Marriage Issue Still Resonates With Oklahomans

Marriage Issue Still Resonates With Oklahomans

Washington, D.C. - Along with issues like restraining wasteful government spending and balancing the federal budget, in Congress we also deal with social issues that speak to the direction of our country's morals. The sanctity of marriage is a moral issue that strongly resonates with Oklahomans, and one that I feel strongly about as well.

The majority of Oklahomans believe that the best environment for children to be raised is in a traditional family, that includes both a mother and a father. But some liberal groups want to expand the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions. I believe that marriage should be defined as solely between one man and one woman, and I have supported legislation in Congress to enforce this traditional moral definition of marriage.

What has been most troubling on this issue is watching liberal groups or activist judges move to expand the definition of marriage to meet their criteria. For example, the Mayor of San Francisco decided in 2004 to illegally distribute marriage licenses to homosexual couples. And in 2003 Massachusetts courts ruled that same-sex couples must be allowed to enter civil marriages.

These expanded definitions could have repercussions in our state, as these groups could be afforded all the privileges of traditional married couples if they reside in our state. I have cosponsored legislation that prohibits federal recognition of same sex marriages and allows individual states to refuse to recognize these marriages performed in other states.

The people of the Third Congressional District have strong opinions on this issue. I've received more phone calls, letters, and emails on this issue than any other this year. Virtually all of them have been from Oklahomans that agree with me in defending the traditional definition of marriage. And Oklahomans voted by a three-to-one margin in 2004 to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriages.

The institution of marriage is the foundation of American society. I believe Congress has a moral obligation to protect this institution from activist judges and liberal groups that would like to redefine the institution to suit their interests.

http://www.house.gov/list/speech/ok03_lucas/marriageissue.html