Bond, Talent support Federal Marriage Amendment
By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer
July 6, 2004
JEFFERSON CITY – Republican U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent of Missouri both support the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which is scheduled for a vote the week of July 12.
A total of 46 senators support the amendment, World magazine reported in its June 26 edition. That is up considerably from the 25 previously cited by Focus on the Family, which at that time listed Bond as a “no” vote. That characterization is false, the Missouri Republican said in a statement released through his office June 23 to The Pathway.
“I fully support Missouri’s Defense of Marriage Act and have supported the same action on the federal level,” Bond said. “I believe these laws will prevent same-sex marriages in Missouri. Amending the Constitution should be approached with great care, but a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage should be an option given what is happening today.
“With new threats to traditional marriage in the courts every day, I stand ready to support fully and vote for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages if it becomes, as the result of actions of activist judges, the only course of action to preserve traditional marriage in our society and in states like Missouri.”
Talent co-authored an article May 17 in the Washington Times with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on why the FMA should pass the Senate with the necessary 67 votes. Talent, a Republican, reasoned with Hatch that amending the Constitution is the only way of reining in activist judges who will otherwise undermine traditional marriage. The senators also argued that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act will not provide sufficient protection for the definition of traditional marriage from liberal judge rulings, and that amending the Constitution is the best recourse.
Homosexual couples from 46 states have been “married” in Massachusetts, and lawsuits are pending in at least 11 states seeking to strike down the definition of marriage, the Family Research Council reported.
“Polls have shown that as many as 72 percent of Americans support traditional marriage, and Capitol Hill needs to represent that view,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.