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Anti-family Constitutional Amendment Will Harm America

Anti-family Constitutional Amendment Will Harm America

The anti-family Constitutional amendment targets part of the American family for discrimination. There are many reasons this amendment must be defeated.

Protect Our Sacred Constitution

• Our sacred Constitution must be protected. This would mark the first time a Constitutional amendment has been used to discriminate against a part of the American family. In our nation's history, amendments have expanded the reach of freedom to include new segments of our society. Whether it's abolishing slavery, giving citizenship to freed slaves, allowing women and young people to vote, or limiting the scope of government, amendments most often have been used to spread the benefits of liberty to a larger segment of the population. This proposal would be the first time a constitutional amendment has targeted a segment of the American family for discrimination and inequality.

  It has been amended only 17 times in our nation's history. Amendments have almost always been used to expand rights-to women and African Americans for example. Fully seven of those 17 amendments expand the franchise - the right to vote (amendments 14, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24 and 26). This would be the first time the Constitution has been used as a tool to discriminate against some American citizens. The U.S. Constitution ensures equal treatment for ALL Americans. This amendment would destroy that equality by rewriting the Constitution to treat one group of Americans different from others.

  James Madison wrote in Federalist 49 that the Constitution should be amended only on, "great and extraordinary occasions." And today, America's leading constitutional and legal scholars caution against amendments like this one, saying that "[t]he Constitution's unifying force would be destroyed if it came to be seen as embodying the views of any temporarily dominant group. It would be a cardinal mistake to amend the Constitution so as to effectively "read out" of our foundational charter any segment of our society." - From "Great and Extraordinary Occasions: Developing Guidelines for Constitutional Change," a publication of Citizens for the Constitution.

Protect Federalism and the Rights of States

• The recognition and protection of gay families is an issue best handled by the states. Members of the Republican Party have consistently advocated the importance of state autonomy. Rightly so, the GOP has railed against federal mandates and requirements. Now, some in the party want to throw federalism out the window in the name of, "protecting traditional families." This issue should be left for each state to decide. Just ask conservative Republican Vice-President Dick Cheney. In the Vice-Presidential debate during the 2000 campaign, here's how Cheney responded to a question about recognizing gay and lesbian relationships:

  "That matter is regulated by the states. I think different states are likely to come to different conclusions and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area....I think we ought to do everything we can to tolerate and accommodate whatever kind of relationships people want to enter into.... We live in a free society and freedom means freedom for everybody."

Avoid a Culture War

• A divisive culture war will hurt our nation's effort to win the war on terror, jump start the economy and tackle the other challenging issues facing our nation. With the country focused on battling terrorism overseas and preventing it here at home, our political leaders should not waste precious time and energy debating a controversial and polarizing Constitutional amendment. It will divide the American people at a time we should be rallying together. With millions of people out of work and the country facing the threat of terrorism, politicians should not be focused on passing a discriminatory Constitutional amendment. There are many other priorities that our government leaders should be working to address.

An Amendment Fight Will Divide the GOP

• A fight over this Constitutional amendment will sharply divide the Republican Party and drive away swing-voters. Republicans win elections when they unite around common issues: low taxes, limited government, and a strong national defense. Republicans lose elections when they focus on divisive social issues. This amendment and the anti-gay rhetoric associated with it will alienate the fair-minded swing-voters who narrowly elected George W. Bush in 2000. A culture war could cost Republicans the White House in 2004.

Do Not Tinker With the Constitution

• The constitution should not be used as a means of deciding important debates about public policy issues. Public opinion changes. The constitution should not be used as a way to gauge public opinion trends on contentious issues. Should we alter the Constitution every time public opinion changes? Case in point: prohibition. A Constitutional amendment was wrongly used to settle a public policy dispute. It did not work 80 years ago. And it will not work with the issue of gay marriage. Such initiatives merely diminish the value and importance of a Constitutional amendment.