Russ Feingold: “we will shortly be voting on what will presumably be the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We all know the…”

“we will shortly be voting on what will presumably be the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We all know the outcome of that vote. The amendment will fall well short of the 60 votes required for cloture, let alone the 67 votes required to pass a constitutional amendment, so it will fail, as it did 2 years ago. I am pleased that the Senate will reject this amendment. I am heartened so many Senators have come to the Senate to speak out strongly against this misguided proposal, but I am saddened that once again the Senate has spent several days on such a divisive and unneeded proposal, a proposal that pits Americans against one another. I think it appeals to people's worst instincts and prejudices. The arguments made by supporters of the amendment simply do not hold up under scrutiny. Supporters argue that Federal courts are basically on the brink of recognizing same-sex marriage and that States may be forced to recognize same-sex marriage performed in other States. Of course, neither of these things have happened, and no one has explained why we should do a preemptive strike on the basic governing document of the country to address a hypothetical future court decision. Supporters talk about traditional marriage but in some ways have very little respect for the traditional role of the States in regulating marriage. If they did, they would not be trying to impose a restrictive Federal definition of marriage on all States for all time.…”