Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), on Monday condemned a Supreme Court
decision not to hear appeals in cases challenging five states' bans
on gay marriage.
By
refusing to review the cases, the high court allowed to stand
lower court rulings striking down bans in Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah,
Indiana and Wisconsin. The decision also affects six additional
states – Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West
Virginia and Wyoming – overseen by the same appellate courts,
effectively increasing the possible number of marriage equality
states from 19 to 30, plus the District of Columbia.
(Related: Colorado
AG John Suthers orders clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to
gay couples.)
“We are surprised and extremely
disappointed that the US Supreme Court has refused to grant review of
the same-sex marriage cases pending before them,” Brown said in a
blog post. “This is wrong on so many levels.”
“First, the entire idea that marriage
can be redefined from the bench is illegitimate,” Brown said.
“Marriage is the union of one man and one woman; it has been this
throughout the history of civilization and will remain this no matter
what unelected judges say. Second, it's mind-boggling that lower
court judges would be allowed to impose the redefinition of marriage
in these states, and our highest court would have nothing to say
about it. Third, the effect of the lower court rulings is to say
that a constitutional right to same-sex ‘marriage' has existed in
every state in the union since 1868 when the 14th Amendment was
ratified, but somehow nobody noticed until quite recently. That's
the absurd belief we are being told to accept.”
Brown insisted that his group was not
“defeated or dispirited” and called on Congress to “move
forward immediately to send a federal marriage amendment to the
states for ratification.”
“[W]e are determined as never before
to fight for the institution that God created and humankind has
proven is the best arrangement for the well-being of men and women,
for children, and for society as a whole,” he added.