Marriage Protection Act of 2004

MARRIAGE PROTECTION ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - July 22, 2004)

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(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Marriage Protection Act. I commend the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Hostettler) for his principled leadership on this issue.

The Marriage Protection Act is a constitutional remedy to a looming constitutional crisis. Let me say, despite what we
have just heard on this blue and gold carpet, nothing in this bill shuts access by petitioners to any State court in the
land. What brings us here today is that activist judges in some States are poised to force a new definition of marriage on
States like Indiana, and the Marriage Protection Act will stop that strategy in its tracks.

Let me say clearly not on my watch will I stand idly by while the courts in Massachusetts redefine marriage in Indiana,
and despite what my colleagues have said on the other side of the aisle about high principle and constitutional ideals
and a history lesson, this is about marriage. The Bible says "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous
do?" And marriage is such a foundation in our society. Marriage was ordained by God, established in the law. It is the
glue of the American family and the safest harbor to raise children. We must preserve and defend this foundation in our
society, and we begin by defending the right of States like Indiana to define marriage as it has ever been defined and
will always be defined in the hearts of the overwhelming majority of the American people.

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