Zoe Lofgren: “however one feels on the issue of gay marriage, the question before the House today really is quite a different one, and…”

“however one feels on the issue of gay marriage, the question before the House today really is quite a different one, and it is about the fundamental nature of our democracy. Really, the plan before us is a radical, extreme plan to overturn the system of government that we as free Americans have enjoyed for over 200 years. I have been a Member of this House for 10 years; and I must confess, I have never been as disappointed as I am today in the level of legal analysis that I have heard here. It is disappointing in the extreme. I must also say that you know you are in trouble when you have to go back and reread a case from 1803, Marbury v. Madison, because that is what we are talking about overturning today, that seminal case that we all read in law school, and I read it again this week and it was inspiring me again to understand how fortunate we are that we have a written Constitution and that we have a system of checks and balances that makes sure that the rights in that Constitution cannot be taken away in a flimsy or easy way.”