It’s Time in ’09: PA Marriage Amendment is Here!
May 19, 2009
It has been announced that a Pennsylvania Constitutional Amendment will be introduced defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. The lead Sponsor of the bill is Senator John Eichelberger, R-Blair. He will now begin to gain co-Sponsors from fellow State Senators. (Contact your State Senator and tell him/her to become a co-Sponsor!)
A few questions have come up about this announcement:
With Pennsylvania in a budget crisis and unemployment rates high, why should they vote on a Marriage Amendment now?
Many New England states have recently legalized same-sex marriage. The primary means of this action has been judicial activism by State Supreme courts declaring their will against the will of the people. Our current law defining marriage to be between one man and one woman is not part of the PA State Constitution. Without a Constitutional Amendment with this definition our court system can declare that law unconstitutional and legalize same-sex marriage for Pennsylvania. It’s already happened in states like Iowa and Maine and activists are now targeting Pennsylvania.
Bringing up a marriage amendment does not put other issues in the backseat. Our nation has pushed many issues into the PA spotlight: a budget deficit, high unemployment rates and the housing crisis to name a few. With five states legalizing same-sex marriage and the ongoing dilemma of Proposition 8 in California, it has become necessary for PA legislators to address the definition of marriage for Pennsylvanians.
Also, by legislators passing a marriage amendment it does not simply declare it law but puts the matter to the will of the people and allows for a referendum to be voted upon.
Can’t we just pass a law declaring civil unions for same-sex couples and leave marriage alone?
Civil unions appears to be a compromise to same-sex marriage. However, civil unions are same-sex marriage in all but name. By declaring civil unions you give all the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples minus the name ‘marriage’. Granting same-sex couples the legal rights of married couples, even if we don’t call it marriage, will result in the same social, cultural, religious and economic perils as same-sex marriage itself.
Go to www.PA4Marriage.org for more information such as marriage briefs and a Q & A page or browse this blog’s previous entries.
May 19th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I think with PA in a budget crisis and unemployment rates high, we should concentrate on something that affects more people. If only 3-5% of the population are gay, we’ve got a higher unemployment rate. Let’s deal with that first! Don’t distract our legislators with this nonsense! Unemployment will wreck more real marriages than not having a constitutional amendment.
Where’s your common sense? This marriage amendment is nonsense. $70 MILLION spent in California alone – $450k from a Pennsylvanian, John Templeton – and for what? Use that money to help the homeless, the unemployed and people without health care!!! Use that money to help build low-cost housing! Puh-leeze!
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
We will have to deal with this issue sooner or later and the sooner we, as a State, put this in our PA Marriage Amendment,Marriage is between one man and one woman ,then we can move on to other issues concerning PA.Do not think that this isn’t a BIG matter because IT is and we need to treat it as such. We who are concerned with such matters know the importance in establishing a PA Marriage Amendment, so please to all who read about The Pa Marriage Amendment think long and hard as to what it will cost us morally for the next generation, the next and the next etc…….
August 12th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
1st comment is typical gay activist repetitive rhetoric. Please don’t be fooled by it. The moment they knew that one Senator is shooting for a Constitutional Amendment, the activists are called upon to come to start working us over. We can’t afford to protect ourselves? Call on me. I’ll help for free.