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Press Release Archive
July 22, 2004
House Passes Marriage Protection Act
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a measure cosponsored by Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) which will prevent unelected federal judges from weakening the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The House passed the Marriage Protection Act by a vote of 233 to194.
The Act uses article III of the U.S. Constitution to prevent federal courts from making rulings that would strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and thereby restricting a States' power to reject same-sex marriage licenses issued in another State.
"Throughout history, the union of one man and one woman has been the bedrock of civilization," said Congressman Todd Akin. "We must act now to prevent an activist judiciary from further weakening that foundation in our own nation.
"It defies reason that a handful of activist justices in Massachusetts would impose a radical new definition of marriage on the American people and the States in which they live. The Founders of our country believed and affirmed in our Constitution that States should have authority to make all laws not explicitly in the purview of the federal government. The Tenth Amendment makes that clear, and it was in that spirit that a strong bipartisan majority of Congress voted to enact DOMA in the mid-1990s.
"A vast majority of Americans understand marriage as a union of one man and one woman, and it is critical that states do not lose the right to uphold their own marriage laws. The passage of the Marriage Protection Act is an essential step in the protection of the embattled institution of marriage," concluded Akin.
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