man and a woman, in order to overcome the decisions of activist judges.
Marriage advocates across the nation continually have to fight lawsuits that are intended to overturn state laws. The most prominent is the successful suit that overturned Nebraska’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage. The decision in the Nebraska case has eliminated this as a states rights issue.
This case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and as of this time we do not have the votes necessary to protect marriage. Either the citizens of the United States will define marriage through a Federal Marriage Amendment or a Federal Judge and the Supreme Court will do it for us.
Nevada’s U.S. Senator Harry Reid does not reflect the will of Nevadans on this issue, as he leads the opposition in the Senate. A statewide poll of Nevadans taken just days prior to the senate vote showed that Nevadans continue to oppose same-sex marriage by a wide margin; a majority (53%-35%) support a Federal Marriage Amendment.
A closer look at the poll numbers reveals why Senator Reid is able to defy the will of a majority of Nevadans. The poll broke the numbers down by religious affiliation: 89% of Mormons, 68% of Evangelical Protestants, 58% of Catholics and 53% of Mainline Protestants support the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA).
Here’s the problem: 30% of Mormons, 46% of Evangelical Protestants, 58% of Catholics, and 58% of Mainline Protestants are supportive of Senator Reid.
And here’s the crisis: of those that support the FMA and know Senator Reid’s position: 19% of Mormons, 14% of Evangelical Protestants, 14% of Catholics, and 11% of Mainline Protestants continue to support the Senator.
Until social conservatives learn that we must engage candidates and elected officials on our issues and hold them accountable when they oppose us, the FMA will remain on the back burner. We are a majority on marriage protection, but we allow Senator Reid and others to do as they please.
The battle still rages. The House will consider the FMA in July and we will continue to bring it back until it passes. In the meantime we need to elect pro-FMA individuals to our State Assembly and Senate. Once the amendment passes out of congress we must be prepared for the ratification process.
If you are dedicated to the protection of marriage, you must be diligent in electing representatives who have pledged to vote for ratification of the FMA. Know whom you are voting for and where they stand. Voter information on this issue will be available from groups such as Nevada Concerned Citizens and the Nevada Coalition for the Protection of Marriage.
We are a majority: vote your values.
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