Orrin Hatch: “I thank my colleague. Over thirty years ago, the U.S. Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was historic…”

“I thank my colleague. Over thirty years ago, the U.S. Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was historic legislation, and its supporters showed great moral courage in seeing it through. The principle underlying that Act was equal treatment: The federal government should treat all persons equally, regardless of their race, color, national origin or sex. Indeed, it should mandate equal treatment from employers, labor unions, providers of public accommodation as well as many others. Now, Contrary to popular mythology, however, the Senate was not ahead of the moral curve when it passed the 1964 Act. Polls taken at the time show that a majority of Americans supported the legislation. Indeed, they continue to support it. They know that its principle is fundamental. The United States government has no business making distinctions based on skin color or sex. Period. But there were many vocal opponents too. It is important to give credit to the members of the Senate who resisted those opponents by passing the legislation. Somewhere over the course of the last generation, the federal government started to fall away from the 1964 Act's fundamental principle. In the name of 'affirmative action,' is substituted a policy of preference based on race and sex for the policy of equal treatment. And that is why the term 'affirmative action' sometimes has a bad connotation.”