Arizona Rep. Trent Franks has said that
gay marriage threatens the nation's survival.
During an appearance on the Family
Research Council's (FRC) radio program Washington Watch Weekly,
Franks told the group's president, Tony Perkins, that marriage should
remain a “special right” for heterosexual couples.
Franks discussed a recent House hearing
he chaired on religious freedom, at which witnesses testified that
the nation's increasing support for marriage equality was eroding
freedoms for Christians.
“The federal Department of Justice
(DoJ) has ratcheted up its attack on the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) by mischaracterizing it as an act of bigotry,” testified
Rev. William C. Lori on behalf of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. “If the label of 'bigot' sticks to our Church
and many other churches – especially in court, under the
Constitution – because of their teaching on marriage, the result
will be church-state conflicts for many years to come.”
On the program, Franks said marriage
should be limited to heterosexual couples because “that is the
launching pad of the next generation.”
“And when people would come along and
blur that distinction and say, 'Well, that should apply in every way'
it not only is a complete undermining of the principles of family and
marriage and the hope of future generations, but it completely begins
to see our society break down to the extend that that foundational
unit of the family that is the hope of survival of this country is
diminished to the extent that it literally is a threat to the
nation's survival in the long run.” (The audio is embedded in the
right panel of this page.)