A subcommittee of the South Carolina
Senate last week approved a resolution calling for an amendment to
the U.S. Constitution limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
According to The
Post and Courier, the measure now heads to the full Senate
Judiciary Committee.
Thirty-four states are needed to call
for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution. Amendments must be
ratified by 38 states to take effect.
Republican Senator Larry Grooms, the
bill's sponsor, said the amendment was needed to ensure the survival
of the human race.
“It has to do with the propagation of
the our species,” Grooms said. “It is what is in the best
interest of our species. Now we're told through a federal judge that
now we have to change that. It throws out of kilter all of our laws
that have been based on the foundation of a man and a woman [being
married].”
Democrats on the subcommittee voted
against the measure.
Gay couples began marrying in South
Carolina late last year.