February 11, 2015
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Reintroduces Anti-Gay Marriage Bill
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has teamed up with another member of the GOP to reintroduce an anti-gay marriage bill.
Cruz will introduced the State Marriage Defense Act along with Rep. Randy Weber.
Even though the Supreme Court made clear in United States v. Windsor that the federal government should defer to state "choices about who may be married," the Obama Administration has disregarded state marriage laws enacted by democratically-elected legislatures to uphold traditional marriage. I support traditional marriage and we should reject attempts by the Obama Administration to force same-sex marriage on all 50 states. The State Marriage Defense Act helps safeguard the ability of states to preserve traditional marriage for their citizens.
Weber released his own statement about the measure and said:
The 10th Amendment was established to protect state sovereignty and individual rights from being seized by the Federal Government. States are currently struggling against activist court judges overstepping their constitutional authority by legislating from the bench, and an Obama Administration attempting to counter marriage laws voted on by the American people.
Multiple court cases defending state marriage laws are still awaiting Supreme Court review. While my hope is that the Supreme Court will uphold the right of voters to affirm the truth that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, it is imperative that Congress prevent federal agencies from undermining intact marriage laws in states like Texas.
As Towleroad points out, the measure did not gain any traction last year. It currently has 11 co-sponsors in the Senate and 23 co-sponsors in the House.
Unsurprisingly, the Human Rights Campaign is against the bill, calling it "shameful."
"Ted Cruz and Randy Weber are proposing legislation that would do real harm to legally married same-sex couples in states across this country," said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. "But what really stands out is the fact that they would use this reckless and irresponsible legislation to take important federal benefits away from their own Texas constituents. This just solidified their standing as two of the most extreme opponents of equality in America."
