[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7] [House] [Page 9351] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]MARRIAGE The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, earlier today the California Supreme Court threw aside the voice and the express will of millions of California voters by overturning California's State law that banned same-sex marriage. Effectively this ruling allows same-sex couples in our Nation's most populous State the right to marry and affords them all the privileges that go along with this sacred union. And I say that rulings like this are one of the reasons why the institution of marriage is crumbling before our very eyes. And I, for one, am very sad to see this happen. The main issue is whether the status of marriage will be determined by judges or by the American people. I'm extremely concerned about how activists use the courts to legislate on something that has been settled in American law for more than 200 years. Furthermore, the people of California made it abundantly clear back in 2000 that they reject same-sex marriage. Then comes along four judges who apparently believe that they're wiser than over 4\1/2\ million voters in their State. Proposition 22 got over 61 percent of the vote; yet it was dismissed by four lone dictators. I condemn this ruling in the strongest possible way. I condemn it because the court is legislating from the bench. I condemn it because it is a reprehensible action that is not consistent with history or with common sense. This lunacy is precisely the reason why a Federal constitutional amendment is needed to protect traditional marriage. This decision will undoubtedly become the platform for spreading this unfounded ruling across the Nation. On the Federal stage, there's a constitutional remedy for Federal judges that are involved in this type of activist behavior and legislating from the bench. Every single Federal judge takes an oath to uphold the Constitution. When they fail to do so and let their own whims and ideological positions interfere with applying the Constitution, not interpreting but applying, these judges have failed to fulfill their term of good behavior, and they should be fired by impeachment. Likewise Californians that are outraged, like I am, should be up in arms and should take action to initiate a referendum to pass a State constitutional amendment to enforce their will and overturn these judges' despicable opinions, and these judges deserve to be censured or sent home for bad behavior. ____________________