Posted on 07/22/2004 2:56:05 PM PDT by Pikamax
House OKs Gay Marriage Jurisdiction Bill
9 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Stung by a Senate setback on gay marriage, Republicans passed legislation in the House Thursday to prevent federal courts from ordering states to recognize same-sex unions sanctioned elsewhere.
Democrats called the bill an unconstitutional attack on gays and the federal judiciary, and said its passage was just a matter of election-year politics.
A day before Congress closes down for six weeks, the 233-194, mainly party-line vote handed at least a symbolic victory to social conservatives who form a key Republican constituency. The bill has the strong backing of the Bush administration, but is not expected to make headway in the Senate, aides to Democrats and Republicans said.
Last week, the Senate failed to advance a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Supporters said the House legislation would protect the institution of marriage by reining in federal judges who might otherwise impose gay marriage on states that have banned it. "Marriage is under attack," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., referring to the Massachusetts state court decision allowing same-sex marriages.
The bill would strip the Supreme Court and other federal courts of their jurisdiction to rule on challenges to state bans on gay marriages under a provision of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and says states are not compelled to recognize gay marriages that take place in other states.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said it could find no precedent for Congress passing a law to limit federal courts from ruling on the constitutionality of another law, although Democrats said opponents of civil rights legislation tried to do the same thing.
The effect of the bill would be to single out gays and lesbians, barring them from going into federal court to seek to have their marriages recognized, several Democrats said. Civil rights groups said the bill is unconstitutional for that reason.
"We face no less than a sign on the courthouse door: 'You may not defend your constitutional rights in this court. You may not seek equal protection here,'" said Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the House's lone declared lesbian. "Today, the 'you' is gay and lesbian citizens. But who would be next?"
Some Republican opponents of the legislation also said they wanted to avoid setting a precedent that could used by a Congress controlled by Democrats to satisfy their allies or by lawmakers who wanted to shield future unconstitutional legislation from federal court review.
Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which opposed the legislation, said GOP congressional leaders continue to stay on the issue of gay marriage because of election-year politics. "On a day when Congress was told to focus on terrorism, it is a shame that they instead focused on discrimination," Jacques said, referring to Tuesday's release of the final report of the Sept. 11 Commission.
But a parade of conservative Republican speakers lamented the unbridled power of federal judges to thwart majority will, although no federal court has yet ruled on the 1996 law.
"Judicial activism has reached a crisis," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas.
No one suggested that Thursday's vote was the last word on the issue.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said the legislation is a welcome interim step. "It provides us the opportunity to isolate some of these judicial rewrites of marriage. Until we can get an amendment to the Constitution, this will keep it from spreading," Perkins said.
Addressing Democrats, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay summed up the arguments on both sides at the start of the debate. "You think this bill is cruel and we think same-sex marriage is a contradiction in terms," DeLay, R-Texas, said.
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The bill is H.R. 3313.
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I don't think it will make it through the Senate. But every one can see there is no consensus over the most consequential issues for the future of this country and that's a good thing.
LOL. The US Constitution expressly provides that congress may do this. I guess they didn't look too hard for that precedent.
These crazies are enemies of the world, leading a movement designed to destroy the Gem of the Ocean, smashing it into splinters like a discarded whiskey bottle laying in the gutter.
LEAVE MY GRANDCHILDREN ALONE!!!!!!!
Typical Democrat. They know nothing about the Constitution.
Article III
Section 2, Cl 2
2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before-mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
Section 1 Cl 1
The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish.
If only the Senate had the guts that the house does, this redefining of marriage by the courts would be a thing of the past.
About time.
I have updated my FMCDH sign-off with the addition of (BITS).....Blood In The Streets, which I foresee coming soon, due to the enormous increase of the communist progressive movement being shoved down the throat of this failing REPUBLIC through the Judicial tyranny of fiat law, and the passing of unconstitutional laws by the Legislative and Executive branches of our government.
FMCDH(BITS)
Bump!
It's time to put pressure on the Senate to support the House legislation limiting federal judicial authority for same-sex marriage.
Homosexual Agenda Ping - At least the House has some (ahem) spines! I love good news.
Now it's time for the Republican Senators to show their quality. Unfortunately, they don't all have the noble quality of Faramir (at least in the book).
Let me know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
It would make no more sense if this same reasoning was applied to applicants for polygamous marriages.
A once great media that gave us news from the front, in both theaters in WWII is now a propaganda machine for the socialist left. A once great American political party is now a socialist/communist conclave of American hating despots, dedicated to the overthrow of the Constitution and these great people. A once observant judiciary is now a tyrannical elite body that disregards it's sworn duty to interpret the law and instead legislates from the bench, totally ignoring the voice of the People's body. We've come to this?
The media propaganda says that we are a "divided country", I think not, but I always think that the glass is half full, I'm an optimist, and a conservative. If this divided country is to survive the we must unite, and the Democrat/leftists/communists/socialists aren't helping matters, their duty is to divide. They have no duty to this nation, just to their own control of power over the people of this land. It's time to take the lead and win the war, and take this country to a place that is founded in those precious words that live in the Constitution of these here United States. No more, no less. No penumbra of ideas...the words are very definite. We are a free Republic, and we MUST keep it.
All things good came from this wonderful nation. The world should be thankful for our greatness, and our benevolence, but they are not. Instead they want to rule us. It would never work in a million years. Reason: take freedom from us and we would be less that the poor Russian worker in the cold war. Our lives, from work to pleasure, from every task around the house to mowing the yard is from the pride that we were instilled with. Americans spend more time than most, not all, of the people in the world relaxing. But, we are the most productive people on this planet. We also have the best standard of living on the face of this planet.
Examine the history of this country and you will find a work ethic that cannot be rivaled, and a freedom that stands alone. Freedom works, we must make sure it is able to continue.
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