FMA Watch - First Canada, then Spain, then...?

While gay-rights activists celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in Spain and Canada, opponents of gay marriage are in a defensive crouch and ready to spring.

The movement for a Federal Marriage Amendment to the United States constitution is about to surge, as indicated by a message from Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

This was sent to FRC newsletter subscribers on Wednesday, before the Spanish parliament bestowed marriage rights on same-sex couples:

The (Not So Great) White North

Yesterday the Canadian House of Commons, despite opposition by some territories and provinces and following a close vote, approved a bill to legalize same-sex "marriage" in the country. Similar to tactics here in the U.S., the move for gay "marriage" in Canada was driven by a small minority and liberal activist judges. The problems Canada's actions create for the United States were articulated by a Canadian supporter of gay unions: "(Gay) marriage is going to become Canada's leading export in the next couple of years." Already numerous court cases in the U.S. have been initiated by homosexual couples "married" in Canada. While the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has been upheld in most of those cases it is just a matter of time before an activist judge here in the U.S. decides to overturn DOMA.

The argument for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman grows everyday. However leadership in Congress has been strangely inactive, if not altogether silent on the issue. In addition President Bush, whose support for a Constitutional amendment during the 2004 election helped keep him in office, has said nary a word of support in months (emphasis added). While legislators are home next week for Independence Day please contact their district offices and ask them to get moving on a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to protect marriage.

As hysterical as the tone of this message is, one can only imagine how the events in Spain are being received in the offices of the FRC.

It will be interesting to watch this debate unfold. The Evangelical Right is digging in its heels. Very soon, we will begin to hear about a "domino theory" of the spread of gay marriage. It is impossible to overstate how important this is to conservative Evangelicals. They believe, literally, that the survival of this nation, along with the salvation of its citizens, is at stake. They will begin to demand the FMA with a ferocity unlike anything witnessed in the discussion so far.

For Republican politicians, up to and including President Bush, there will be nowhere to hide. Leaders of the religious right will do their best to make gay marriage a central issue in the 2006 election season. Candidates will have to declare themselves for the FMA or against it. There are not many who have any hope of election or re-election without the support of the conservative religious voting bloc. This issue could even define the contours of the 2008 presidential campaign to a degree not previously considered.