State Marriage Amendments -- 19 In a Row ... and Counting

State Marriage Amendments -- 19 In a Row ... and Counting

by Jody Brown
November 9, 2005

(ChristiansUnite.com) - - State constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage continued their unbeaten streak on Tuesday when Texans overwhelmingly voted in favor of keeping marriage what it has been for centuries: the union of a man and a woman.

Texas became the 19th state to approve a constitutional ban on same-sex "marriage." Proposition 2 received 76 percent of the vote yesterday despite attempts by the opposition to confuse voters. Homosexual rights activists used pre-election phone calls, e-mails and Internet postings to spread their case, arguing that the proposition was poorly worded and could mean trouble for conventional marriage between a man and a woman. Some of those phone calls reportedly played a pre-recorded message from someone claiming to be a pastor and urging people to vote no on the proposition if they wanted to protect traditional marriage.

As approved, the amendment not only states that marriage in Texas consists only of the union of one man and one woman, but also prohibits the state or its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage, such as civil unions. Same-sex marriage was already illegal in Texas, but supporters of the amendment said it was needed to prevent judges from striking down the law.

[Photo compliments of American Values]
Gary Bauer
Conservative spokesman Gary Bauer calls the vote in the Lone Star State a "resounding endorsement of traditional marriage," noting that when President Bush ran for re-election in 2004 he only received 61 percent in his home state. That, says Bauer, is an indication of the "power of this issue" of protecting traditional marriage.

And with Texas being the 19th state to approve a constitutional amendment do exactly that, Bauer wonders if national leaders are paying attention. "How many of these votes do we have to win by such lop-sided margins before Congress finds the political will to support the people's values?" he asks. Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, is a strong proponent of the need for a federal marriage amendment.

A 'Tall Tale'
So why didn't the campaign of deception staged by advocates of same-sex marriage work? Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute attributes it to the common sense found in the people of Texas.

"Most Texans are down-to-earth folks," Knight says, "which is why the attempt to fool them into thinking a marriage protection amendment was actually a threat to marriage didn't wash." He says whoever thought of that "tall tale" are "snake oil salesmen."

Texas was the only state with a marriage amendment on the ballot this election cycle. Several more states are slated to vote on state constitutional marriage amendments next year. Among those are Alabama, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

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