Family Research Council on Supreme Court Oral Arguments: American People Will Not Accept Redefinition of Marriage

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after today's oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges – the case considering whether the federal Constitution requires the states to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples:

"After today, we are more hopeful the Court will get it right, but I do know that regardless of what their decision is, it will not settle this issue.

"Today, parties came before the Supreme Court asking the Justices to redefine marriage, and to impose that redefinition on all 50 states. Simply put, the plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to take the extraordinary step of departing from all of recorded human history and forcing a redefinition of civilization's most fundamental human relationship upon an unwilling nation.

"There is no broad social consensus, and there is no global consensus that society would be better served by redefining marriage to include same-sex couples. To the contrary, America remains deeply divided over this issue and if the Supreme Court forces a redefinition it will only further divide the nation.

"History has shown us that something so deeply rooted in nature itself cannot be erased by legal action. I can say with certainty that a very large portion of the American population will not accept a redefinition of marriage imposed by the Court. The Court was unable to 'resolve' the issue of abortion for the nation in its Roe v. Wade decision, and the Court will not resolve this issue either.

"In 1973, the Court supercharged the abortion issue and 42 years later it is an issue in every election from President on down. A decision demanding the redefinition of marriage will be even more divisive as the freedom to live your life according to your beliefs is put in jeopardy for millions of Americans.

"The states must be left free by the U.S. Supreme Court to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman," concluded Mr. Perkins.

To review FRC's amicus brief, please see: http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF15D21.pdf

To review the results of the WPA Opinion Research survey on the Supreme Court deciding marriage, click here:http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF15B71.pdf

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SOURCE Family Research Council

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