Republican presidential candidate Marco
Rubio on Sunday, Valentine's Day, announced the formation of an
advisory board to study repeal of two landmark Supreme Court rulings
that favored marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
Rubio's Marriage & Family Advisory
Board is made up of 14 conservatives who oppose the high court's 2013
ruling striking down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), which led to the federal government recognizing the legal
marriages of gay couples, and last year's finding that gay couples
have a constitutional right to marry.
“The Supreme Court’s decisions in
Windsor and Obergefell are only the most recent example
of our failure as a society to understand what marriage is and why it
matters,” said Eric Teetsel, the Rubio Campaign’s Director of
Faith Outreach. “For decades, we have taken for granted the unique
and necessary contributions of moms and dads in the lives of their
children, from lax divorce laws to marriage penalties in the tax code
and the failure of husbands and wives to live up to their marriage
vows. Marco understands the many causes of family breakdown and the
consequences. He has pulled together a board of experts who
understand the same and have devoted themselves to rebuilding a
vibrant culture of marriage and family.”
Notable board members include Ryan T.
Anderson, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and
Joseph Backholm, executive director of the Family Policy Institute of
Washington.
(Related: Ryan
Anderson claims Christians face stigma in coming out against marriage
equality.)
The announcement comes just days after
GOP rival Ted Cruz suggested that Rubio
was feeble on his opposition to marriage equality.