"We hear so much from the other side about tolerance. Where's their tolerance for idiocy?"
-- Luke
----- Original Message ----- From: "B." <docile_body at yahoo.com> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 1:27 AM Subject: [lbo-talk] Orrin Hatch backs nominee who backs St Paul
> http://166.70.44.66/2004/Jul/07072004/utah/181590.asp
>
> Hatch backs nominee who backs St. Paul
>
> By Christopher Smith
> The Salt Lake Tribune
>
> WASHINGTON -- Reading from the Bible on the floor
> of the Senate on Tuesday, Sen. Orrin Hatch endorsed a
> federal judicial nominee who wrote that wives should
> have a subordinate role in marriage, with the Utah
> Republican emphasizing "millions and millions of
> people will agree with" that view.
>
> In a preview of the religious rhetoric that will
> likely dominate next week's scheduled Senate debate
> over a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage,
> Hatch led the fight for confirming Arkansas lawyer J.
> Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern
> District of Arkansas.
>
> With Hatch's support and that of Sen. Bob Bennett,
> R-Utah, Holmes was confirmed 51-46 in the Senate on
> Tuesday evening, even though many members of the
> Senate predicted his nomination would be rejected.
>
> Holmes' writing on abortion, marriage, slavery and
> other theological issues generated opposition from not
> only many Democrats but also some Republicans.
>
> Fueling much of the debate is a 1997 article
> Holmes and his wife, Susan, wrote for Arkansas
> Catholic magazine titled, "Gender Neutral Language,
> Destroying an Essential Element of Our Faith." The
> couple wrote that under Catholic teaching, "the woman
> is to place herself under the authority of the man" in
> marriage and "is to subordinate herself to the
> husband."
>
> Senate Democrats who are also members of the Roman
> Catholic faith, such as Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois,
> have said the positions taken by Holmes "reflect a
> narrow view of the Catholic theology and do not embody
> contemporary standards that should be followed by any
> federal judge in any state."
>
> Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., lashed out at
> Durbin's criticism during floor debate.
>
> "We hear so much from the other side about
> tolerance," said Santorum. "Where is the tolerance for
> people who want to believe what has been taught for
> 2,000 years?"
>
> After reading aloud from Chapter 5 of the Book of
> Ephesians, Hatch said "it gets pretty bad around here"
> when lawmakers condemn Holmes for quoting the
> teachings of St. Paul the Apostle.
>
> "I don't think anybody can read this without
> understanding husbands have tremendous obligations in
> order to gain the respect of their wives," said Hatch.
> "You might disagree with St. Paul but there are
> hundreds of millions of people who agree with St.
> Paul."
>
> Hatch also discounted criticism over a 1980 letter
> Holmes wrote to a newspaper arguing that rape victims
> should not be allowed to have abortions because
> "conceptions from rape occur with approximately the
> same frequency as snowfall in Miami." Holmes has since
> apologized for the comment.
>
> "I find his statement to be insensitive and
> appalling," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, a
> former criminal prosecutor who cited studies showing
> an estimated 25,000 pregnancies occur each year due to
> rape. "Speak to the family of a 13-year-old girl who
> is pregnant by being raped by her family's best
> friend, the next-door neighbor."
>
> Said Hatch: "I believe all of us have made
> statements in the past for which we wished we could
> apologize."
>
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