Anchorage -- Senator Loren Leman (R-Anchorage) issued the following statement in reaction to this morning's ruling by Alaska Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski in the case of Brause & Dugan vs. Bureau of Vital Statistics:

"Last year an overwhelming majority of Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The objective of this amendment was to prevent activist judges from short-circuiting the democratic process and inventing a constitutional right for same-sex 'marriage.'

"Today it appears we have succeeded in our goal. Judge Peter Michalski, the author of the controversial decision that gave rise to the marriage amendment in the first place, ruled that passage of the amendment invalidates the plaintiffs' constitutional claim for a marriage license. The judge agreed with attorneys from the Department of Law and the Alaska Legislature that the case should be dismissed. While this decision can certainly be appealed, I am confident it will be sustained.

"This court ruling is a powerful reminder that the ultimate authors and interpreters of Alaska's constitution are not judges, but rather the people of Alaska. The first sentence of our constitution reads, in part, 'We the people of Alaska ... do ordain and establish this constitution for the State of Alaska.' Marriage has profound cultural and legal significance in our society, and I am pleased that the people of Alaska have succeeded in preventing the judiciary from arbitrarily redefining this fundamental institution."