Some Who OPPOSE the FMA Constitutional Amendment

Quotes Opposing the FMA -- the So-Called Federal Marriage Amendment
http://www.hrc.org/voteno/quotes.htm

"The Constitutional Amendment we are debating today strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans. It usurps from the states a fundamental authority they have always possessed, and imposes a federal remedy for a problem that most states do not believe confronts them, and which they feel capable of resolving should it confront them, again according to local standards and customs."

~ Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), Senate floor statement, 7/14/04

"Like most Americans, and most Republicans, I think it's important to do all we can to defend and strengthen the institution of marriage. And I also believe it is critically important to defend the integrity of the Constitution. But a federal amendment to define marriage would do nothing to strengthen families - just the opposite. And it would unnecessarily undermine one of the core principles I have always believed the GOP stood for: federalism."

~ Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY), The Washington Post , 9/5/2003

"Amending the Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman would be unwise for two reasons. Constitutionalizing social policy is generally a misuse of fundamental law. And it would be especially imprudent to end state responsibility for marriage law at a moment when we require evidence of the sort that can be generated by allowing the states to be laboratories of social policy."

~ Syndicated conservative commentator George Will , The Washington Post,
11/30/2003

Leading Civil Rights Leaders Oppose the So-Called Federal Marriage Amendment

"In my view, constitutional amendments should not to be used to restrict or deny freedoms, but to protect and expand freedom. Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civic unions. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay-bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages. Instead of trivializing the constitution, we need some laws that give families the kind of help they really need, like job-training and child care assistance, stronger schools and health insurance coverage for every family."

~ Coretta Scott King, in a speech at Stockton College, March 23, 2004

"As an organization that has, since its inception, fought for and supported amendments to the Constitution to ensure and protect the most fundamental rights for all persons, the NAACP strongly opposes the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment and all other proposals that would use the Constitution to discriminate and restrict, rather than expand and protect the rights for any and all persons."

~ Hilary Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau, Testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, March 3, 2004