This all started with Amendment #1063 offered by Sen. Schatz (D-Hawaii) to the FY 2016 Senate Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res.11). Amendment #1063 would change current policy of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs to permit those agencies to recognize same sex couples as married even when the couple’s state of residence does not recognize them as married. The Amendment would expand federal recognition of same sex marriage (SSM) contrary to the public policy of some states that decline to recognize such unions (same sex couples that live in states like Massachusetts are already recognized as married by the federal government since their states of residence recognize them as married).
Eleven Republican senators, including both North Carolina senators, joined all Democrats in voting for the amendment; the total vote count was 57-43.
Amendment #1063 was added to the Senate Budget Resolution which is a non-binding Resolution that guides the Senate Appropriators and sets a budget blueprint for the Chamber. It does not become federal law, but amendments are essentially proxy votes for measuring support for the underlying policy proposals (in this case, expanding federal recognition of SSM over state interests in defining marriage through their own democratic process).
The votes of Sens. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) were very disappointing.
This is a betrayal to the traditional marriage values voters of North Carolina who elected both senators trusting them to support traditional marriage and to defend North Carolina’s Constitutional Marriage Amendment.
Pray for the U.S. Senate that they would defend traditional marriage and protect state’s rights.
Take Action:
- Please contact Sen. Richard Burr at (202) 224-3154, and Sen. Thom Tillis at (202) 224-6342 to express extreme disappointment in their being two of the 11 Republican senators siding with Sen. Schatz allowing the federal government to prevail over state laws on marriage. The last two federal agencies to respect state marriage laws were the Social Security Department and Veterans Administrations; unlike other departments, these agencies consistently recognized marriage for couples based on the state where they lived – not the state where they were “married.” Now, state marriage laws and state sovereignty has been undermined.
- In addition please forward this e-mail to like-minded family, friends, pastors and acquaintances and ask them to contact our senators and then to pray.