Arkansas’ Marriage Amendment Not Going Away Anytime Soon

Marriage,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 9, 2013

On Tuesday, a group filed a constitutional amendment with the Attorney General seeking to remove Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage. Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement in response to the amendment.

“This is about redefining marriage in Arkansas,” Cox said. “This writes same-sex marriage into our constitution. Arkansans voted overwhelmingly in 2004 to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Almost one out of ten adults in Arkansas signed the petition to place Amendment 83 on the ballot. Seventy-five percent of voters voted for the amendment. I do not know of any other ballot issue in recent history that had so much support.”

Cox said support for traditional marriage is bipartisan. “When seventy-five percent of voters support something, you know it’s more than just Republicans or just Democrats making their voices heard. Governor Beebe has gone on record saying he supports marriage as the union of one man to one woman. Former-Governor Huckabee has said he supports that definition also. The Arkansas Senate and the Arkansas House of Representatives both voted this year to pass resolutions affirming their support for marriage as the union of a man and a woman. If there’s disagreement as to what a marriage ought to be in Arkansas, it’s outside the mainstream.”

Cox said the definition of marriage is a serious issue for Arkansans. “How we define marriage helps set the foundation for our society. We’ve seen how shaken that foundation has become in the past few decades as some people have marginalized marriage’s significance. Redefining marriage further would only inject more instability.”

Cox said he does not believe voters will change the definition of marriage in Arkansas anytime soon. “I think most Arkansans feel like we’ve already had this discussion. They’ve heard the arguments for and against same-sex marriage, and they’ve voted to keep marriage the way it’s been in this country for over two hundred years. There aren’t really any fresh arguments for redefining marriage, so I do not see Arkansans voting to do so anytime soon.”

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Family Council Responds to Poll on Homosexual Issues in Arkansas

Homosexuality,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 8, 2013

On Monday, Family Council President Jerry Cox responded to polling and statements implying Arkansans have shifted their views on same-sex marriage and homosexuality.

“If you look at the facts, I think you’ll see very little is new, here,” Cox said. “The Human Rights Campaign conducted a poll on homosexual issues in Arkansas. Their own poll indicates most Arkansans still oppose same-sex marriage, and it shows most strongly oppose it. This is in line with the vote taken in 2004 in which seventy-five percent of Arkansans voted to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Proponents of same-sex marriage are touting the portions of the poll that show Arkansans think homosexuals ought to be treated fairly. If you had done that same poll ten years ago, I believe you would have found similar results.

“Arkansas is the seventh most charitable state in the nation, according to CNN Money. Treating folks respectfully is just part of our culture, but when it comes to the legal definition of marriage, I believe most Arkansans see that as a completely different issue. Seventy-five percent of Arkansas voters approved our state marriage amendment. That’s the poll I think has the most to say about where Arkansans stand on the issue.”

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Polygamists Hope to Benefit from Efforts to Redefine Marriage

Marriage, ,

Last week Family Research Council President Tony Perkins pointed out that the Supreme Court’s decision on the federal Defense of Marriage Act had absolutely no effect on state marriage laws. Thirty-eight states still had laws defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Twelve had laws defining it differently. Nothing was changed.

If homosexual activists were looking for a landmark victory redefining marriage nationwide, it didn’t come. What was interesting, however, was  how emboldened polygamists were by the ruling.

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