Debbie Dingell: “this is an outrage. I do not know whether you are for or against gay marriage, and I do not think it makes a great deal…”

“this is an outrage. I do not know whether you are for or against gay marriage, and I do not think it makes a great deal of difference. I happen to oppose the idea. But this is an extraordinary piece of arrogance on the part of the House of Representatives to consider a piece of legislation which would strip American citizens of their right to access to court. Can you imagine anything more shameful than telling an American citizen you cannot go into court to have your concerns addressed, to have cases and controversies, many of which will arise under the Constitution, heard by the courts of your Nation? The right to access to courts to decide questions of policy is as old as the Magna Carta, and it is as important to us as anything else in the Constitution. Here we calmly say, you cannot have access to the courts, the Federal courts, the lower inferior courts, and the Supreme Court. Shame. Shame, shame, shame.…”