Ludwig von Mises Institute Labels Constitutional Marriage Amendments Conservative "Hypocrisy"

Wisconsinites will be voting on a State Constitutional "marriage" amendment on November 7th. The text of the amendment reads:

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state."

According to Fair Wisconsin, an organization fighting to defeat the amendment, "a majority of Wisconsinites support civil unions, which could offer many of the rights of marriage to gay couples. Statewide polls have shown that around 60% of people in our state support civil unions or marriage for gay couples. If people support civil unions, they should oppose the ban. The ban could have a far-reaching impact beyond denying civil unions and marriage."

Check the Fair Wisconsin web site for more information on the amendment.

Wisconsin isn't the only state facing the constitutional amendment push by Republicans. (Can you say "wedge issue?") On the federal level, a proposed marriage amendment to the US Constitution was killed on June 7. The US Senate voted to kill the amendment which defined a marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

Numerous conservation groups are speaking up and opposing the Constitutional amendment initiatives. There are still "political" conservatives out there opposing "big government" initiatives like this. Remember when conservatives call for smaller government?

The Ludwig von Mises Institute is one such conservative group opposing these marriage amendments that would allow big government more control over an individual's life. The LVM Institute focuses on free-market, small-government, low-tax issues and is a favorite source of material posted on the www.ontheborderline.net blog out of Hudson. In fact, OTBL blogger Mark Pribonic had a recent article published on the LVM site.

In a current article posted on the LVM Institute web site, the author Gardner Goldsmith had this to say on the topic:

"Many conservatives favor its passage, which seems strange, because conservatives have often been defenders of small government, or less intrusive government. They recognize that government is an artifice which places in shadow our true interpersonal relationships. They do not want the state to be considered above God. Yet, they want to make sure that at marriage ceremonies, the licensed practitioner conducting the ceremony states "by the power vested in me by the state of…." It seems strange that any religious person would feel comfortable insinuating agents of the government in a holy ceremony, and leaving the definition of the word "marriage" in the hands of the government itself. Conservatives used to have a reputation for being skeptical of government."

Goldsmith's article raises some important points as to why Wisconsin's Amendment should be voted down. Read the entire article: Don't Let Government Define Marriage.