‘Writing bigotry into the Constitution’
Democrats said the debate was a divisive political ploy. “The Republican leadership is asking us to spend time writing bigotry into the Constitution,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, which legalized gay marriage in 2003.
“A vote for it is a vote against civil unions, against domestic partnership, against all other efforts for states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law.”
In response, Hatch fumed: “Does he really want to suggest that over half of the United States Senate is a crew of bigots?”
Uh, Yeah I think he did...
From the GayAmerican.org(2004)
Nothing hurts the case for marriage as a milenia-honored tradition, like having Senator Orin Hatch (R) of Utah speak of it as an historical constant dating back over 5,000 years, as he did in recent Senate debates over the Federal Marriage Amendment. Such statements belie the fact that he is the product of a rather untraditional marriage himself: His great-grandfather had three wives and 30 children.
