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Prop. 8 Decision: Social Conservatives Lash Out

AP

Within minutes of a federal judge's ruling that California's ban on same sex marriages is unconstitutional, the Family Research Council released a statement deeming the sure-to-be-appealed decision, if upheld, "the 'Roe v. Wade' of same-sex 'marriage.'"

"As with abortion, the Supreme Court's involvement would only make the issue more volatile," said FRC President Tony Perkins. "It's time for the far Left to stop insisting that judges redefine our most fundamental social institution and using liberal courts to obtain a political goal they cannot obtain at the ballot box."

Here's the rest of the statement:

"Marriage is recognized as a public institution, rather than a purely private one, because of its role in bringing together men and women for the reproduction of the human race and keeping them together to raise the children produced by their union. The fact that homosexuals prefer not to enter into marriages as historically defined does not give them a right to change the definition of what a 'marriage' is.

"Marriage as the union between one man and one woman has been the universally-recognized understanding of marriage not only since America's founding but for millennia. To hold that the Founders created a constitutional right that none of them could even have conceived of is, quite simply, wrong.

"FRC has always fought to protect marriage in America and will continue to do so by working with our allies to appeal this dangerous decision. Even if this decision is upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals-the most liberal appeals court in America-Family Research Council is confident that we can help win this case before the U.S. Supreme Court."

Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) cast the decision as "judicial overreach that undermines democracy and silences the voice of the people." He announced plans to introduce a resolution condemning the decision and urging immediate appeal.

"The vast majority of the American people believe that the preservation of marriage between a man and a woman is critical to our success as a nation and in the best interest of American families," he said. "Judge Walker's ruling places personal political ideology above the right of the people to pass laws."

And Concerned Women for America California State Director, Phyllis Nemeth, said "Judge Vaughn Walker has chosen to side with political activism over the will of the people."

"His ruling is slap in the face to the more than seven million Californians who voted to uphold the definition of marriage as it has been understood for millennia," she said. "While Judge Walker's decision is disappointing it is not the end of this battle. Far from it."

The case next moves to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after which it could go to the Supreme Court.

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