OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Marriage Protection Amendment

Date: Sept. 30, 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Conservative Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Marriage Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity


MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT -- (House of Representatives - September 30, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 801, proceedings will now resume on the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 106) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage.

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, there are many reasons to oppose this bill: It is a diversion from the urgent issues facing our Nation; that today's vote is a cheap election-year tactic of the Republican leadership to rally its right-wing base; and that we should respect States rights on the principles of federalism, which Republicans continue to ignore to suit their political purpose.

Mr. Speaker, each of these concerns is a compelling reason to oppose this measure, but I want to make this perfectly clear: This bill should be defeated because it is wrong, it is discriminatory, and it is unAmerican.

Mr. Speaker, how can we export democracy across the globe when we are abandoning its fundamental principles here at home? Writing discrimination into our Constitution will do nothing to protect marriage, but it will taint this sacred document and sacrifice State rights based on certain ideological beliefs, and I urge my colleagues to defeat this mean-spirited, misguided bill.

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