Chuck Grassley: “I strongly support traditional marriage, the bedrock of our society, and I therefore support the Marriage Protection…”

“I strongly support traditional marriage, the bedrock of our society, and I therefore support the Marriage Protection Amendment. Like some of my colleagues, I believe that marriage is typically a State issue. Unelected, lifetime-appointed judges, however, have forced our hand on this issue. We can no longer sit idly by while a handful of activist judges lay the groundwork to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and redefine marriage for the entire Nation. I voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act a decade ago, which reinforced States rights on this issue. Since then, 26 States have passed statutes designed to protect traditional marriage by defining marriage only as the union of a man and a woman. Further, 19 States now have constitutional amendments that contain this same definition. Voters in seven additional States will vote on constitutional amendments this year. Another four State legislature--including that of my own State, Iowa--are considering sending constitutional amendments to voters within the next 2 years. Ballot initiatives are currently underway in three States. Only a handful of States have redefined marriage to include same-sex partnerships, created a version of civil unions, or lack actual or planned protection for traditional marriage. The states have spoken. A great majority of them have decided that marriage, in their States, shall consist solely of the union of a man and a woman.…”