Conservatives Take Aim at Same-Sex Marriage Decision

On Wednesday, an 11th Circuit federal court of appeals panel in Atlanta rejected a stay from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on a federal judges decision striking down the state constitutional amendment recognizing only traditional marriage in the Sunshine State. Without further legal developments, same-sex marriage will go into effect in Florida on Jan. 5.

Conservative attorney John Stemberger, the president of the Florida Family Policy Council, came out swinging on Wednesday against the decision.

"The court today is wrong, Stemberger said. ... The courts will never have the final word on an institution as fundamental to the human experience as marriage. You simply cannot build a civilization without natural marriage.

Today, we grieve, Stemberger added. We grieve for the children who now have no chance of growing up with both a mom and a dad. We mourn the loss of a culture and its ethical foundation. We mourn for a culture that continues to turn its back on timeless principles.

The state has an interest in defining, protecting and promoting natural marriage and as long as we have breath, even if it takes 20, 30 or 50 years, we will never give up on this issue. Stemberger continued. We may grieve today, but we will not despair. We will not throw in the towel. We will not give up. Just as we have worked for decades and are rebuilding a culture of life, in spite of Roe v. Wade, we will also work to rebuild a culture of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Natural marriage will never be on the wrong side of history because it's rooted in the human experience, Stemberger said in conclusion. A little boy who longs to have a father in the inner city -- that will never be on the wrong side of history. The little girl who has two dads and doesn't have a mom and she wants someone to guide her through the changes that a woman's body goes through -- that's never going to be on the wrong side of history. And the beauty of how a man and woman come together and life is born, that's never going to be on the wrong side of history."

Evan Wolfson, the president of Freedom to Marry, cheered the decision.

The 11th Circuit did the right thing today by refusing to delay marriages for same-sex couples in Florida any longer, Wolfson said. As the first joyful weddings take place, Floridians will see firsthand that the freedom to marry helps families and communities, and harms no one. And against this backdrop of happy families and more marriages, we hope the court soon hands down a final ruling that ensures that all committed couples in the Sunshine State, as well as Georgia and Alabama, finally have the freedom to marry the person they love.