Matt Daniels, J.D., P.D.

"Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society,
it should not be re-defined by activist judges.
For the good of families, children, and society,
I support a constitutional amendment
to protect the institution of marriage."

George W. Bush
State of the Union Address

In the Bible, the institution of marriage is treated as more primary than even the church. This is a measure of how fundamental marriage is to our society.

In addition, the common sense concept of marriage as the union of a man and a woman unifies Americans of every race and cultural background. So does the idea that marriage is good for children and good for our society.

The Alliance For Marriage (AFM) was created to embody the broad support for marriage in America. We represent tens of millions of Protestants and Catholics. We also represent several of the largest African-American denominations in the United States. Finally, we represent the largest churches and parachurch ministries in the Hispanic and Asian communities.

The mission of the Alliance For Marriage is to see that more children are raised in a home with a mother and a father. We work on a range of reforms to reduce family breakdown.

The Alliance For Marriage is also the driving force behind the entire campaign for the Federal Marriage Amendment—a constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage in America.

The Federal Marriage Amendment was created and introduced into Congress by the Alliance For Marriage. It has been publicly endorsed by Christian leaders in Congress ranging from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to Congressman Henry Hyde.

And now, the marriage amendment created by the AFM has the strong support of President Bush. Our president has courageously said that he will support our amendment in order to stop marriage from being destroyed by the courts.

For decades, America has been wandering in a wilderness of social problems caused by family disintegration. And an overwhelming body of social science data has established that America’s greatest social problems—violent crime, welfare dependency, and child poverty—track more closely with family disintegration than they do with any other social variable, including race and income level.

Tragically, our current situation is becoming dramatically worse. This is because U.S. courts are erasing the legal road map to marriage and the family from American law. In fact, the weakening of the legal status of marriage in the U.S. at the hands of the courts has already begun.

This process represents nothing less than a social revolution—advancing apart from the democratic process and against the will of a clear majority of the American people. If allowed to continue, this revolution will deprive future generations of Americans of the legal road map that they will need to have a fighting chance of finding their way out of the social wilderness of family disintegration.

AFM’s Federal Marriage Amendment is an urgently needed response to the pending judicial destruction of the legal status of marriage in America. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has already ruled in Goodridge v. Massachusetts Dept. of Health that any Massachusetts law defining marriage as the union of male and female is now "unconstitutional" under the Massachusetts state constitution. In May, this ruling will take final effect in Massachusetts—with immediate legal implications for the entire country. At that point, activist groups will begin a process of filing lawsuits to invalidate the marriage laws of every state in the nation.

The text of AFM’s Federal Marriage Amendment reads: Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

The first sentence states that marriage in the United States will forever consist of the union of male and female. No one will ever be able to destroy the definition of marriage in our land. The second sentence ensures that the democratic process at the state level will continue to determine all questions of benefits—reflecting the will of the people.

AFM’s Federal Marriage Amendment embodies the deep public consensus regarding the unique nature and social importance of marriage as the union of male and female. At the same time, the amendment returns to the people of the states authority over benefits issues that is currently being usurped by the courts at the request of activist groups.

It’s very important to remember that the entire effort to undermine the legal status of marriage in the courts is premised upon constitutional law. For example, activist organizations openly admit their plans to use the Equal Protection and Full Faith and Credit clauses of the United States Constitution to eventually destroy marriage in every state in the nation. And Justice Scalia has already warned that the U.S. Supreme Court has paved the way for this in its recent ruling in Lawrence v. Texas.

Americans want our laws to send a positive message to children about marriage, family and their future. But, for almost a decade, activists have filed lawsuits to destroy our marriage laws in court. This is an end run around public opinion and democracy. And these lawsuits have raised the debate over marriage in America to the level of the Constitution.

There is little doubt that marriage in America will soon be defined in constitutional terms.

The only question is: Will the Constitution be distorted by unelected judges to destroy the common-sense definition of marriage, or will it be amended by the American people to protect marriage for our children and grandchildren?

Our president will come under attack for supporting the work of the Alliance For Marriage. Please pray for him. Please also pray for all of the men and women of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who will be debating and voting on a Marriage Amendment in the near future.

Finally, please pray for all of the members of Alliance For Marriage as we lead the effort to pass our amendment and save marriage in America.

Those who also want to make their voice heard in Congress can sign the official petition for AFM’s Marriage Amendment at http://grassfire.net/32/petition.asp. This is important since all Christians are called to exercise the responsibility of citizens in a democratic society to make their voice heard. We are to both pray and take action at the same time.

For more information to help save marriage in America visit www.allianceformarriage.org. You can also write info@allianceformarriage.org  or Alliance For Marriage, P.O. Box 2490, Merrifield, VA 22116, or call 703-934-1212.

Phyllis Schlafly

The threat to the right of children to be raised in mother-father homes comes not only from gay adoptions. It also comes from the fatherphobia of family courts that deprive children of their fathers.

Under no-fault divorce, equality is the rule: Either spouse can terminate a marriage without the other spouse’s consent and without any fault committed by the cast-off spouse or even alleged by the spouse initiating the divorce.

Despite an extended string of U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding the fundamental right of parents to the care, custody and control of their children (reaffirmed in a 2000 case), and despite a very high standard that the government must meet in order to terminate parental legal rights, fathers are routinely denied due process when it comes to determining child custody after divorce. (Eagle Forum 2/2/05, http://www.eagleforum.org)

THE SUPREMACISTS: The Tyranny of Judges and How to Stop It
Phyllis Schlafly

New and Recommended! Surveys a half-century of judicial legislation. Reveals that a primary threat to our Republic is unelected, unaccountable judges who refuse to restrain themselves to their constitutional role. Hardcover, 182 pages. Order IFA Item #B513, $24.95 + $3.50 shipping. Credit card orders toll-free 1-800-872-7729, or via secure eBookstore http://www.ifabooks.com .