UNOFFICIAL COPY AS OF 02/19/14 14 REG. SESS. 14 RS BR 1652
A RESOLUTION urging the Governor and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to continue to oppose the ruling of the United States District Court forcing recognition of same-sex marriage upon the citizens of Kentucky, and to appeal the final order.
WHEREAS, the blessed institution of marriage derives its legitimacy from the power of almighty God; and
WHEREAS, almighty God defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to this wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) This specific union is the foundation of a healthy family and a healthy society and is supported by centuries of tradition and decades of research; and
WHEREAS, the children of the Commonwealth of Kentucky deserve the best from those charged with caring for them, and research supports that they do their best when raised in the traditional marriage consisting of a mother and father; and
WHEREAS, the grace of God has provided every citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky the privilege of living within a sovereign, self-governing state. The United States Supreme Court has recognized the fundamental sovereignty right of each state to define marriage; and
WHEREAS, the ultimate power to create and repeal the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is derived from its citizens; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Kentucky have overwhelmingly chosen to define marriage as God does, being a union between one man and one woman. The General Assembly enacted House Bill 13 in 1998 to define marriage as between one man and one woman, to prohibit marriage between members of the same sex, to declare same-sex marriages contrary to public policy, and to declare marriages occurring in other jurisdictions void and rights appurtenant thereto unenforceable; and
WHEREAS, on February 12, 2014, the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky unilaterally struck down a fundamental component of the Constitution of Kentucky by ruling that the Commonwealth must recognize marriages outside the sanctity of both God's and the people of Kentucky's definition of marriage, defying longstanding tradition, General Assembly enactments, and Kentucky sovereignty, and ordered that appropriate relief be considered at a future hearing of the court; and
WHEREAS, the United States District Court's ruling has infringed upon the sovereignty of Kentucky and usurped the will of its citizens, violating the principles upon which this Commonwealth's democracy is founded;
NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
âSection 1. The House of Representatives urges the Governor and the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to continue to oppose the ruling of the United States District Court forcing recognition of same-sex marriage upon the citizens of Kentucky during hearings before the District Court, and to appeal any final order to the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary.
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BR165200.100 - 1652 - 4291 Jacketed