Utah Senator Orrin Hatch has endorsed
civil unions as a means to preserve marriage as a heterosexual
institution.
Hatch, a Republican, made his comments
during a wide-ranging radio interview on Logan station KVNU.
“I don't believe we should be
prejudiced against anybody,” Hatch
said. “But I do believe that we ought to maintain the 6,000
year marriage laws that we have, actually, at least 2,000 years, the
traditional marriage. And if you start overturning things like that
then, I got to tell you they'll be every Tom, Dick and Harry in there
with some crazy marital scheme demanding the same rights and the same
privileges.”
Hatch stated that he does not believe
sexual orientation is a choice.
“And who wants to be prejudiced
against people who I don't think chose to be gay. I certainly
don't.”
“On the other hand, I do think that
the … traditional marriage, that's where I draw the line.
Traditional marriage ought to be upheld.”
“And if [the Supreme Court doesn't]
uphold it, it opens a plethora of problems that the court will be
forever trying to decide.”
“I do think it's a state issue. I
think the states ought to be able to determine what happens. … This
could be solved greatly by civil union law that would give gay people
the same rights as married people. … I think we could solve this
problem without undermining the very basis of marital law in our
country.”