Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a vociferous
opponent of gay marriage, on Tuesday declared, “There's a third
person in your marriage,” a reference to God.
Huelskamp rose to speak out in support
of National Marriage Week, which aims to “strengthen individual
marriages, reduce the divorce rate and build a stronger marriage
culture.”
After the Supreme Court struck down the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June, Huelskamp reacted by
introducing legislation that seeks to define marriage as a
heterosexual union in the U.S. Constitution.
“But as we debate the definition of
marriage, where we have a court that on one hand in June says we're
going to let the states decide kinda unless you're in California and
then on the other hand there's a federal definition or state
definition,” Huelskamp said from the House floor. “At the end of
the day, it's all about how important marriage is.”
Huelskamp stated that the Kansas GOP
opposed marriage equality in 1856 by claiming that its opposition to
barbarism was a reference to “irregular marriage.”
“In 1856, the Republican Party had a
number of things in their platform. … They also wanted to face
other numerous things including the twin evils of slavery and
barbarism. They were talking about the issues of irregular marriage.
And the issues of traditional marriage and how important it was and
still is to society.”
He concluded with: “Marriage can be
tough. It really is. But God is calling you to do everything you
can. It's just not you and your spouse. There's a third person in
your marriage. And God would like to bless and protect that
marriage, and give you many fruitful days ahead.”
(Watch
Huelskamp's remarks.)