FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
On Tuesday, Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement regarding reports that the Democratic Party is close to redefining marriage in the party’s platform.
“This is really disappointing news,” Cox said. “Marriage has long been considered the bedrock of civilized society. For the past fifty years, that foundation has been allowed to erode, and now we see calls to redefine it altogether.”
Cox said he believes Americans have already spoken very clearly on this issue. “A lot of people treat same-sex marriage like its some sort of forgone conclusion. Here’s the truth: thirty-two states, including California, have put the question before voters, and all of them have said, ‘Let’s define marriage as the union of one man to one woman.’ Others have passed laws of a similar nature legislatively. So altogether, nearly four out of five states have defined marriage as the union of one man to one woman. If anyone is going to say the debate on this issue is over, I don’t see how they could possibly conclude that the activists calling for marriage to be redefined have won.”
Cox said he believes if the Democratic National Convention does call for same-sex marriage, it could hurt a lot of Democratic candidates and lawmakers in Arkansas. “In a state like Massachusetts, it probably wouldn’t make much difference. But here in Arkansas, I think it could be a different story. When we passed our marriage amendment in 2004, three-quarters of voters voted ‘yes’ on the measure. Our marriage amendment could not possibly have enjoyed that kind of support without a lot of Democratic voters backing it. If Democratic voters and Democratic candidates find themselves at odds with planks in the Democratic Party platform, that’s going to create a lot of issues for Arkansans.
“Personally, I’m not sure a candidate or lawmaker can get by saying, ‘Well I’m a Democrat, but I don’t support everything in the party platform,’ either. Lawmakers almost always face a lot of pressure from members of their own party at the national level, no matter what their affiliation. A Republican probably wouldn’t get a free pass if he said, ‘I’m a Republican, but I don’t support immigration reform.’ Democrats probably aren’t going to get a free pass on this one either.”
Cox said his group will continue to track the situation as the Democratic National Convention prepares to meet in South Carolina this September.
Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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