There are more than 30 states, who either by statute or constitutional amendment, have defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. I don't think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is.
I do believe that the states have the right to make the definition of marriage, and each state can define it as they so choose through their elected representatives.
Like the majority of Alaskans, I supported a constitutional amendment in 1998 defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, but my thinking has evolved as America has witnessed a clear cultural shift.
Marriage has been defined by every legislature that has ever sat in the United States from every State, now 50 States, the same way, but now we have unelected judges altering and changing that fundamental institution.
Marriage has historically been in the domain of the States to regulate.
Defining marriage is a power that should be left to the states. Moreover, no state should be forced to recognize a marriage that is not within its own laws, Constitution, and legal precedents.
I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman.
Forty-five States, as the gentleman just said, have determined by people that were elected by the people of that State that marriage is the definition of one man and one woman.
While 45 of the 50 States have either a State constitutional amendment or a statute that preserves the current definition of marriage, left-wing activist judges and officials at the local levels have struck down State laws protecting marriage.
So far, 44 States, or 88 percent of the States, have enacted laws providing that marriage shall consist of a union between a man and a woman. Only 75 percent of the States are required to approve a constitutional amendment.