The challenge to the Virginia Marriage Amendment will be heard on May 13th at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals at the Federal Court building in Richmond, Virginia. To read the brief of the County Clerk who is the Appellant in this case see http://www.adfmedia.org/files/SchaeferAppellateBrief.pdf. Many Virginians will be gathering on the court house steps to pray for marriage and the judicial process. To learn more about how to participate contact the Virginia Family Foundation at www.familyfoundation.org/may13. There formal invitation is below.
Understanding the importance of state public policy is significant to this dilemma. To learn more about what Virginia is facing, and whether states should be afforded the ability to set their own public policy, download and read my Virginia Lawyer article on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2427462.
Many individuals are enduring great expense for their views of marriage. For example, a family bakery was forced to close when they felt they did not want to provide a wedding cake for a same sex ceremony. A photographer who felt similarly was sued by the couple she chose not to take on as clients, and was forced to pay them damages of $7000; her appeal was denied by the Supreme Court of the United States. A CEO of a large company was forced to resign for his support of marriage. These events have happened outside of Virginia, but marriage itself will be on trial on May 13 before a Federal Court, which will determine whether Virginians have the ability to set their own marriage policy through state referendum. My article entitled “Marriage, State Domestic Relations Power and Family Strength,” published by the Virginia State Bar magazine, the Virginia Lawyer, and available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2427462 can help you understand what is at stake. Family restoration depends on marital strength.
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