NEWSMAX.COM
Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 8:48 a.m. EST
First Federal Lawsuit Filed to Overturn a State Marriage Amendment

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court seeks to strike-down as unconstitutional Oklahoma's Defense of Marriage initiative just passed by voters on Tuesday, says the Alliance for Marriage.

The federal lawsuit also urges the Court to declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, impacting all fifty states.

"This is just the beginning," said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage. "We fully expect a tsunami of litigation designed to strike down marriage in different states across the country - including every state where voters approved state DOMA initiatives on Tuesday night."

A similar suit filed in U.S. District Court in California (Smelt v. Orange County) asks the Court to declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act and state law to violate Due Process, Equal Protection, the Right to Privacy, and Full Faith and Credit under the U.S. Constitution.

"The marriage amendment drafted by AFM was introduced with bi-partisan support in the Congress over three years ago," said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage. "Our efforts to let the people decide the future of marriage in America preceded this election - and will continue so long as activists strive to overcome public opinion by striking down our marriage laws in court."

"The constitutional problem created by almost a decade of activist lawsuits to destroy our marriage laws demands a constitutional fix," Daniels said.

"Ultimately, only our Federal Marriage Amendment will protect marriage - while leaving all issues of benefits to the democratic process in the states," Daniels said. "AFM believes this centrist approach embodied in our amendment offers hope of a democratic solution to the debate that will be forced on America as a result of activist judges."

The Alliance for Marriage is a non-partisan coalition whose Board of Advisors includes Rev. Walter Fauntroy -- the DC Coordinator for the March on Washington for Martin Luther King Jr. -- as well as other civil rights leaders, religious leaders and national legal experts.