Tony Perkins, president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has blasted a
federal appeals court's affirmation of a lower court's ruling
striking down Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage.
A divided three-judge panel of the
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver declared Oklahoma must allow
gay and lesbian couples to marry. Last month, the same panel upheld
a ruling knocking down Utah's ban. Utah officials have since
announced they'll ask the Supreme Court to review the case.
(Related: Appeals
court rules Oklahoma must allow gay couples to marry.)
Perkins, a long-time opponent of gay
rights, suggested the mounting rulings in favor marriage equality
would lead to a citizens revolt.
“Two appeals court judges in imposing
marriage redefinition have substituted their own ideology for the
right of the people to preserve marriage,” Perkins
said in a statement. “This divided court has swept away the
1,668,513 voters in Utah and Oklahoma who exercised their democratic
right to preserve marriage in their respective state constitutions.”
“Voters have a right to preserve
natural marriage as the best means of providing what every child
deserves: a mom and a dad.”
“The Left has long believed packing
the federal courts with liberal jurists is the means of fulfilling a
radical social agenda, as the American people refuse to endorse that
agenda at the polls or through their elected representatives.
However, by such a radical departure from natural law and human
history, these activist judges are undermining the legitimacy of the
courts in the eyes of a majority of Americans. These judges may want
to take America over the cultural cliff, but don't be surprised when
more and more Americans refuse to follow,” he added.