Joe Crowley: “when the other body defeated this amendment early this summer, someone one of the Senators on the majority, said gay…”

“when the other body defeated this amendment early this summer, someone one of the Senators on the majority, said gay marriage is ``the greatest threat to America as we know it.'' Coming from New York City, I think America saw what the greatest threat to this country is on September 11, 2001. But instead of capturing those responsible for that event, Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar, and the al Qaeda network, instead of passing a homeland security bill here in the House, instead of reforming our national intelligence system to prevent another 9/11, we are here talking about an issue that the Senate has already defeated; and because they have defeated it, it will not come up again. This is purely political machinations. This Congress and this President are pushing for a constitutional amendment to limit the rights of particular Americans. Why are they doing that? The answer is easy but it is still awful; because today in America, it is still okay to hate gays and lesbians in this country. Gays and lesbians represent the last minority group in this country that it is still publicly acceptable to hate. This legislation has no place in this body. It demeans the body, our Constitution, and the values of this country.”