reason to hope...

[lagilman]

while browsing a week's worth of e-mail (oy) I came across this on one of my more politically active lists:


> On Wednesday, March 1, 2006, in Annapolis at a hearing on the proposed
> Constitutional Amendment to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor
> of law at AU, was requested to testify.
>
> At the end of his testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said: "Mr.
> Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What
> do
> you have to say about that?"
>
> Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed
> your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not
> place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
>
> The room erupted into applause.


Can anyone confirm if this actually happened? I'd love to send Professor Raskin a mash note...

Comments

[bentleywg.livejournal.com]

Snopes says True (http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/raskin.asp) ("Assuming the [Baltimore] Sun's account is accurate"), but notes that Bill Maher said something like it first.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It was reported as fact by many of the local papers, who presumably had reporters in the room.

[jennetj.livejournal.com]

Jamie Raskin is running for State Senator, so he has a website which posts the entire contents of his very excellent speech: http://www.raskin06.com/index.php

[debg.livejournal.com]

Yep. I had the link to the senator's website, and it seems true.

And I want to have his babies, damn it.

[merlinpole.livejournal.com]

At the end of his testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said: "Mr.
> Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What
> do
> you have to say about that?"
>
> Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed
> your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not
> place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
>
> The room erupted into applause

1. Everyday heroes--Professor Raskin, and the audience

2. The Bibles in my house (the one I got for my Bat Mitzvah long ago, and the one used in college for the required reading in the required Western Tradition freshman two semester class set) say nothing about defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Quite the contrary, prominent polygynists included Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel's father, King David, King Solomon, etc.