Westerman: Decision Ignores the People's Voice

Decision Ignores the People's Voice
Westerman decries ruling against traditional marriage

HOT SPRINGS -- Former Arkansas House Majority Leader and Fourth District Congressional Candidate Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) today issued the following statement regarding a Circuit Judge's ruling against Arkansas's voter-passed Constitutional Amendment recognizing marriage in Arkansas as between one man and one women:

"Today's decision ignores the voice of the people of Arkansas, who chose to make marriage between one man and one woman the law of the land through a constitutional amendment.  I find it difficult to understand how a constitutional amendment can be ruled unconstitutional.

"Marriage was defined long before it was codified into law and I believe, informed through faith, that no one has the power to redefine it.  I strongly urge this ruling be stayed and appealed immediately."

About Rep. Bruce Westerman

A lifelong resident of Garland County, Rep. Bruce Westerman was Arkansas's first Republican House Majority Leader in 138 years and an architect of the House Republican SIMPLE Plan which led to the 2013 Republican takeover of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

An engineer and forester for 22 years at Mid-South Engineering in Hot Springs, Westerman is a registered professional engineer in Arkansas and six other states, and a registered forester in Arkansas. He holds a Master of Forestry degree (2001) from Yale University. In 2013, he was named Engineer of the Year by the Arkansas Society of Professional of Engineers.

Westerman graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from the Univesity of Arkansas in 1990. While at Arkansas, Westerman was a four-year walk-on member of the Razorback Football Team. He received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2005 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012.

Westerman is a former board member of the Fountain Lake School District and is a deacon at Walnut Valley Baptist Church. He lives in Hot Springs with his wife Sharon and their four children.

For more information on Rep. Bruce Westerman, please visit http://BruceWesterman.com and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WestermanAR, Facebook at http://facebook.com/WestermanAR, Tumblr athttp://WestermanAR.tumblr.com, and Instagram at http://instagram.com/WestermanAR.