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 Emotional Hearing Over Proposed Pa. Gay
Marriage Amendment
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: April 30, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) Opponents and
supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar same-sex
marriage and civil unions in Pennsylvania filled a committee room at the Capitol
in one of the session's most emotional hearings.
Both sides came to public hearings Tuesday
before the
Senate Appropriations Committee armed with their own statistics and
authorities.
The Rev. Riess Potterveld, president of Lancaster Theological
Seminary which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, told the committee
that gays and lesbians have historically been subjected to discrimination and
the proposed amendment would further that discrimination.
"Clearly, what is proposed in [this
amendment] is a step backward into language of denial, devaluing,
delegitimizing and in its simple wording, in my opinion, conceals a wellspring
of toxic and prejudicial feeling," Potterveld said.
"The text is not neutral but rather aggressive
in its language of invalidation. This would be a step back into what I will
call 'worst public practices'; because it is essentially about the restriction
of rights, the enforcement of inequality without any basis other than fear,
prejudice and hostility," he went on to say.
"To be honest, I cannot think of one good
thing that would come from passage of this amendment; my hope is that reason
will prevail and that the measure will be defeated," Potterveld told the
committee.
But the Rev. James Horn, a Baptist minister
from Philadelphia, testified that the amendment is needed to preserve
traditional marriage.
"I truly believe that unless we uphold
traditional marriage and encourage mothers and fathers to take on the
responsibility of rearing their children, things will only get worse, not just
for Philadelphia but for all of Pennsylvania," Horn said.
"This is not a government problem. This is
a moral problem. ... This is a time we should be strengthening marriage, not
redefining it."
Horn's testimony, and that of other social
conservatives prompted a testy response from Sen. Vince Fumo (D) who called
their arguments "ignorant".
"The majority of people in Germany did not accept Jews. Does that make
it right that they exterminated them?"
"If you allow
the tyranny of the majority to prevail, then no one is safe," said Fumo.
Pennsylvania already has a law limiting marriage
to opposite-sex couples but supporters of the proposed amendment say the law
isn't strong enough.
The committee is expected to vote on the measure
next week.
Last month the proposed amendment was approved on
a 10-4 vote. It still needs approval in the full Senate and in the House.
It would then need to be approved again by both houses in the next session of
the legislature before being put to voters.
The earliest it could be put on the ballot would
be 2009.
A recent poll found that although most
Pennsylvanians oppose same-sex marriage there was widespread support civil
unions.
The poll, conducted by Susquehanna Polling and
Research, found 65 percent of those questioned support civil unions while only
27 percent were opposed. (story)
©365Gay.com 2008
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