EDITORIAL

Senator Whitehouse displays little respect for marriage

Posted

Showing great disrespect for the sacred institution of marriage the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last week voted to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

In the purely partisan vote, all ten Democrats on the committee - including Rhode Island’s Junior Senator Sheldon Whitehouse - voted in favor of the deceptively entitled Respect for Marriage Act. Not only did the Junior Senator vote for the bill but he is listed among the Senate co-sponsors of the act that would repeal DOMA.

Senator Whitehouse’s vote disrespects not only Rhode Islanders but Americans across the country who desire to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In the 31 states that have passed statewide referenda in favor of the traditional definition of marriage, the clear and decisive wishes of a majority of citizens would now be undermined by Senator Whitehouse and his partisan allies pushing the radical social agenda of the same-sex marriage movement. The so-called Respect for Marriage Act provides little respect for the beliefs of most citizens as it would require Americans in every state to submit to the redefinition of marriage and subsidize homosexual couples by using tax dollars to provide them with federal benefits.

This bill is a callous attempt to attack the fundamental human right of religious freedom as its passage would ensure that those who refuse on moral or religious grounds to accept and accommodate the redefinition of marriage will now be persecuted for their refusal to adapt to this radical social experiment. Believers in Rhode Island and across the nation will continue to be unfairly targeted as bigots and their faith institutions as agents of discrimination for simply respecting and protecting the definition of marriage as it has been understood and respected since time immemorial.

Senator Whitehouse’s enthusiastic support and sponsorship of such a disrespectful attack on the institution of marriage and the religious freedom of all Rhode Islanders and Americans is an unfortunate display of disregard for the desires of millions of citizens who believe marriage as one man and one woman. He must understand that his strong support of the radical social experiment of same-sex marriage is a direct attack on the fundamental building block of our society. He must know that his disregard for the rights of churches and believers to promote and respect marriage between one man and one woman is a direct attack on religious freedom.

We urge all Rhode Islanders, especially Catholics, to inform Senator Whitehouse of their dismay of his support of such a dangerous piece of legislation. They must ask the Senator to begin to understand, know, and accept the proper definition of marriage between one man and one woman. We call upon Senator Whitehouse to stop his attack upon marriage and religious freedom and work to truly respect DOMA and its protection of marriage, faith and conscience.