Representative Huelskamp said, “This [amendment] would trump the Supreme Court.”
Late Friday, Republican Representative Tim Huelskamp introduced a bill that would amend the US Constitution to ban gay marriage. The bill, which is being cosponsored by 28 other Republicans, has no chance of becoming law, but as the Huffington Post points out, it gives those lawmakers who are “strongly opposed to same-sex marriage” the opportunity to make their stance clear.
The bill is only two sentences long, and says:
Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.
The cosponsors include:
Republican Reps. Joe Barton (Texas), Jim Bridenstine (Okla.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Paul Broun (Ga.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), John Fleming (La.), Trent Franks (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Ralph Hall (Texas), Andy Harris (Md.), Randy Hultgren (Ill.), Sam Johnson (Texas), Walter Jones (N.C.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), James Lankford (Okla.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Randy Neugebauer (Texas), Steven Palazzo (Miss.), Stevan Pearce (N.M.), Robert Pittenger (N.C.), Joe Pitts (Pa.), David Schweikert (Ariz.), Bill Shuster (Pa.), Chris Smith (N.J.), Steve Stockman (Texas), Tim Walberg (Mich.), Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) and Frank Wolf (Va.)
It is not yet clear if House Republican leaders will be supporting the bill, especially considering the decision by the Supreme Court last week to strike down DOMA. A similar bill in 2006, the Federal Marriage Amendment, was cosponsored by House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, but neither of their offices returned a request for comment. The 2006 Federal Marriage Amendment is the last time Congress has voted on a proposal such as this.
Although recent polls have shown that the majority of Americans support marriage equality, Huelskamp told The Huffington Post last week that he is pushing this bill in spite of the polls information because “majority opinions aren’t always the best measure for legislating.”
$50- says we hear about Huelskamp in some kind of row involving a men’s room and or a male massage therapist within the next 2 years.