Poll Shows 2/3 Majority Supports FMA – 230,000 Sign Petition to Preserve Marriage

A new poll released by Wirthlin Worldwide found that 67% of Americans support the Federal Marriage Amendment – a clause that, if passed, would void the Massachusetts gay “marriages” – on May 17 2004.

The poll, conducted by the Wirthlin Worldwide for the Alliance for Marriage last month, asked a simple question:

“There has been some discussion, recently, about how marriage should be defined in the U.S. I am going to read you the wording of a possible amendment to the U.S. Constitution and then ask you whether you would favor or oppose such an amendment. The amendment says, ‘Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.’”

Of the 1,000 Americans questioned, 57 percent said they strongly favor and 10 percent said they somewhat favor the wording of the amendment. In contrast, 30 percent said they oppose the amendment while 7 percent said they would somewhat appose it.

“The constitutional problem created by almost a decade of activist lawsuits to destroy our marriage laws demands a constitutional fix,” Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, said in a statement. “AFM’s marriage amendment has been introduced with bipartisan sponsorship in two successive sessions of Congress in order to protect the common sense view of marriage shared by the vast majority of Americans of every race, color and creed.”

The poll also found that 79 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats support the amendment; 66 percent of men and 66 percent of women favor the amendment; and 67 percent of whites, blacks and Hispanics support the amendment.

Meanwhile, the same day, President Bush reaffirmed his support for the amendment, saying “the need for that amendment is still urgent, and I renew that call today"

To be codified, the FMA must pass with a 2/3 (67%) majority at both the House and the Congress, and be ratified by 3/4 of the states – currently, 39 states (78%) have passed a similar resolution outlawing homosexual “marriages.”

Meanwhile, Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the pro-family American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said on the same day that with Massachusetts legalizing gay “marriage,” the Congress must quickly act to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment.

"It is troubling that an activist court in Massachusetts has succeeded in overturning hundreds of years of tradition by redefining marriage to include same-sex couples," said Sekulow. "With Massachusetts now the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, it is clear that the need for a Federal Marriage Amendment in greater than ever. We call on Congress to act without delay and pass an amendment - and send it to the states for ratification - to protect the institution of marriage as a union between one man and one woman."

Last week, Sekulow spoke to the members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, urging them to approve the FMA. During his testimony, he told the committee members that more than 230,000 Americans have signed the ACLJ’s Petition to Preserve Marriage, which calls on the Congress to quickly pass the FMA.

President Bush also reaffirmed his support for the amendment on May 17, saying, “The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate.”





Pauline J.Chang
Ecumenical Press