ADF: Activists filing lawsuit against DOMA want judge to redefine marriage for everyone
Handful of same-sex couples attack federal Defense of Marriage Act passed overwhelmingly by Democrats and RepublicansTuesday, March 03, 2009
BOSTON — A lawsuit filed by a handful of same-sex couples represented by a homosexual activist group is seeking to have a judge redefine marriage for the entire country, according to attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to declare portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, unconstitutional.
“Public policy should be decided by the public, not by one judge and a very small number of radical activists,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. “America continues to overwhelmingly reaffirm that marriage is one man and one woman. Does the democratic process mean anything anymore?”
- 45 states have laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
- All 30 states that have sought to affirm marriage as one man and one woman in their state constitutions have done so.
- DOMA passed in 1996 by an overwhelming majority of 342–67 in the House and 85–14 in the Senate and was then signed by President Bill Clinton.
“None of these facts appear to matter to the people who have filed this lawsuit,” Raum explained. “They do not care about the negative social impact on children if federal judges redefine marriage. Courts should never impose a system which guarantees that more kids will be brought up in homes without a married mom and dad. How can we justify hurting millions of children for the possible emotional benefit of a very small number of adults?”
The homosexual activist group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders brought the lawsuit on behalf of several individuals involved in homosexual behavior.
- Complaint filed by GLAD in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
RELATED RESOURCES
Full media resources available on the Gill v. Office of Personnel Management / Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services resource page
ABOUT Brian Raum
Brian Raum serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he heads its marriage litigation team. Having earned his J.D. from the Regent University School of Law, he is admitted to the bar in the states of Virginia and New York, along with the federal bars in all the districts of New York, as well as the Central District of Illinois and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 11th, and Federal Circuits. Before joining ADF in 2006, he worked for the American Center for Law and Justice as its New York state director and then engaged in private practice focusing on constitutional and civil litigation.