A National Defense of Marriage

Sarah Torre

Recent attacks on the institution of marriage disregard the importance of married mother-father households to child well-being and the necessity of defending the institution of marriage for the good of civil society. At this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), panelists supporting traditional marriage outlined some of the many arguments for keeping the institution solely as a union between one man and one woman.

First, the panelists noted the government’s profound interest in sustaining the integrity of the institution of marriage because of the unique contribution a married mother and father make to child welfare. As Austin Nimocks, Senior Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, explained:

    [B]ecause of the fundamental truth that children are the product of sexual relationships between men and women, and that men and women each bring something important and unique to the table of parenting, this government maintains a compelling interest in protecting and preserving the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.