Steve King Legislation Aims to Block Federal Courts from Hearing Any Marriage Cases

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced a bill today to block federal courts from hearing cases on same-sex marriage in an effort to “stop the court from destroying traditional marriage and preserve the votes of millions of voters in states that have passed bans on same-sex marriage.”

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King’s Restrain the Judges on Marriage Act amends U.S. Code to say “no court created by an Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, any type of marriage, section 1738C, or this section.”

“No Federal funds may be used for any litigation in, or the enforcement of any order or judgment by, any court created by an Act of Congress, on any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, any type of marriage, section 1738C, or this section,” the bill continues.

King said in a statement that “for too long, federal courts have overstepped their constitutionally limited duty to interpret the Constitution.”

“Rather, federal courts have perverted the Constitution to make law and create constitutional rights to things such as privacy, birth control, and abortion. These unenumerated, so-called constitutionally protected rights were not envisioned by our Founding Fathers,” the congressman said.

“I urge the House to bring this bill to the Floor.”

Earlier this month, Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Jim Lankford (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) along with 51 House members filed an amicus brief on four same-sex marriage state bans the Supreme Court is set to weigh with arguments on April 28.

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“As Members of Congress, amici have a compelling interest in defending the principles of federalism and the separation of powers implicated in these cases. Federalism and the separation of powers provide critical structural guarantees of the liberty of all American citizens, including amici’s constituents. Amici thus have an interest in defending the division of authority between the federal government and the States, and in preserving the separation of powers between this Court and the political branches,” the brief states.

“Amici believe that a judgment of this Court imposing a judicially mandated revision of state laws defining marriage would circumvent the proper resolution of these profound and divisive issues through state democratic processes. Such a decision could damage the rights of a self-governing people. It would set an unwarranted precedent, with effects far beyond this case, of federal encroachment into a traditional area of state concern, and of judicial pre-emption of an area that the Constitution allots to democratic process.”

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