I oppose same-sex marriage, and I have struggled and prayed about the best course of action I can take, on behalf of Arkansans, to ensure the sanctity of marriage exists only between a man and woman. I fully support the federal Defense of Marriage Act which clearly defines marriage as a union between only a man and a woman. It further declares that no state is required to honor a same-sex relationship sanctioned by another state. This is the supreme law of the land, passed overwhelmingly by Congress. In November, Arkansans will vote on a state constitutional amendment also outlawing gay marriage. I fully support this amendment and will join hundreds of thousands of Arkansans in casting my vote in favor of it. This amendment sends a clear message that this matter is best left to individual states, and it sends an important message to our children that marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. I believe any changes to the Constitution should not be made lightly. Our founding fathers understood the profound implications amending the Constitution could have on state’s rights and individual liberties, which is why they intentionally made the amendment process an arduous task. In fact, our nation has amended our founding document only 17 times since the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791 in such instances as to abolish slavery and extend the right to vote to women, African Americans and young people. There is no doubt that the sanctity of marriage is a serious issue and it deserves serious consideration. At this moment, I believe that marriage is protected under current laws, state and federal, and I don’t believe that those laws will be overturned. Should that happen, I will revisit this issue. Instead of an up or down vote today on the Allard Amendment as previously agreed to by both sides of the isle, Senator Frist scheduled a procedural vote. I voted against this move because it would not have allowed an up or down vote on the Allard amendment only; it would have opened the flood gates for a slew of other amendments to our constitution. It is believed that the procedural vote was scheduled because of wide spread speculation that members of the majority did not support the Allard amendment or amending the United States Constitution.
All official press releases from Former Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
