FRC Urges U.S. District Court to Uphold Proposition 8

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Jan 11, 2010, 06:35 ET

Pretrial Brief Refutes Same-Sex 'Marriage' Advocates' Flawed Legal Theories

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council today submitted an amicus curiae ("friend of the Court") legal brief in a lawsuit brought by advocates of so-called "same-sex marriage," which is being tried in San Francisco before U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker. The principal author of the amicus brief was Paul Linton, Esq., special counsel to the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm based in Chicago.

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Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"After major setbacks in Maine, New York, and New Jersey, advocates for same-sex 'marriage' are turning to their old standby: the courts. Homosexuals have failed at the ballot box, where the people have made their commitment to traditional marriage clear time after time. So now, proponents of same sex 'marriage' are attempting to sue their way to legitimacy in the courts of America.

"The marriage laws of all fifty states would be endangered should this lawsuit succeed. As with abortion, the Supreme Court's involvement would only make the issue more volatile. As such, it's time for the far Left to stop asking judges to redefine our most fundamental social institution.

"The plaintiffs are really asking for a wholesale recasting and redefinition of this vital human institution that has been the foundation of civilization's progress for millennia.

"The real issue here is not who may marry whom but rather what marriage is - the union of a man and a woman. Proposition 8 doesn't perpetrate 'sex discrimination.' Proposition 8 is gender-neutral as both men and women may marry someone of the opposite sex.

"Recognition of same-sex marriage would not promote the State's interest in marital procreation nor would it promote the State's interest in dual-gender parenting.

"We urge the Court to recognize these legitimate state interests, preserve the traditional understanding of marriage and safeguard the right of the people to enact legislation through the initiative process."

Click here to download Family Research Council's amicus brief: http://www.frc.org/legalbrief/perry-v-schwarzenegger

SOURCE Family Research Council