Brian Brown, the president of the
National Organization for Marriage (NOM), believes a Supreme Court
ruling in favor of gay marriage will exacerbate the debate, not end
it.
The high court on Friday announced it
would hear two cases related to marriage equality: a case challenging
the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and another challenging
Proposition 8, California's 2008 voter-approved constitutional
amendment banning gay nuptials.
(Related: Supreme
Court to hear gay marriage-related Prop 8, DOMA cases.)
Appearing on Fox News, Brown said it
was time for the court to “correct some wrongs,” a reference to
lower court rulings which sided with plaintiffs challenging the laws.
“There is no constitutional right to
redefine marriage,” Brown said. “Our founding fathers didn't see
it that way. And the last Supreme Court decision, Baker v.
Nelson, the United States Supreme Court said there was no federal
question here.”
“So this is essentially making the
law up as you go along. It is reading into the constitution
something that's not there. And I do not believe the United States
Supreme Court is going to launch another culture war. Just like Roe
v. Wade did not end the abortion debate, creating a right to
redefine marriage will not end this debate, it will exacerbate it.”
Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional
Accountability Center disagreed with Brown.
“You don't have to read anything into
the constitution, like Brian said, you just have to read the
constitution. And the constitution's plain text gives equal
protection of the law to any person. And that applies to same-sex
couples, just as it applies to opposite-sex couples,” she said.
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