Danforth on Gay Marriage

Former Sen. John Danforth says a conservative push to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment is silly, calling it the latest example of how the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the GOP.

You remember Danforth. He was the Episcopal Priest at Reagan's funeral. He is sort of the moderate version of Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

The Senate is scheduled to vote in June on a constitutional amendment that its supporters hope will head off any decision in the federal courts that could legalize gay marriage. The measure would need to be approved by two-thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

But Danforth said he is opposed. "The basic concept of the Republican Party is to interpret the Constitution narrowly, not expansively, so that legislatures, and especially state legislatures, can work out over a period of time the social issues in our country," he said.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/4/30/191928.shtml?s=ic

What? No John, the idea here is not to take the decision away from state legislatures, but rather to take the decision away from unelected federal judges.