Our
friends Tony Perkins and Tom Minnery have written an insightful op-ed that explains the issues that are most important to values voters. Excerpt:
Which policy issues matter most to values voters? The dual
answer wasn't controversial at all: the sanctity of human life and protection
of the institution of marriage.
Tony and
Tom also offered 4 questions values voters should ask potential
candidates. Continue reading to see these important questions.
(1) Nearly all of you say you support the preservation of
marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The devil is in the details. A
patchwork of marriage laws was not acceptable in the United States 150 years ago when
the meaning of marriage was threatened by polygamy, and it isn't now when
marriage is jeopardized by the idea that men can marry men. Values voters
believe that the U.S. Constitution must be amended to make permanent what has
been the common understanding from the dawn of Western civilization: Marriage
is the union of one man and one woman. If you have not already endorsed an
effective Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), what are you waiting for? A
court in Massachusetts has imposed same-sex
"marriage," the California
legislature has twice passed it, and lower courts have struck down the
traditional understanding of marriage in Iowa,
Maryland and
elsewhere. What additional atrocities against marriage must be committed before
you will agree to endorse an MPA that protects marriage from coast to coast?
(2) During our event, several speakers described the
effect of seeing an ultrasound picture of the child developing in the womb. The
reality of new human life has become a part of the family photo album. The
abortion issue can be parsed many ways, but its essence is this: Does the
unborn child enjoy a right to life that should be protected by law?
(3) No matter who is chosen for the White House next
November, Congress could easily remain led by those committed to extreme
positions against human life. If it does, will you veto every measure that
comes to you that would expand or enshrine abortion in our nation's laws,
including the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which forbids federal funding of
abortion; the repeal of the Mexico City policy of Ronald Reagan, which
prohibits federal funding of international organizations that provide abortion;
and the Freedom of Choice Act, which would enact a super version of Roe v. Wade
and prohibit states from limiting abortion?
(4) Life issues extend across the life cycle. Will you
commit to vetoing any bill that provides federal funds for cloning and research
that involves the killing of human embryos? Will you oppose use of frozen human
embryos as research subjects?