“[J]ust knowing that it takes real attention and caring and time and effort and work and knowing that it’s a commitment. And it’s respecting. I respect her talent and her brain and who she is as a person – and that kind of admiration and respect is a big factor in binding someone in a relationship. I know what a good heart she has, and how empathetic she is with all kinds of people and issues – she’s so brilliant on top of it that she can voice these things. And she’s as funny as she can possibly be. She makes me laugh.”

“Marriage reflects that form of love with which man and woman become one flesh, and realize an authentic communion of persons open to the transmission of life. Only the rock of total and irrevocable love between a man and a woman is capable of being the foundation for the building of a society which can become the home for all mankind. … Today, it has become urgent to avoid confusion between [marriage] and other types of unions which are based on a love that is weak.”

“Today’s markup of the constitutional amendment [banning same-sex] marriage, in a small room off the Senate floor with only a handful of people other than Senators and their staffs present, was an affront to the Constitution. …Constitutional amendments deserve the most careful and deliberate consideration of any matter that comes before the Senate. [S]uch a measure should be considered by the Judiciary Committee in the light of day, open to the press and the public, with cameras present so that the whole country can see what is done.”