Congressman Moran's News Commentary

If you turned on the news or picked up a newspaper this week, you are probably aware that the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) is being debated in the U.S. Senate. Buoyed by the President's speech Monday expressing his support for amending the Constitution, the Senate is poised to vote on the issue Wednesday.

I am strongly opposed to this effort. The Constitution was meant to expand and protect rights, not restrict them. We simply should not be writing discrimination into the Constitution, which this amendment would do for the first time in our nation's history.

Supporters of the FMA claim that the institution of marriage is under attack. But the threat we face by allowing committed, loving couples seeking to be united under the law is beyond me. Marriage has been legal in Massachusetts and civil unions in Vermont for two and six, years respectively. Neither state has seen negative societal repercussions as a result. Clearly, the threat touted by supporters of the FMA has not emerged.

Broadly written, the FMA would ban civil unions, something that 60 percent of the public supports. If this amendment were enacted, a number of families would be forever barred from visiting their loved ones in the hospital or sharing health benefits.

The real story with this week's debate over the FMA is that the President and Republicans in Congress recognize that their political lives are imperiled because of their poor record of governance. In turn, they are trying to ostracize a segment of our community for political gain, in an effort to divert attention from their inability to address our nation’s true problems.

Rather than pursuing this purely political ploy, the President and Republicans in Congress should be addressing the very real issues impacting the American people, such as Iraq , rising gas prices and the exploding federal deficit.

In the Commonwealth, this same strategy is being pursued. Despite a 30 year old statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in Virginia, the General Assembly has proposed an amendment to the Virginia bill of rights banning civil unions, domestic partnerships and many other legal agreements for any unmarried couples in Virginia (whether gay or straight, young or old). Under this amendment, unmarried victims of domestic violence would not even be able to access protective orders or to have their abusers charged with family abuse. This so-called marriage amendment will be on the ballot this November in Virginia and I will continue to speak out against it.

The FMA failed two years ago, unable to reach even 50 of the 67 votes needed to pass in the Senate. It is expected to pick up a couple votes this time around, but will still fall far short of the two-thirds majority required for passage. At the state level, the ballot initiative has a far greater chance of passing, but a close margin could show that many in the state are not pleased with this type of divisive political posturing.

Unfortunately, mean-spirited, divisive attacks on a specific group of people are still good politics for many politicians. I disagree with such actions and intend to continue leading the charge to protect and promote the rights of all Americans.