The 18th Amendment to the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, ratified in 1919, prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" and their importation and exportation. It was adopted after a nationwide crusade by temperance groups, notably the Women's Christian Temperance Union, or WCTU. The amendment was enforced and defined by Congress in the Volstead Act (1919), which was passed over President Wilson’s veto.
By the turn of the 20th century, temperance societies were prevalent in the
United States. Concerned citizens had begun warning others about the effects of
alcohol nearly 100 years earlier. In 1826 the American Temperance Society was
founded to convince people to abstain from drinking. Not long after, the Women's
Christian Temperance Union
pledged not only to ban alcohol and drugs, but to
improve public morals. The anti-Saloon League was formed in 1893 and
eventually became a powerful political force in passing a national ban on
alcoholic beverages. Women were strongly behind the temperance movement, for
alcohol was seen as the destroyer of families and marriages. Men would often
spend their money on alcohol, leaving women with no money to provide for their
children. Factory owners also supported temperance as well because of the new
work habits that were required of industrial workers - early mornings and long
nights. Progressive reformers also took to Prohibition for they saw it as a
continuation of their efforts to improve society in general. Temperance
societies and Progressives alike saw the need for more governmental control and
involvement in citizens' lives. They were successful in passing several laws at
the local level. Between 1905 and 1917, states across the nation were imposing
laws that prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages. They
did not stop there, however. The temperance societies began to push to change
American society and elevate morality through national legislation. In 1917,
the House of Representatives wanted to make Prohibition the 18th Amendment to
the Constitution. Congress sent the amendment to the states for ratification,
where it needed three-fourths approval. The amendment stipulated a time limit
of seven years for the states to pass this amendment. In just 13 months enough
states said yes to the amendment that would prohibit the manufacture, sale,
and transportation of alcoholic liquors.
Why the history lesson? The Federal Marriage Amendment, House Joint Resolution 56, proposed legislation that would amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. H.J. Res. 56 is a gratuitous attack on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
Don’t let another small group of radical right dictate their morality on all citizens of the United States.
House Joint Resolution 56, the Federal Marriage Amendment, was introduced May 21, 2003 by Reps. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO-04), Jo Ann Davis (R-VA-01), David Vitter (R-LA-01), Ralph M. Hall (D-TX-04), Collin Peterson (D-MN-07) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC-07).
Amending the Constitution is very rare and is only done to address great public policy need. In our nation's 225-plus year history, the Constitution of the United States has only been amended 27 times, only 17 after the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791.
This amendment not only attempts to deny equal rights to individuals in same-sex couples, but it also attempts to undermine legislative and legal efforts to protect same-sex couples these families.
Such a cynical amendment illustrates a cruel irony for groups that call themselves "pro-family." H.J. Res. 56 goes beyond defining marriage and seeks to deny same-sex families fundamental protections such as hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights and health care benefits. There is nothing pro-family about that.
For more background information on the Federal Marriage Amendment, click here.
Proponents for passing the Marriage Amendment are very organized and writing their congressmen. www.nogaymarriage.com
This time, it’s coming from the nation’s courts, which are about to enforce a radical agenda — legalization of gay “marriage.” That not only will sanction sexual deviancy nationwide for the first time, but also will be used as a legal tool to censor those who believe traditional marriage — one man, one woman — is the building block of the family.
By knocking male-female marriage off its time-honored legal and historical pedestal, this judicial revolution threatens “our children and our children’s children who would have no understanding of God’s purpose for marriage,” warned Bishop George McKinney.
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