Congressman Dan Lungren - In the News - Defense of Marriage Amendment Introduced in the House: The proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage is the first to be introduced in the House and goes beyond a similar bill in the Senate by limiting the authority of courts to rule on the issue.

	Lungren In the News



	Defense of Marriage Amendment Introduced in the House The proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage is the first to be introduced in the House and goes beyond a similar bill in the Senate by limiting the authority of courts to rule on the issue.

	By Susan Wang
	March 18, 2005



	On Thursday, California Representative Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) introduced a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages and prohibit any further court challenges on the issue. A constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman is already being considered in the Senate. Lungren’s proposed Defense of Marriage Amendment is the first to be introduced in the House. The bill defines marriage as that between a man and a woman and prohibits this definition from being challenged in local, state, and federal courts. The bill also removes the authority of courts to enforce one state’s policy in another state, strengthening the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Legislators who oppose the bill say that it is discriminatory and deviates from the purpose of the constitution to protect the equality of rights of all citizens. “This is a significant departure from the way business has been in this country for a couple of hundred years,” said Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) to the Sacramento Bee, commenting on the restrictions that the bill places on the authority of courts. Pro-family groups also expressed dissatisfaction with the bill, saying that it is not strong enough. Lungren’s bill would allow states to recognize same-sex unions other than marriage, but restrict the jurisdiction of these laws to within the state. Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, commented to the Bee, “Marriage is more than a word. This is similar to other proposals that allow states to create marriage by another name. It plugs some of the holes but leaves other open.” Lungren’s amendment comes after Monday’s ruling by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer that laws banning same-sex marriage in California are unconstitutional. Several states are in the process of approving amendments to add the man-woman definition of marriage to their state constitutions. To amend the Constitution, a two-thirds majority vote is required in both the House and the Senate. The amendment must then be ratified by at least 38 states to be incorporated into the Constitution.