Senator says Defense of Marriage Act handles gay marriage issue

An Associated Press poll indicates more than half of Americans oppose the idea of gay marriages, and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says it’s no shocker. The Republican says “Considering the six-thousand year history of our culture where marriage has been the foundation of our society, I’m not surprised at all.” Grassley says Congress has already spoken on the issue.Grassley says “It was ten years ago that I voted for, along with a vote of about 84-to-12, for the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage in the traditional way.” The act also said any state could enact its own laws on gay marriage, but the laws would not be binding in any other states.In the A-P poll, fifty-two percent of respondants said they favor a law banning same-sex unions, while forty-nine percent said they would be “less likely” to vote for a presidential candidate who supported the idea. Grassley says he is -not- a supporter of same-sex weddings. Grassley says “I believe it’s pretty obvious the importance of the traditional family to our society as a foundation, and I happen to believe that marriage involves two people of different sexes.” The poll found opposition to civil unions has gone up to 53-percent, that’s an increase from 46-percent three years ago. A spokeswoman for Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the Democrat has voted that “marriage” is to be between a man and woman but he opposes amending the Constitution for that purpose. She says the legal aspect of marriage is left up to states, the sacrament is left up to churches and Harkin believes it should stay that way.