Kansas Representative Tim Huelskamp on
Wednesday said that he would respond to the Supreme Court's ruling
striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) with a
constitutional amendment.
“If the courts don't understand their
limited role here, then we need a federal marriage amendment to
protect traditional marriage,” Huelskamp told the Christian
Broadcasting News. “Not just for marriage and the couples but for
our children.”
“I will introduce the federal
marriage amendment perhaps later this week and call upon all my
fellow Republicans, who just a few years ago said they were for
marriage or voted for marriage or supported those efforts in their
state legislatures, for them to step up and say, 'Marriage is so
important we need a marriage amendment now.'”
Passage of a federal marriage
amendment, first introduced in Congress in 2002, would define
marriage as a heterosexual union for the entire nation, thereby
prohibiting federal and state governments from recognizing the unions
of gay couples.
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution
requires a two-thirds majority in each house of Congress and
ratification by three-fourths of the states.