The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) on Thursday condemned a federal ruling striking down Kentucky's
ban on gay marriage.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge
John G. Heyburn II, who was appointed to the bench by President
George H. W. Bush in 1992, found the state's restrictive marriage ban
unconstitutional in a 19-page ruling which he put on hold pending an
appeal.
“Stunningly, a single judge has
decided that his opinion can override the votes of 75 percent of
Kentuckians, who approved a constitutional amendment protecting
marriage in 2004,” NOM said in a blog post.
NOM criticized Heyburn for implying
“that same-sex unions are the same as marriage,” saying that “by
their very nature, they are not.”
“Heyburn also wrote that marriage
denies the 'intangible and emotional benefits of civil marriage' to
same-sex couples. But marriage is not purely an emotional union –
it is the only union that comprehensibly unites the sexes toward
bringing children into the world and ensures children benefit from
growing up with both a mother and a father.”
“Heyburn's ruling is a dangerous
example of judicial activism gone wild in the United States.
Renegade judge after renegade judge has worked to throw out the votes
of the American people who have voted to protect marriage. Heyburn's
blatant disregard for the will of Kentucky voters and lack of
understanding of the intrinsic nature of marriage and what sets it
apart from other unions is alarming,” the group added.