“Every single time the American people have had the chance to vote, 31 out of 31 times, they have affirmed that marriage is and should remain the union of husband and wife.” - Maggie Gallagher, Chairman of the Board of NOM

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, Maggie Gallagher, Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on the Constitution: “Defending Marriage” hearing.

President Obama’s arrogant decision earlier this year to cease protecting the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), after it passed in 1996 overwhelming with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Clinton, left the House of Representatives no alternative but to step-in and defend DOMA. DOMA defines marriage for federal purposes as one man and one woman, and clarifies that states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Ms. Gallagher applauded the House of Representatives for “stepping forward and defending marriage by defending DOMA.”

Ms. Gallagher testified that: “Marriage is the union of husband and wife for a reason: these are the only unions that create new life and connect those children in love to their mother and father … This is the rationale for the national definition of marriage proposed by Congress in passing DOMA: ‘civil society has an interest in maintaining and protecting the institution of heterosexual marriage because it has a deep and abiding interest in encouraging responsible procreation and child-rearing.’”

“Marriage as the union of a man and a woman is the national norm, the consensus of state law, and of human history. Every single time the American people have had the chance to vote, 31 out of 31 times, they have affirmed that marriage is and should remain the union of husband and wife,” Ms. Gallagher concluded.

Ms. Gallagher’s testimony can be read in its entirety here:

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