Marriage Protection Amendment

MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT -- (House of Representatives - September 30, 2004)

(Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the need to protect the definition of marriage for the future. While I wholeheartedly agree, I would like to offer a perspective from the past on the importance of marriage in America.

Alexis de Tocqueville perhaps provided the most comprehensive analysis of American society in the 1830s. He observed that there is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America.

In 1885 the United States Supreme Court added its opinion stating, "Certainly no legislation can be supposed more wholesome and necessary in the founding of a free, self-governing commonwealth than that which establishes it on the idea of the family, consisting of the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony; the family is the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in our civilization."

Historically, marriage between one man and one woman has been the cornerstone of stable families. The marriage protection amendment will ensure that the definition of marriage in America does not change based upon the whim of an activist judge. It will protect the rights of each State and the will of the people. I urge Members to support the marriage protection amendment. It is necessary for the preservation of the historic institution of the family.

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