Sponsor of Federal Marriage Amendment Shares Her Motivation

The congresswoman who has introduced the Federal Marriage Amendment in the U.S. House is expressing some frustration with political colleagues who don't think the legislation is necessary.

"We now are seeing in our culture a great deal of judicial activism, and I do not believe that unselected judges who are virtually unaccountable to the voters should be making these decisions," Musgrave says. "That's why I think we need this constitutional amendment: to rein in the courts."

But she wishes more of her fellow Congress members would join her effort. Musgrave says while some politicians say they support traditional marriage, they are not willing to do anything to protect it from activist courts.

"Many times politicians who are liberal would like to hide behind the courts' decisions and say, 'Well, that's what the Supreme Court said, so that's the law of the land.' But I think that we have three branches of government, each with its appropriate role," she says.

Musgrave tells Associated Press it was not just because of her personal faith that she introduced the legislation. "I am a Christian and I have a Christian worldview," she says, "but I think we should be aware that all of the world's major religions -- not just Christianity, not just Judaism -- define marriage as a union between a man and a woman."

She counters those who might say she is pushing the legislation because she hates homosexuals. "I know what my motives are. There is no hatred, there is no rancor," she says.

"It's rather staggering sometimes to see the hatred that comes from people who are proponents of homosexual marriage, but I try to take all these things in stride -- and I believe it's best for our nation, it's best for children, it's best for families if we keep the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman."

Musgrave says she expects President Bush to back the marriage amendment, even though it is less than clear at this point whether he will actually do that.

But a close friend of the president says he thinks Bush will support the Federal Marriage Amendment. Christian musician Michael W. Smith says the president expressed his desire last week to protect traditional marriage, and has shown that he is willing to take the heat for decisions he believes are right.

*NBC News/Wall Street Journal* Poll** conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). July 26-28, 2003. N=500 adults nationwide.
"Do you favor or oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into same-sex marriages?"
		Favor	Oppose	Depends (vol.)	Not Sure
		%	%	%	%
	7/03	32	51	4	13
"Do you favor or oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that are not marriages, but that would give them many of the same legal and financial relationships as married couples?"
		Favor	Oppose	Depends (vol.)	Not Sure
		%	%	%	%
	7/03	53	34	2	11

*CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll*. July 25-27, 2003. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
"Do you think homosexual relations between consenting adults should or should not be legal?"
		Should	Should Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	7/25-27/03	48	46	6
	7/18-20/03	50	44	6
	5/5-7/03	60	35	5
"Do you feel that homosexuality should be considered an acceptable alternative lifestyle or not?"
		Should	Should Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	7/25-27/03	46	49	5
	5/5-7/03	54	43	3
"Would you favor or oppose a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples?"
		Favor	Oppose	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	7/25-27/03	40	57	3
	5/5-7/03	49	49	2

*CBS News/New York Times* Poll**. July 13-27, 2003. N=3,092 adults nationwide. MoE ± 2 (total sample).
"Would you favor or oppose a law that would allow homosexual couples to marry, giving them the same legal rights as other married couples?"
		Favor	Oppose	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	ALL	40	55	5
	Republicans	27	71	2
	Democrats	45	50	5
	Independents	45	48	7
	18-29 years	61	35	4
	30-44	40	55	5
	45-64	38	58	4
	65 & older	18	73	9
	Men	39	56	5
	Women	41	53	6

*CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll*. July 18-20, 2003. N=1,003 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
"Would you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus barring marriages between gay or lesbian couples?"
		Favor	Oppose	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	7/03	50	45	5
"Now I'd like you to think about how your attitudes toward gays and lesbians might have changed in the past few years. Have you become more accepting of gays and lesbians, have your attitudes not changed, or have you become less accepting of gays and lesbians?"
		More Accepting	Not Changed	Less Accepting	No Opinion
		%	%	%	%
	7/03	32	59	8	1

Time/CNN Poll conducted by Harris Interactive. July 16-17, 2003. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.
"Do you think marriages between homosexual men or between homosexual women should be recognized as legal by the law?"
		Yes	No	Not Sure
		%	%	%
	7/03	33	60	7
	10/98	29	64	7
	9/96	26	65	9
	6/94	31	64	5

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