News Roundup: Protecting Marriage

This story demonstrated why the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is in jeopardy, further strengthening the reality that Virginia (and the Federal government) need a Marriage Protection Amendment:

In a case that could result in the nationwide legalization of "gay marriage," a lawyer representing a homosexual couple asked a federal appeals court panel April 4 to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.

DOMA, signed into law in 1996, prevents the federal government from recognizing "gay marriage" and gives states the option of doing the same. But the two men, who reside in California, argue that the law violates the U.S. Constitution. They lost last year at the district court level, and appealed.

The hearing was before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, generally considered to be the most liberal appeals court in the U.S. Still, two of the three justices who heard the case seemed inclined to rule against the couple -- at least on a technicality.

In this story we learn 2008 Presidential hopeful John McCain is unwilling to stand up and protect Marriage from judicial assault:

By opposing the Marriage Protection Amendment, McCain leaves himself with a position on gay marriage that is virtually indistinguishable from Hillary Clinton's. McCain says that makes him one special guy: "I've found in my life that when I do what I think is right -- for example, on the marriage amendment -- it always turns out in the end OK," he told Fox News. "When I do things for political expediency, which I have from time to time, it's always turned out poorly."...

…Memo to McCain: Decisions in New Jersey and California could come at any time, raising voters' concerns about out-of-control courts bent on declaring their faith-based view of marriage a form of bigotry. Are you sure you want to side with Hillary on this one?

And in this article we learn more about the continuing saga in Georgia where a judge overturned the overwhelmingly popular state constitutional amendment protecting marriage. Apparently even a constitution isn’t safe from judicial activism; thankfully Governor Perdue is on the ball and ready to protect marriage no matter the circumstances:

Without a permanent amendment to the state’s constitution, the assault on traditional marriage will continue. In turn, Governor Sonny Perdue almost immediately appealed Russell’s decision to the state’s Supreme Court. He requested an expedited review of the case and announced that, should the court fail to overturn Russell’s ruling by August 7, he would call for the state General Assembly to convene in a special session beginning August 9, so that a new amendment proposal (or proposals, if it is deemed necessary to address both marriage and civil unions) can be passed in time to meet the August 14 deadline for ballot language certification, putting a revised amendment on the ballot this November.