CHRISTOPHER J. DODD
Mr. David Toth
Dear Mr. Toth:
Thank you for
contacting me about amending the United States Constitution to prohibit
same-sex marriages. I appreciate hearing your views, and I apologize for the
delay in my response.
I am opposed to
amending the federal Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages. As you may be
aware, this issue has been a source of controversy in recent months,
particularly since the June 2003 United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence
v. Texas that struck down Texas' sodomy law because it violated the right
to privacy. There has been some speculation that the right to privacy upheld in
I believe that
regulations related to marriage should continue to remain the responsibility of
the states. That has been the accepted practice in our nation for more than two
centuries. I am also convinced that amending the Constitution should be
confined to those rare occasions where there is a great policy need. As you may
know, the federal Constitution has been amended seventeen times since the Bill of Rights were adopted in 1791. In most of these cases,
it was done to expand or protect an existing constitutional right, such as to
abolish slavery or enlarge the franchise. The Constitutions is the cornerstone
document of our nation, and as such was never intended by the Framers to be
amended easily or with matters best left to state legislatures.
Again, thank
you for contacting me on this important issue. Please feel free to correspond
with me on this issue or any other concern.
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER
J DODD
United States
Senator
CJD;kb