The Church released a statement tonight from the First Presidency calling upon members to contact their Senators about the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. This is in anticipation of a scheduled Senate vote for June 6. So far, conventional wisdom does not expect the amendment to pass the two-thirds majority vote required as part of the ratification process.
In a letter to be read in sacrament meeting, the First Presidency doesn’t explicitly ask members to call in support of the FMA but to “express themselves on this urgent matter.”
The complete text of the letter reads:
Letter from First Presidency of the Church to Church Leaders in the United States
We are informed that the United States Senate will on June 6, 2006, vote on an amendment to the Federal constitution designed to protect the traditional institution of marriage.
We, as the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, have repeatedly set forth our position that the marriage of a man and a woman is the only acceptable marriage relationship.
In 1995 we issued a Proclamation to the World on this matter, and have repeatedly reaffirmed that position.
In that proclamation we said: “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
We urge our members to express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate.
Did the Church avoid explicit encouragement of members to support the FMA to avoid possible legal problems?
When was the last time the Church has called on members to take action on a political matter national? Was it to oppose another amenment, the ERA?
