PA Poll: “Let the People Vote!”
October 15, 2009
(Press Release from the Pennsylvania Family Institute, Oct. 6, 2009)
Let the People Vote! Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly want the chance to vote on marriage.
A new statewide poll released by The Federalist Society shows that an overwhelming 78-percent of Pennsylvanians want the opportunity to vote on the issue of defining marriage.
The poll found that support for allowing the issue of defining marriage to come to a people’s vote at the ballot box crossed gender, age, racial, regional, political, and ideological lines. Constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of husband and wife have been raitifed by citizens in 30 states, but voters in Pennsylvania have not had that opportunity.
“‘We the people’ deserve a voice, and we call on Pennsylvania lawmakers to let the people vote!” said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute. “Activist judges and politicians should never be allowed to redefine marriage and impose a social experiment that knowingly and permanently deprives a child of a mom or a dad. A constitutional amendment is the only way in Pennsylvania to ensure the people – and not activist judges – can define marriage once and for all.” said Geer.
Now is the time for Pennsylvania to join the large majority of the states that have passed Marriage Protection Amendments — states like Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Oregon and California. The people have spoken in those states, but so far Pennsylvanians have been denied a vote on protecting marriage in our state constitution as the union of one man and one woman.
Unlike citizen initiative and referendum powers in other states, Pennsylvania does not allow a ballot referendum on a constitutional amendment until it is first passed by the state legislature in two consecutive sessions.
The statistics on marriage are from a statewide survey of Pennsylvania registered voters conducted in October 2009, by the Polling Company ™, inc./WomanTrend and released by The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy.
Pennsylvania For Marriage agrees with Michael Geer and the majority of Pennsylvania citizens: It’s time for Pennsylvanians to be given the opportunity to define marriage through a ballot referendum!
For more information, visit www.PA4Marriage.org or call 717-657-4990 ext. 106.
October 15th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Put it to the peoples’ vote.
October 15th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I believe God created marriage as he created one man and one woman in the beginning and he blessed it. God cannot bless any other kind of marriage nor does he recognize it.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I agree that the people of Pennsylvania, my home state, should be allowed to vote on a marriage amendment. People in this state are already angry about the budget fiasco. Our legislators better wake up and start serving the voters who elected them, or they’ll wake up voted out of office soon.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
This should not even be an issue. Marriage should be between a man and a woman. Some things are never meant to be changed and marriage is one of them. Keep marriage as a Holy Sacrament and don’t cheapen it.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
A marriage between a man and a woman should be the best for this state and every other one, too.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
One man and one woman should be the law in Pa.
October 15th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
I am definitely in favor of a ballot referendum on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of husband and wife. Pennsylvania voters should have the opportunity to vote on such an important issue as how marriage is defined within the state, especially since the majority of Pennsylvania citizens support the traditional definition of marriage.
I am a supporter of the traditional definition of marriage, and I would like to have the chance to express this at the polls.
October 15th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Lets get on with this and bring this issue to the voters. It has been way too long. We must define marriage.
October 16th, 2009 at 6:37 am
If the majority of people in Pennsylvania supported same sex marriage, I guarantee this same group of people would be saying, “something as important as marriage should not be left up to a vote, it should be defined by a law.”
I think we should get all of the gay people to vote on whether or not heterosexuals are allowed to divorce if they have kids. Afterall, we don’t want to “deprive a child of a mom or a dad”.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Let the people vote
October 19th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Let us vote. What has happened to majority rules in this country?
October 19th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
It is sad that we must define what the bible already proscribes. However, if we must, then I want a voice in the matter as per a referendum.