Political Quotes

“since Friday, we have had a good and productive debate about marriage, the bedrock of our society. I applaud my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the civil discussion, for the judicious discussion we have had. The issue, very appropriately, has been elevated to this body as representatives of the American people. The issue is being clearly defined. And the fundamental issue is, Do we let four activist judges from Massachusetts define marriage, the bedrock of our society, or do we let the American people? Do we listen to their voices through their elected representatives? We come, in a few moments, to a vote. And the question before us, in terms of the vote is, Should we consider a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a husband and a wife. If 60 Senators vote yea, we will begin to debate the specifics of the constitutional amendment. Not everyone is going to agree with every single word or every sentence of the amendment that is before us, but by voting yes today, you are agreeing that the amendment deserves to be debated, and possibly amended. If you vote no, you are saying the Senate should not even consider an amendment to protect marriage as the union between a man and a woman. We did not ask for this debate, and we would gladly sort of wish it away and say other people can take care of it, but four activist judges on the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on May 17.”