Wedlock Amendment No Breach of Federalism

Byline: Jordan Lorence, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The proposed Marriage Protection Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not violate principles of federalism. The definition of marriage has never been left to the states.

Some conservatives urge defeat of the amendment because, they say, the Constitution has traditionally left regulation of marriage to the states. But the proposed amendment does not address state power to regulate marriage; rather, it requires states to adopt a uniform definition of marriage of one man and one woman something Congress has imposed upon states seeking admission to the Union for 160 years.

No concept of federalism has ever granted states the authority to define marriage any way they desire. Federalism only grants states the power to regulate marriage already defined as one man and one …

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Publication information: Article title: Wedlock Amendment No Breach of Federalism. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: June 7, 2006. Page number: A18. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group.

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