Marriage amendment moving forward

Marriage amendment moving forward

April 13, 2004 

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri House of Representatives is one vote away from passing a defense of marriage resolution and sending it to the state Senate.

The Senate has already passed its version of the constitutional amendment and sent it to the House. Lawmakers said passage of the amendment for placement on the ballot in November’s general election is all but certain. All that remains is ironing out minor language differences.

“The last thing that we need as a culture is a progressive redefinition of the makeup of the family in marriage," said Kerry Messer, lobbyist for the Christian Life Commission of the Missouri Baptist Convention. “Throughout 6,000 years of recorded human history, the one-man, one-woman model of marriage has reigned supreme. No culture which has deviated from this model has ever benefited or even survived.

“Families comprise the foundation of our culture, and traditional marriage—one man, one woman—is definitely the bedrock of that foundation."

The governor does not have a say in whether the amendment becomes law. If passed by both the House and Senate, the issue goes directly to the voters.