When my partner and I first met, in Madison, Wisconsin, she drove an elderly Honda Civic sporting a bumper sticker for Russ Feingold’s first U. S. Senate campaign. The sticker covered a rather large rust hole, but I figured she would have used non-partisan duct tape if she didn’t also want to make a political statement.
Turns out she was showing good taste. (Not that I ever doubted it, honey.) Feingold, now in his third term, and a rumored presidential candidate, made an emphatic speech yesterday against the Federal Marriage Amendment. He said, in part:
Mr. President, this debate is not really about supporting marriage. We all agree that good and strong marriages should be supported and celebrated. I happen to believe that two adults who love each other and want to make a lifelong commitment to each other, with all of the responsibilities that that entails, should be able to do so, regardless of their sex.
He then discussed why marriage should be left to the states, not the federal constitution, and why the amendment is dangerously ambiguous about civil unions and domestic partnerships. He urged the Senate to stop spending time on “this unnecessary, mean-spirited, divisive and poorly thought out constitutional amendment” and get back to work on issues that will unite and strengthen the country. Worth a read (or a listen; video is also available).