WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council President Tony Perkins condemned the 5-4 District of Columbia Court of Appeals decision that voters in the District do not have a right to vote on an initiative to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, calling it an affront to families and children across America. The Court's decision prevents a vote that could have overturned the recently imposed Washington, D.C. same-sex "marriage" law. Voters in 30 states have had the opportunity to vote on the issue, and all have upheld marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

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Perkins made the following comments:

"Today, a divided D.C. Court of Appeals bowed to the demands of homosexual activists and issued a ruling to strip away a democratic right guaranteed to D.C. voters by the District's Charter. The Charter is equivalent to a Constitution for the District – but like activist judges in so many parts of the country, a narrow majority on the D.C. Court of Appeals has ignored its plain meaning in order to impose their own policy preference on the people of the nation's capital.

"This court decision tramples on the right of the people to vote but even more alarmingly undermines marriage, the cornerstone of the family and our entire civilization. A growing body of research shows that children do best when raised by their own biological mother and father who are committed to one another in a lifelong marriage.

"Family Research Council applauds Stand for Marriage DC, Bishop Harry Jackson and the scores of pastors who will take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of the people's right to vote on marriage. These pastors understand all too well the importance of the family and the ramifications of family breakdown, and they are activating in record numbers to keep this crisis from expanding," Perkins concluded.

SOURCE Family Research Council

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