William F. Smith: “Mr. Speaker, all Americans are entitled to a fair hearing before independent-minded judges whose only allegiance is to…”

“Mr. Speaker, all Americans are entitled to a fair hearing before independent-minded judges whose only allegiance is to the law. However, over the last several years we have witnessed some judges wanting to determine social policy rather than interpret the Constitution. They seem to be legislators, not judges; promoters of a partisan agenda, not wise teachers relying on established law. Judicial activism has reached a crisis. Judges routinely overrule the will of the people, invent new rights, and ignore traditional morality. Judges have redefined marriage, deemed the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, outlawed longstanding religious practices, and imposed their personal views on all Americans. Fortunately, there is a solution. The Constitution empowers Congress to say that some subjects are off-limits to Federal courts. The constitutional authority authorizing Congress to restrain Federal courts, in fact, has been used before, and it should be used again. The legislation being considered today preserves the right of State courts to consider the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA.”