State by State, Americans Don't Want Gay Marriage

About Brian Brown:

Brian S. Brown serves as president of the National Organization for Marriage after serving as the executive director of NOM-California in 2008. Prior to coming to NOM-CA, Brian was the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut.

President Obama's embrace of gay marriage will help ensure he becomes a one-term president. Despite what many in the media claim, the American people do not support same-sex marriage. Every time they have voted on marriage—32 states overall—they have voted to preserve traditional marriage.

[See a collection of political cartoons on gay marriage.]

Just this week, North Carolina became the 31st state in the country to adopt a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They did so with 61 percent of the vote, despite the claim of gay advocates and liberal bloggers that the state was poised to deliver a big upset. An overwhelming majority said they wanted to prevent activist judges and politicians like President Obama from redefining marriage. Our victory was so impressive that the prominent Democratic Public Policy Polling company said this: "Hate to say it, but I don't believe polls showing majority support for gay marriage nationally. Any time there's a vote it doesn't back it up."

North Carolina isn't the only swing state with a marriage amendment. Voters in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, and Colorado have enacted similar legislation. Now, because of President Obama, those laws are at risk of being overturned. The Obama administration has refused to defend in federal court the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the legal framework that allows a state to control its definition of marriage and avoid having to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. If the act is overturned, it's only a matter of time before marriage is redefined for the entire country.

[Read the U.S. News debate: Should Gay Marriage be Legal Nationwide?]

President Obama is about to feel the wrath of an engaged nation. God is the author of marriage; government merely recognizes what God created. The vast majority of voters in this country (62 percent, according to a national survey for the Alliance Defense Fund) believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Their belief is heavily rooted in their faith traditions. In 2008, candidate Obama acknowledged that, as a Christian, "God's in the mix" when it comes to marriage. With his announcement this week, he has kicked people of faith in the gut and suggested they should abandon what God has told them and what every civilization since the dawn of mankind has known is best for society.

Truth doesn't "evolve" for the sake of political expediency. But presidents do come and go—and this one is about to go.

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Tags:

Mitt Romney,

Barack Obama,

2012 presidential election,

LGBT rights,

marriage