A vote on HR 8404, the misnamed “Respect for Marriage Act,” is coming next week. And it will be very close. This bill will force same-sex, child bride, incestuous and polygamous “marriages” on the nation. Read the true story of child bride Elissa below—she knows firsthand how dangerous this bill is.

Arizona did not change its pedophile-enabling child bride laws until after Elissa managed to escape the polygamist cult she was forced to marry into as a 14-year-old. The state finally changed its child bride laws in 2018.

But if Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and radicals in Congress get their way, Arizona will be forced back into trapping little girls in polygamist, and often pedophilic, “marriages.”

If HR 8404 passes, it will force every state to accept, honor and enforce the “marriage” laws of any other state, territory or “possession of the United States” no matter how revolting those “marriage” laws may be.

Please, for the sake of the children, FAX CONGRESS NOW and DEMAND they VOTE NO on HR 8404! — Mat

Born into a polygamist family, Elissa had three mothers and was one of 24 siblings living under one roof. Her parents forced her to marry another polygamist, her adult first cousin. Elissa objected. She did not want to get married. She told her folks that she “loathed” her cousin.

She begged for more time to find anyone else to marry, but the request was refused. It was the year 2000, and Elissa was just 14 years old.

If HR 8404 passes, tragic child bride “marriages” will expand to every state. Only a few states do not have age limits for marriage. HR 8404 will require every other state that has appropriate age limits to succumb to the few that allow child bride marriages. We MUST stop HR 8404.

To call 14-year-old Elissa innocent was an understatement. Raised in a remote community with little interaction with modern life, she did not understand her new husband’s advances. Once the wedding service was over, Elissa was subjected to the first of many rapes that resulted in many miscarriages.

At night, she would often hide in the desert in an old run-down truck to avoid her abusive husband’s violent advances.

With the help of friends, Elissa eventually escaped. But the mental and emotional scars stayed with her. “This strong, scorching, consuming rage impacted my daily existence for a while,” says Elissa, who later wrote a book about her journey and the perils of both the practices of child marriage and polygamy.

Laurene is yet another victim. Laurene’s father, who was married to several women, sexually abused her as a child, then chose a “husband” for her that was decades her senior.

As if the situation were not heartbreaking enough, on the very night of her forced wedding, Laurene’s new husband insisted Laurene’s sister—to whom he was also married—join them in bed and participate in their intimacy. Laurene was horrified.

When Laurene objected, her husband had her thrown into a mental hospital to teach her a lesson. He would force Laurene into the mental hospital a total of four times before she was able to escape his evil grasp and twisted ideas about marriage.

While this may sound like a tale, this incident also happened in Arizona in the early 2000s.

From 2013 to 2018, Maricopa County, Arizona, alone issued marriage licenses to 526 minors. Sadly, too many of the unions were between young teenage girls to adult men much older than their child brides.

In 2018, Arizona changed its marriage laws to prevent the children from being “married” off to men three and four times their age. But these girls are once more at risk if HR 8404 passes the Senate.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared his intention to pass this bill ASAP. This week, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who is pushing the bill and seeking Republican support, said the Senate will vote on HR 8404 next week, as early as Monday, Sept. 19.

Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is also whipping her Republican colleagues to vote “yes,” and it appears Baldwin and Collins may have already gotten their hooks into eight Republicans. We know there are four Republicans, and now Baldwin says several others, who will vote for HR 8404. But they still lack the full 60 votes required for passage. That is why you MUST raise your voice NOW if you want to help stop this travesty!

These two women senators are working overtime to destroy marriage, even as women like Elissa and Laurene are suffering in perversions of marriage. But there is one thing that can destroy the left’s lobbying efforts, and that is a strong public outcry!

Please take a moment right now to fax Congress. Take a stand for TRUE marriage by demanding Congress VOTE NO on the bill.

Also prayerfully consider making a recurring monthly donation to support our legal fund. Liberty Counsel never charges for our legal work; instead, our plaintiffs rely on people like you, faithful Liberty Counsel supporters. As a bonus, every donation made today will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT by a Challenge Grant. Please, give generously today.

Our litigation plate is overflowing with many critical cases. These include the military, health care workers, employees and students facing “vaccine” jab mandates. We are defending professional counselors and pro-life heroes like Sandra Merritt. And we are filing briefs in multiple courts defending life everywhere it is under attack. Please add us to your regular prayer list if you have not already done so!

One last thing—please be in prayer for the children already damaged by bad marriage laws, that their hearts may be healed and the blessing of a true and godly marriage be theirs one day.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

P.S. Want to do more? Sign the petition to demand they VOTE NO on HR 8404!

Sources:

Christenson, Charity. “10 Polygamist Wives Who Escaped Unbelievable Abuse.” Listverse, April 19, 2014. Listverse.com/2014/04/19/10-polygamist-wives-who-escaped-unbelievable-abuse/.

“FLDS: Woman Who Escaped Polygamous Sect Revisits Her Past.” Religion News Blog, March 3, 2006. Religionnewsblog.com/13820/flds-woman-who-escaped-polygamous-sect-revisits-her-past.

Gibbs, Stephan. “Where Is Ex-FLDS Member Elissa Wall Now?” Spiky TV, June 8, 2022. Spikytv.com/where-is-ex-flds-member-elissa-wall-now/.