Cord Byrd: “I must admit that, in all of my nearly 44 years in the Congress, I never envisioned that I would see a measure such as…”

“I must admit that, in all of my nearly 44 years in the Congress, I never envisioned that I would see a measure such as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is incomprehensible to me that federal legislation would be needed to provide a definition of two terms that for thousands of years have been perfectly clear and unquestioned. That we have arrived at a point where the Congress of the United States must actually reaffirm in the statute books something as simple as the definition of 'marriage' and 'spouse,' is almost beyond my grasp. But as the current state of legal affairs has shown, this bill is a necessary endeavor. Mr. President, there are some who say that the Senate is not dealing with a relevant matter here, that the time has not yet arrived for the Senate to debate this subject. I say the time is now, and this is a relevant matter. Action by the Senate and debate by the Senate are not something that should be delayed and put off until another day.”