Washington, DC The decision of a federal judge to overturn a marriage protection amendment in Nebraska shows clearly why we need a federal marriage protection amendment, said TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon today. The judges irrational decision strikes at the very heart of the democratic process.
Rev. Sheldon is reacting to news that federal district judge Joseph Bataillon has ruled that the states constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage is unconstitutional. The amendment was passed by 70% of the voters in 2000.
It appears we now only have two branches of government in this nation: the ACLU and leftist federal judges who impose their undemocratic views upon an unwilling public, said Rev. Sheldon. This decision is a dangerous one and it cannot stand. Our Founding Fathers carefully devised a system of checks and balances for the federal governmentand no federal judge should have the legal authority to overturn a voter-passed amendment to a state constitution!
Rev. Sheldon asks: Are the American people now forbidden to amend their own state constitutions unless the ACLU or a leftist federal judge decides? Will a federal judge rule that Congress cant amend the U.S. Constitution to protect marriage? How far will this insanity be allowed to go?
Rev. Sheldon continued: This decision must be overturned. It provides Congress with a clear mandate to pass a federal marriage protection amendment that bans homosexual marriage, civil unions, and any other arrangement that gives marriage benefits to same-sex couples.
The state of Nebraska and the people must rise up and demand that this decision be overturned on appeal, said Sheldon.
