FRC Responds to Obama Administration Rules on Same-Sex Marriage

Marriage

President Obama Addresses CongressYesterday the IRS announced homosexuals who have been married in a state that has legalized same-sex marriage could receive federal benefits even if they currently reside in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

This means a gay couple in a state like Arkansas could travel to Massachusetts, get “married,” and then return to Arkansas able to receive federal recognition for their “marriage” even though the State of Arkansas does not recognize same-sex marriage.

This rule-change flies in the face of June’s Windsor decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which essentially said marriage is under the purview of the states–not the federal government. Our colleagues at the Family Research Council out of Washington, D.C., released the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 29, 2013
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Darin Miller, (866) FRC-NEWS or (866) 372-6397

FRC Responds to Treasury, IRS Announcements on Homosexual Marriage Benefits
August 29, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Family Research Council rejected today’s Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announcements regarding the way the two government departments will view homosexual marriages.

Of the announcements Chris Gacek, J.D., Ph.D., senior fellow for regulatory policy at the FRC, made the following comments:

“State family policies have been undermined today by the Obama administration. The federal government should not, as Kennedy stated in his opinion for the majority in U.S. v. Windsor, ‘put a thumb on the scales and influence a state’s decision as to how to shape its own marriage laws.’ We disagree with this interpretation of Windsor and are displeased to see the Obama administration’s lack of respect for state marriage laws.”

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Gay Activists Still Trying to Get Approval for Ballot Measures

Homosexuality, ,

Late yesterday afternoon, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected a very oddly-worded proposal to repeal Amendment 83, Arkansas’ constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Typically, a proposed constitutional amendment consists of a popular name, ballot title, and the text of the amendment itself. The group sponsoring the measure, however, submitted a popular name, “summary,” and ballot title; they did not provide the text of their amendment.

This, among other things, caused Attorney General McDaniel to reject the proposal.

Right now there are two efforts underway to undo Arkansas’ democratically-adopted constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. One effort purposes to legalize same-sex marriage outright in 2016. The other–which the Attorney General rejected yesterday–seeks to repeal Arkansas’ Marriage Amendment in 2014.

In 2004, 75% of Arkansas voters voted to define marriage as the union of one man to one woman. Recent polling indicates an overwhelming majority of Arkansans still support that amendment.

You can read the Attorney General’s full opinion here.

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