Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, has issued this statement on the Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Preserve Traditional Marriage:

Today’s hearing is merely the latest in what has become a series of hearings on amending the Constitution in one manner or another. It would seem that members of the majority are obsessed with rewriting the Constitution. This is the fourth constitutional amendment to which this Committee has devoted significant time for debate in the 108th Congress, and this is the third hearing this month to debate a constitutional amendment seeking to limit rather than expand the rights of the American people. This proposal is one of 61 constitutional amendments introduced so far this session. Sixty-one amendments to the Constitution introduced in this Congress alone, and more than 11,000 since the 1st Congress was convened. We can only imagine what the Constitution would look like if we had adopted amendments at the wholesale rate seemingly favored by many in the 108th Congress.

As we say often on TalkLeft, the Constitution is not a rough draft. Leave it alone.

The time for action is now. Contact your Senators and Congresspersons. Remind them that the United States Constitution they are sworn to uphold is sacred, and Congress should not be treating it like a "rough draft," to be edited at the whim of political might.