Blog — Whitney Westerfield

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Marriage

We Should Ban Child Marriage

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We Should Ban Child Marriage

A bill proposed by Sen. Julie Raque Adams that would provide court oversight on petitions for a marriage license for 17 year-olds (SB48), is set for a second hearing in my committee tomorrow morning, and I plan to call the bill for a vote.

After working with Donna Pollard (Survivors' Corner) and the Family Foundation we have arrived at an amendment to the bill the requires parental consent, but critically requires a court to review the petition to prevent the same kind of abuse that Donna Pollard experienced as a child.

Contrary to what was believed by so many on social media, the bill sponsor and I worked together on this amendment and the bill was never not going to be heard.  I said as much after our first hearing on the bill back in February.  I’m looking forward to seeing it pass committee in the morning and then hopefully be voted on the Senate floor soon thereafter.

For those asking, the amendment (known as a “proposed senate substitute”) is attached below.

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Standing

The Attorney General, as the top lawyer for Kentucky, refused to honor his oath of office by declining to pursue the federal appeal to defend our Constitutional definition of marriage. In an effort to combat this, I cosponsored, Senator Sara Beth Gregory's Senate Bill 221, that would give legal standing in this sort of litigation to the Senate President or House Speaker so one or both could intervene.

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Marriage

I campaigned during 2012 for the Kentucky State Senate saying often that traditional marriage was under attack. Most folks didn't realize at the time what I and other watchers of the law saw coming, the United States Supreme Court was on a collision course with traditional marriage arguments in cases involving California's Proposition 8 (a gay marriage ban) and the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"). Oral arguments before the Court are this week and a ruling will come in a few months. Traditional marriage protections, including Kentucky's constitutional amendment, are in danger of being ruled unconstitutional and thus struck down. Make no mistake, the battle over marriage is underway and unfortunately, there are many instances where we're losing.

Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman and God, yet this idea is being torn down and diminished. So many strive to paint such values as discriminatory.

Take this passage from a blog article today:

Pastors in Canada are already facing lawsuits for simply preaching about marriage from the Bible. Tolerance is demanded of Christians but in this pluralistic society, little, if any, tolerance is afforded to Christian beliefs. Christians aren’t the antagonists here, but they do seem to have fewer rights than those engaging in lawfare to bring about forced acceptance.

Read the article here for several examples of this trend: Christians being persecuted for their beliefs which are seen as discriminatory all while the discriminatory work of anti-Christian activists are seen as anything but.

The author of this post nails it and I encourage you to take a look.

I hold out hope that the Court will not strike down laws that the people have chosen in various states to enact, Kentucky included. But as long as God's will keeps me in the State Senate I will continue to advocate for the protection of traditional marriage that represents the relationship and covenant God intended.

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