Jack Kingston: “the Marriage Protection Amendment would not prevent any State from enacting civil union laws, but would protect marriage…”

“the Marriage Protection Amendment would not prevent any State from enacting civil union laws, but would protect marriage in all 50 States. Recently, I went to a friend, Mr. Sage Brown, who is a distinguished attorney and civil rights leader in Savannah, Georgia. Indeed, he is featured at the Gilbert Civil Rights Museum as a man who was on the frontlines of integration and did so much for the African American community. I asked him, Is this a civil rights-type issue, to which he said no, the relationship of marriage is the most sacred building block of our society. Marriage is sacred and protected and has nothing to do with violating our civil rights. If we change the definition of marriage to be more inclusive, then is it logical to argue that we should broaden the definition so we do not exclude anybody? If marriage violated the civil rights of two men or two women who wanted to be married to each other, then it would also violate the civil rights of a polygamist, somebody else who wants to have a different marriage than that between a man and a woman.”