[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2004

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to House Joint 
Resolution 106, which would deny basic rights under the Constitution to 
gays and lesbians. This resolution is a cynical ploy to foster division 
and diversion for the election campaign. Even its strongest proponents 
know it has no chance of passing.
  Two short months ago, the House passed unprecedented legislation that 
would strip the federal courts of the ability to decide the 
constitutionality of The Defense of Marriage Act. And today the House 
will vote on whether to use the very document that guarantees our 
liberties and protections to restrict the rights of one group of 
Americans.
  Throughout U.S. history, the states have been responsible for 
marriage and family law. Thirty-eight states have already acted to 
define marriage as the union of a man and woman and no state has 
adopted legislation that would define marriage differently. This year 
alone, voters in eleven states will consider amendments to their state 
constitutions barring gay marriage.
  The charade on the House floor today is a strategy to change the 
subject, and I certainly can't blame the Republican Party for wanting 
to distract voters from their record. That is why the Republican 
leadership bypassed the committee of jurisdiction and brought H.J. Res. 
106 directly to the floor in the middle of the campaign season.

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