[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4445-H4446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MARRIAGE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

[[Page H4446]]

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, with the Supreme Court about to rule on the 
legal definition of marriage, I rise in support of States like 
Pennsylvania that have defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was founded on religious tolerance 
by William Penn. In Europe, whoever was most popular and powerful in a 
given place and time tried to force minorities to violate their 
beliefs, and that was why so many different groups of people came to 
America and particularly to Pennsylvania, religious minorities such as 
the Quakers, the Amish, the Mennonites, the Moravians, and others.
  Philadelphia has the most synagogues per capita of any city in the 
United States. Pittsburgh and Harrisburg also have significant Jewish 
populations. Pennsylvania continues the tradition of respecting each 
other, even when they disagree.
  We hear a lot of talk about diversity these days, but many of those 
same people who tell us they want diversity are also trying to force 
their views on others by law. States that, through the democratic 
process, have defined marriage should not be overridden by five Federal 
unelected judges.

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