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Cornyn: Defense of Marriage is National Issue

Date: Feb. 24, 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Marriage

CORNYN: DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE IS NATIONAL ISSUE

We must let the people decide on marriage, not judicial activists, Cornyn says

WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution, made the following statement Tuesday in response to President Bush's announcement on marriage:

"Judicial activism has made the defense of marriage a national issue that can only be addressed at the national level. Defense of marriage is no longer an abstract issue, no longer an issue that can be addressed merely with campaign platitudes. The right of the people, not the courts, to decide what is best for families, must be addressed and defended.

"In September I held a hearing to examine whether the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act is in peril. Now we've seen that marriage is indeed in peril and we must let the voters decide its future, not judicial activists.

"For that reason, I'm holding a hearing next week to discuss the national effect of the recent decision by the Massachusetts court and the judicial invalidation of traditional marriage laws.

"I applaud President Bush's leadership in defending both the dignity of all Americans and the sanctity of marriage. Marriage between a man and a woman must be protected for the sake of families and children and the good of our society."

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