FRC's Tony Perkins: Court Did Not Redefine Marriage

Conservative lawmakers and commentators expressed their disappointment Wednesday with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.

House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement saying, "While I am obviously disappointed in the ruling, it is always critical that we protect our system of checks and balances."

Republican House Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise said the ruling, which struck down the federal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, reversed course on "thousands of years of tradition."

"It is a sad day when the same court that upheld Obamacare decides to reverse course on thousands of years of tradition and a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress by striking down the Defense of Marriage Act," Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said in statement.

"This Supreme Court ruling marks a low point in judicial activism where unelected judges turned against traditional marriage which has been a hallmark of American society since our nation's founding," he said.

Others on the right were equally unhappy.

"While we are disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision to strike down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the court today did not impose the sweeping nationwide redefinition of natural marriage that was sought," said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

Maggie Gallagher, fellow at the American Principles Project and one of the leading architects of the movement to protect marriage, said in a statement, "At the heart of the gay-marriage argument is an untruth: unions of two men or women are not the same as unions of husband and wife. The law cannot make it so. It can only require us to paint pretty pictures to cover up deep truths embedded in human nature."

The American Family Association's Brian Fischer went even further, saying the ruling was against the "laws of nature."

"The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable. Matter of time," the conservative radio host tweeted. He vowed to defend marriage as "God has defined it."

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said in a statement, "Marriage was created by the hand of God. No man, not even a Supreme Court, can undo what a holy God has instituted. What the court has done will undermine the best interest of children and the best interests of the United States."