KINDER'S COMMENTARY: SAME-SEX MARRIAGES GET NOTICE

The unfolding series of events that led to this week's first-round approval of Senate Bill 895, my bill to ban same-sex "marriages," is an interesting case-study in how an aroused public can affect legislation in our form of representative government. (As this was being written, final Senate passage was expected this morning.) To fully understand the need for the bill, a bit of background. In Hawaii, the Supreme Court is widely believed to be on the verge of ruling in favor of several homosexual couples who have applied for marriage licenses. A ruling in their favor is expected as soon as this July or August, according to leading legal commentators who have analyzed the case and published articles on it.

The section known as the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution requires each and every state to give full legal effect to the lawful acts -- marriages, divorces and adoptions, for instance -- of all other states. Recall that this key clause is one of the reasons our Founders scrapped the old Articles of Confederation, which had so clearly failed, and replaced it with a constitution featuring a strengthened central government that could enforce contracts and legal acts among citizens of each state.

Under this clause, then, a quickie Las Vegas divorce is one that all other states must recognize. The same would be true if Hawaii's high court rules as expected that same-sex couples are entitled to a marriage license from the state. Absent a clear and unambiguous statement in the statutes that such unions violate basic public policy, a state would be defenseless and would be forced, under full faith and credit, to recognize the union.

Having followed the issue in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the Weekly Standard, I introduced the bill in early February. The bill was referred to the Committee on Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence, in whose chambers a hearing was held Feb. 14. On March 6, by a vote of 5-1, the committee voted the bill out with a do-pass recommendation.

And then -- nothing. The committee chairman, whose prerogative it is to turn the bill in for floor consideration by the full senate, didn't deem it of sufficient importance, and so the bill languished without even a spot on the calendar.

Weeks and months passed as lawmakers in at least eight other states passed the bill and watched their governors sign it. Bills were pending in dozens more. In Missouri, we couldn't move it. Until last week.

What turned the tide, despite weeks of a virtual blackout on coverage by the mainstream media? Principally, what got the attention of Senate leaders was coverage the issue received through the surging alternative media: the Christian radio stations, with their growing legions of listeners; conservative talk radio; Dr. James Dobson and his Focus on the Family publications and radio commentaries; the growing home-schooling movement, with their fax alerts and calling trees; the pro-family groups, such as the Kansas City-based Missouri Family Policy Center; and smaller Christian newspapers and newsletters, such as the Metro Voice, which is published and distributed monthly in St. Louis.

These media Davids and volunteers did the work that mainstream press Goliaths considered unworthy, or beneath them, or something. (I'm reminded of the quip by one observer as to why most media coverage of the abortion issue is so one-sided in favor of the pro-abortion side: "Abortion," this observer said, "is perceived by most national media and political elites to be an icky Catholic issue.")

Calls and faxes began flooding the offices of Senate leaders. As the temperature rose, these leaders, who had long dismissed the matter out of hand, suddenly realized that in fact it wasn't too late. It became a matter of election-year urgency.

On Tuesday of this week, at the request of the president pro tem, the Committee chairman turned the bill in and it received the necessary spot on the calendar. This was extraordinary, inasmuch as we had quit giving first-round approval to Senate bills back on April 15 -- more than three weeks earlier. Wednesday at noon, we took up the bill. In little over an hour I beat back a weakening amendment, we finished debate and secured first-round approval by a 29-3 vote. With final Senate passage a virtual certainty by the time you read this, all that stands between us and having this on our statute books is House action. With a week to go before we adjourn next Friday, there's time. Stay tuned.

~Peter Kinder is the associate publisher of the Southeast Missourian and a state senator from Cape Girardeau.