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This week, and for the next several weeks, I’d like to ask you and your family to be in particular, faithful, fervent prayer for the future of your nation and for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court as they rule on two major cases related to the legal definition of marriage in America.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys are serving as co-counsel with ProtectMarriage.com, defending Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment passed by voters to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman in that state. Last week, the ProtectMarriage.com legal team filed the last reply brief for the Court before oral arguments were heard on the case this week in Washington, D.C.
The brief concisely answered legal arguments against the amendment, explaining why the Court should affirm the marriage amendment’s constitutionality and refuse demands for a judicially imposed end to the robust, ongoing public debate about marriage.
“Advocates for redefining marriage should not be allowed to sidestep the democratic process to accomplish their political objectives,” says Senior Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “The wisest course is for the court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage.”
In a closely-related case, the High Court will hear arguments this week in United States v. Windsor, which will decide the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
“The Supreme Court has made clear that defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman is constitutional as a matter of public policy,” says Nimocks. “Thus, Congress and President Clinton acted constitutionally when DOMA was originally enacted. The wisest course is for the Supreme Court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage. The Court should respect the freedom of both Congress and citizens to affirm a bedrock social institution that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western Civilization.”
Whatever its ruling in these landmark cases, the debate over same-sex “marriage” is in many ways just beginning. But, as with other landmark decisions, the judgments of the Supreme Court on this issue have enormous implications for the kind of culture and legal environment your children and grandchildren will deal with in the years to come.
This is a critical moment for our country. Please join me in praying for the justices, for our attorneys, and for those who oppose marriage, that God’s grace and wisdom will be apparent, and that His enduring truth will prevail.
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Marriage On Trial: Proposition 8 Twitter Updates & Analysis
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About the Supreme Court cases
Prop 8 (Hollingsworth v. Perry)
DOMA (Windsor v. United States)
About Marriage
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