By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 9/25/03)

Alliance for Marriage held a press conference at the Capitol last week with Senators Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to voice their support of a Federal Marriage Amendment.

"The strength of our nation is linked to the strength of our families," said Brownback.

"The coalition that has united under this very noble cause recognizes and respects that the union between a man and a woman is the most universal social institution in the world and is not linked to one particular segment of our population."

Alliance for Marriage, a non-partisan, multicultural coalition, assembled a colorful cast of speakers for the conference.

"We are Americans of every color and every creed who share a commitment to reducing the epidemic of family breakdown and restoring a marriage-based culture in the United States," said Pam Deveaux, supervisor of missions for the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The sanctity of marriage has been challenged numerous times within the last year. Civil unions have been legalized in Vermont. The Supreme Court overturned anti-sodomy laws in Texas. Two Canadian provinces have granted marriage rights to gay couples. In Massachusetts the state senate is preparing to push a law to recognize civil unions, and they are considering offering marriage licenses to gay couples.

"Gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose, and we embrace that. But they don’t have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society," said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage.

"Most Americans understand — It’s just common sense that marriage is a man and a woman. This [amendment] process is good for democracy, it’s good for our society and it’s good for kids."

Representatives from Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant denominations spoke their support of a constitutional amendment.

"It is in our families that the stories of our many struggles, our dreams, and our accomplishments are seasoned with faith, values and dignity," said Fred Estrada, a Hispanic representative. "These families, many of which are extended, are headed by a man and a woman, whom we call ‘Papi’ and ‘Mami.’"

Estrada spoke on behalf of the Latino community as a representative of Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia, one of the largest urban networks of Hispanic churches in the United States.

Rev. Walter Fauntroy, former Congressman and civil rights activist, said "To define marriage, however, as anything other than the union of a man and a woman and, hopefully the loving father and mother of the children they bring into the world, is to do violence to two functions of marriage as an institution that are indispensable, in my view, to ‘civil society.’ The first is the socialization of our young and the second is the procreation of our species."

Alliance for Marriage is supported in its cause to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment by the Bishops Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Bishops Council of the Church of God in Christ, National Jewish Orthodox organizations including Agudath Israel and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The conference was held just eight days after the USCCB announced its support for a constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage.

Members of the Catholic bishops’ conference first voiced their support of a constitutional amendment in 2002.

"This recent announcement by the United States Catholic bishops reflects the strong view of Cardinal Bevilacqua who first articulated in his May 2002 endorsement of [Alliance for Marriage’s] Federal Marriage Amendment that the definition of marriage as the union of male and female is both ‘non-negotiable and irrevocable,’" said Bob Laird, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life.

Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, was one the first Catholic bishops to offer written endorsement for the marriage amendment. Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde was the second bishop to show his support.

In its statement released at the beginning of September, the USCCB stated, "The Catholic Church believes and teaches that marriage is a faithful, exclusive, and lifelong union between one man and one woman, joined as husband and wife in an intimate partnership of life and love. Marriage exists so that the spouses might grow in mutual love and, by the generosity of their love, bring children into the world and serve life fully."

The bishops wrote that the issue at hand has nothing to do with homosexuality or other matters. The Church teaches that homosexual persons should be "accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity."

But the bishops called on Catholics to support marriage because of its importance to society and children.

"At a time when family life is under significant stress, the principled defense of marriage is an urgent necessity to ensure the flourishing of persons, the wellbeing of children, and the common good of society," the bishop’s statement said.

Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a letter to his colleagues on the day of the press conference, calling on them to act to defend the definition of marriage. "Americans instinctively, and laudably, support two fundamental truths: that every individual is worthy of respect, and that the traditional institution of marriage is worthy of protection," he wrote. "Stable unions of one man and one woman are the strongest foundation mankind has ever known for ensuring the healthy upbringing of children."

Earlier in September, Cornyn presided over a hearing of the Constitution Subcommittee. "The hearing confirmed that marriage does meet the standard for a constitutional amendment," he said. "A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court dramatically changes the legal landscape. That decision presents a significant threat to traditional marriage laws — a threat that no state, on its own, can thwart."