Church Responds to Supreme Court Marriage Rulings
Contributed By From the Church News
“Regardless of the court decision,” a statement from the Church reads, “the Church remains irrevocably committed to strengthening traditional marriage between a man and a woman.”
In a statement issued on June 26 within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court’s announced rulings on two issues relating to same-gender marriage, the Church reconfirmed the Latter-day Saints’ commitment to traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
In one ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to decide on California’s Proposition 8 and in so doing legalized gay marriage in the state. In a separate decision, the Court swept away a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, validating same-gender marriages for federal tax and inheritance laws in states where they are legal.
“By ruling that supporters of Proposition 8 lacked standing to bring this case to court, the Supreme Court has highlighted troubling questions about how our democratic and judicial system operates,” said Church spokesman Michael Otterson. “Many Californians will wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong when their government will not defend or protect a popular vote that reflects the views of a majority of their citizens.”
He added that “the effect of the ruling is to raise further complex jurisdictional issues that will need to be resolved.”
Nonetheless, he noted that “the court decision does not change the definition of marriage in nearly three-fourths of the states.”
“Regardless of the court decision,” he continued, “the Church remains irrevocably committed to strengthening traditional marriage between a man and a woman, which for thousands of years has proven to be the best environment for nurturing children.”
