This week the House of Representatives is expected to address a bill that protects the 1966 Defense of Marriage Act, which explicitly defines marriage, for the purposes of federal law, as the "legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife," and makes it clear that no state is required to recognize same-sex marriages from other states or countries. In recent years the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has been challenged and weakened repeatedly by local and appeals court judges. The new House legislation, H. R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act (MPA) would preclude federal judges, federal appeals courts, and the US Supreme Court from overturning DOMA.

A variety of conservative leaders and organizations have urged support of HR3313, and most are encouraging voters this week to contact their representatives and urge them to vote for the bill. The conservative Campaign for California Families (CCF) organization is among the MPA's supporters, telling voters to call their Representatives, explaining, "The wonderful impact for family values would be this: HR 3313 would prevent federal courts from exporting homosexual 'marriage' from Massachusetts into any other state."

Another conservative values organization, Concerned Women for America, adds that the MPA "builds a firewall against having same-sex marriage spread through the federal courts like a virus from Massachusetts to the rest of the nation. Without protection like that, by the time we get a constitutional amendment through Congress, it will be too late." Unlike a Constitutional Amendment, FMA requires only a majority vote from both houses of Congress and President Bush's signature to become law.

For the full story: Rount Two for Marriage Protection.