Joseph T. Burns: “Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to the people of America to settle this debate over whether a handful of political…”

“Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to the people of America to settle this debate over whether a handful of political activists are allowed to use the Federal courts to impose their moral view on the unwilling majority of the country. The overwhelming majority of the people of the 12th Congressional District of Georgia oppose legalized same-sex marriage. They do not want to play semantic games about the issue. The people in my district and State believe that legal marriage, and the benefits associated with the institution, should be reserved for those whom the benefits were intended, the union of a man and a woman, period. Georgia has placed a referendum for a State constitutional amendment to that effect on this November's ballot lot. That is how it should be. As a Georgia voter, I will support the amendment with my vote, as will the majority of my State. The Federal amendment we consider today will allow those State decisions to determine this issue, as they have since our Nation's founding, rather than allowing a small minority to dictate their opinions on an unwilling majority.”