The Federal Marriage Amendment: Unnecessary, Anti-Federalist, and Anti-Democratic (PA 570)

Abstract

Supporters of the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment claim that an amendment is needed immediately to prevent same-sex marriages from being forced on the nation. This paper offers four arguments against the proposed amendment: federal and state laws, along with constitutional doctrines, make court-ordered nationwide same-sex marriage unlikely for the foreseeable future; a constitutional amendment defining marriage would be a radical intrusion on federalism; a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would be an unprecedented form of amendment; and the amendment as proposed reaches well beyond the stated concerns of its proponents.

Keywords: Cato, Dale Carpenter, PA 570, Federal Marriage Amendment, FMA, constitutional amendment, same-sex marriage, federalism