Joseph T. Burns: “I am generally hesitant to amend the Constitution; there are few things as permanent as a constitutional amendment, and…”

“I am generally hesitant to amend the Constitution; there are few things as permanent as a constitutional amendment, and it is something that clearly should not be done lightly. However, when activist judges repeatedly take steps to overrule the clear voice of a majority of the people, we are left with very few options. As we have seen over the past several years, Federal and State judges have time and time again struck down traditional marriage protections laws--laws overwhelmingly approved by voter ballot initiatives. This is simply unacceptable, and therefore I will vote in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment in order to ensure that traditional marriage laws approved by the voters in a majority of the States are protected. In my State of Montana, the people have overwhelmingly spoken on this issue on more than one occasion. In 1997, the Montana Legislature passed a State law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Then in 2004, the people of Montana approved a ballot initiative by 67 percent which amended the Montana Constitution to state: ``Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this State.'' Nationally, 19 States have adopted similar State constitutional amendments, and 26 more have statutes designed to protect traditional marriage. Unfortunately, the overwhelming consensus of the people is not good enough for some.…”