[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1455-E1456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 18, 2006

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, the world around us is engulfed in a state 
of peril. Our soldiers in Iraq are facing increased violence, Israel is 
fighting a multi-state sponsored terrorist organization, India was 
ravaged by a series of rail bombings last week, development in 
Afghanistan is being stifled by warlords, North Korea is testing the 
limits of its neighbors with missile tests, Iran is testing the 
international community's patience and defying its commitment to the 
Non-Proliferation Treaty, Mexico is heavily divided over its ``Florida-
like'' uncertain presidential election, the humanitarian crisis in 
Sudan rages on.
  Here in the homeland, we struggle to pick up the pieces after 
Katrina, millions of Americans are living in poverty, the minimum wage 
hasn't risen in nearly 10 years, we're shortchanging our veterans 
coming home from Iraq, families are struggling to send their kids to 
college, school districts face confusion over the implementation of No 
Child Left Behind, seniors face difficulties paying for their 
prescription drugs, major cities are receiving less homeland security 
funds, and consumers are paying over $3 a gallon at the pump.
  How do we respond to these challenges? The Republican leadership says 
we should spend our time making sure that two adults who love each 
other cannot form a marriage. Is this why our founding fathers created 
the greatest democracy in the world--to keep people apart? Our country 
and our world deserve better than this. To say that the threat of same 
sex marriage is so great that it requires the alteration of our 
Constitution to include discriminatory language is a slap in the face 
to those that have fought for equality and civil rights.
  We already debated gay marriage nearly two years ago with the Defense 
of Marriage Act. States that don't want to honor other states civil 
unions don't have to.
  I believe that states should have the right to grant same-sex 
marriages or offer couples the same legal rights as those of other 
couples. I share this position with Vice President Dick Cheney. This 
flagrant attempt to include discrimination into our Constitution is 
nothing but

[[Page E1456]]

election year politics and the American people deserve better.

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