Let no government put asunder

I am dedicating my talents, time and energies over the next few years to the passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will protect the traditional family from its enemies who wish to legalize same-sex marriage and other diverse "family" forms.

I have just created a special website, OneManOneWoman.com , whereby 1 million Americans are being recruited to sign a Federal Marriage Amendment Petition that will be forwarded to all 535 members of Congress and to President Bush.

My line in the sand has been drawn!

I am turning to our nation's past to show how a constitutional amendment can salvage traditional marriage in America. Those who are gearing up for battle in the traditional marriage debate may examine our nation's history to learn how a constitutional amendment is needed to permanently make safe the tradition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

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The 13th Amendment

On April 8, 1864, the United States Senate passed the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The House followed suit on Jan. 31, 1865. And the amendment was ratified on Dec. 6, 1865. Slavery as a legal institution had been abolished. The amendment states:

Section 1: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Section 2: "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

The 19th Amendment

On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, securing the rights of women to vote. Following years of suffrage efforts, women finally earned their equality in voting. The amendment states:

Section 1: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Section 2: "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

The Federal Marriage Amendment

Both the 13th and 19th Amendments are permanent constitutional revisions that cannot be altered by any court. I believe that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the only way to eternally protect the sanctity of marriage from those who are attempting to modify marriage so that it also becomes a legal pact between same-sex couples.

It is imperative that we remove the sacred biblical definition of marriage from the reach of unelected and valueless federal judges who would seek to protect newly fashionable sexual trends by recklessly affording them with legal protections.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., offered the Federal Marriage Amendment on May 21, and it advanced to the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution. This important constitutional amendment reads:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

This amendment must be passed by two-thirds of the U.S. House and Senate and ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures (by majority vote only without the signature of the governors) in order to be added to the Constitution.

Musgrave will be speaking at Thomas Road Baptist Church – the Lynchburg, Va.-based church I founded in 1956 – at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7. Her oration will be carried live on our Old Time Gospel Hour international network. I believe it is important for me to offer her this venue to recount the importance of protecting the sanctity of marriage in America.

In addition, I am asking you and people of faith everywhere to join 1 million Americans in placing their names on my Federal Marriage Amendment Petition at OneManOneWoman.com.

This petition, with your name affixed, will be forwarded to your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators, as well as to the entire Congress and to President Bush. We must not allow our children and children's children to grow up in a nation with legalized polygamy, common law marriage and same-sex marriage. The only way to put the traditional and biblical family form of one man married to one woman safely out of the reach of future courts and legislatures is to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Please have your friends join you in affixing their names to this Federal Marriage Amendment Petition.

The Federal Marriage Amendment is a logical extension of the federal government's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which affirms that states are not required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. DOMA, which was signed into law by President Clinton, also characterizes marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."

As I write this column, the issue of homosexuality is receiving much media attention: We continue to await the Massachusetts Supreme Court's decision on homosexual marriage; the American Bar Association will determine this week if they will endorse the so-called right of homosexual couples to adopt children; the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down state sodomy laws; and the Episcopal General Convention has voted to approve the election of an openly homosexual bishop.

It is time to stand against this accelerating tide of political correctness by taking a stand for the sanctity of marriage. I am continuing to urge my friends to contact their U.S. representative (companion legislation has not yet been introduced in the Senate) and urge him/her to support Rep. Musgrave's Federal Marriage Amendment.

In addition to signing the petition at OneManOneWoman.com , please call the Capitol Switchboard today (202-224-3121) and request the office of your representative. When connected to his/her office, considerately request that the congressman/congresswoman supports the Federal Marriage Amendment. If we all take action, we can win this battle and permanently protect the marriage tradition for future generations. Please do your part to secure the future for our children and grandchildren.