Lankford: Marriage is a State Issue and Oklahoma has Spoken

Statement

Representative James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statement on today's decision from U.S. District Judge Terence Kern to declare Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage "unconstitutional':

"This is why the American people are so frustrated with government and government officials; the people speak clearly but elected officials and judges ignore them. In 2004, Oklahomans overwhelmingly decided marriage is a unique institution between a man and a woman. Since the Constitution leaves marriage laws to the states, the State of Oklahoma has the right to define marriage in a way consistent with the values of our state."

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people..."

"Both the State of Oklahoma and the people of Oklahoma have spoken on this issue, and the decision remains clearly within their constitutional bounds," concluded Lankford.

Furthermore, in his dissent opinion for the Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Windsor, Justice Scalia was clear when he stated:… "But no one questions the power of the States to define marriage."

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