BOB BARR SPEAKS AGAINST FMA: From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bob Barr told a congressional committee Tuesday that he's a "proud conservative," but an equally staunch opponent of efforts to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee's constitutions subcommittee as it held the first of five planned hearings on the issue, the former Republican congressman from Georgia championed the Defense of Marriage Act he authored and helped pass in 1996.

He said the constitutional change endorsed by President Bush --- restricting the definition of marriage to the lawful union of a man and a woman --- "goes far beyond" the 8-year-old act. That law, signed by then-President Bill Clinton, says the federal government recognizes a marriage only if it is between a man and a woman, but leaves the states free to decide whether they will issue licenses for same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and whether they will recognize those allowed in other states.

The amendment, on the other hand, "seeks to define marriage for all the states of the union," complained Barr. "But part of federalism means that states have the right to make bad decisions --- even on the issue of who can get married in the state. I don't think it's the function of Congress to monkey around with state court jurisdiction."

Supporters of a constitutional amendment have said they fear the Defense of Marriage Act could be overturned, resulting in a requirement that states accord marriage benefits to same-sex couples wed anywhere in the country. Barr, however, insisted that the probability that the Supreme Court would uphold the act, if it ever considers it, is "in the high 80s or 90 percent area."

more
posted by Eve at 5:35 PM VOTE

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home