[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I strongly support traditional marriage, 
the bedrock of our society, and I therefore support the Marriage 
Protection Amendment.
  Like some of my colleagues, I believe that marriage is typically a 
State issue. Unelected, lifetime-appointed judges, however, have forced 
our hand on this issue. We can no longer sit idly by while a handful of 
activist judges lay the groundwork to overturn the Defense of Marriage 
Act and redefine marriage for the entire Nation.
  I voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act a decade ago, which 
reinforced States rights on this issue. Since then, 26 States have 
passed statutes designed to protect traditional marriage by defining 
marriage only as the union of a man and a woman. Further, 19 States now 
have constitutional amendments that contain this same definition. 
Voters in seven additional States will vote on constitutional 
amendments this year. Another four State legislature--including that of 
my own State, Iowa--are considering sending constitutional amendments 
to voters within the next 2 years. Ballot initiatives are currently 
underway in three States. Only a handful of States have redefined 
marriage to include same-sex partnerships, created a version of civil 
unions, or lack actual or planned protection for traditional marriage.
  The states have spoken. A great majority of them have decided that 
marriage, in their States, shall consist solely of the union of a man 
and a woman. But, it has become a common prediction that the Federal 
Defense of Marriage Act will be overturned by the judiciary. In that 
case, the full faith and credit clause of our Constitution would 
require every State to recognize so-called marriages performed in 
States that allow the union of same-sex couples, many only by judicial 
decree. We cannot allow unelected judges to force their will upon the 
people, who have acted through the democratic process to defend 
traditional marriage.
  Under our Constitution, Congress has the responsibility to enact 
legislation. Congress also has the responsibility to initiate the 
constitutional amendment process. We must fulfill this duty to protect 
traditional marriage. We must provide the States the opportunity to 
defend marriage as they have defined it.

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