Political Quotes

“as one who represents a traditionally conservative State, it's not easy to take on this issue. In fact, many of my friends and supporters have urged me to sit this one out because of the potential political fallout, but I can't do that. I feel very strongly that this legislation is fundamentally wrong--and feeling as I do I would not be true to my conscience or my oath of office if I failed to speak out against it. I believe we have an obligation to confront the very real implications of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. Despite it's name, the Defense of Marriage Act does not defend marriage against some imminent, crippling threat. Maintaining the freedom of States to define a civil union or a legal right to benefits cannot--and will not--harm the strength and power of marriage. Neither can it diminish the love between a husband and a wife, nor the devotion they feel toward their children. Whether the Government should give official sanction to same-sex relationships does raise some extremely difficult issues, Mr. President--issues of morality, of religion, of child-bearing, of marriage and of the intimacies of life. But this legislation is not really about these difficult questions of domestic relations. As a constitutional matter, it is about placing the Federal Government in the midst of an issue firmly and historically within the jurisdiction of our States.”