Representin’
Goodlatte addresses Iraq and gay marriage
By Ben Baynton, contributing writer
Posted on October 26, 2006

U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th district, said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, in a speech Monday night, sponsored by the College Republicans. Goodlatte added he supports contractual agreements between unmarried couples — regardless of their sexual orientation.

“[Marriage] is a religious ceremony,” he said.

However, senior Margaux Cornelison, a member of the College Democrats, was concerned about the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.

“The [marriage] amendment has a lot of consequences for people who aren’t married, especially since domestic violence laws don’t apply [to unmarried couples],” continued Cornelison.

 Goodlatte is a member of the House judiciary committee, through which a lot of legislation passes. He is also the chair of the House judiciary subcommittee on agriculture.

One of the first questions of the night was concerning the upcoming elections. “What’s going to happen in the upcoming election? I have no idea,” Goodlatte said.

While the majority of Goodlatte’s speech focused on agriculture and alternative energy sources, he made points about Iraq.

“It is far from clear that we will win,” Goodlatte said.

Goodlatte said that the current situation in Iraq needs to be re-evaluated.

“When things aren’t working as you want them to, you re-evaluate.”
He said the president has started the process of evaluation and possible change of the U.S. strategy in Iraq.
“It’s our hope that we can leave the Iraqis free, free of people like Saddam Hussein,” he said. Goodlatte gave no definitive answers about what he felt needed to be changed about the U.S. handling of Iraq.

One of the representative’s major points was that there are “dramatic” differences between the Democrats and the Republicans. He said that his possible successor in the Arigcultural Subcommittee would not continue the tax relief that Goodlatte said is important for a good economy, saying “we inherited a recession [but that] the economy is doing well.” He said the Democrats would increase taxes that would hurt the economy.
Another talking point of Goodlatte was illegal immigration.

“We should not give amnesty to those who are in the country illegally,” he continued. “I criticize the current administration and the previous administration for not enforcing our immigration laws.” Goodlatte was quick to point out that he empathizes with the immigrants, but believes they should come to America legally.

On abortion, Goodlatte said “I believe in abortion only in cases of rape or incest.” He he said believes the United States should not give funds to countries that would use American money to pay for abortions.

Having been a part of the committee that reviewed the Patriot Act, Goodlatte said there were a lot of good things in the Patriot Act and that “almost all of them are uncontroversial.” Goodlatte did admit that “there were abuses by law enforcement.” But as far as wire-tapping and reading e-mails, “The issue is where the president has the authority to look through people’s communications for keywords and then read those communications.” Goodlatte believes the president, or those acting at his behest, have that right. 

The response to Goodlatte’s remarks was extremely polarized.

“I think it’s ridiculous that this counted as a [wellness] passport event,” Cornelison said, who added the volunteer drive at the end of the speech was “ridiculous.”

“I was really, really impressed,” said senior Jarrett Ray, president of the College Republicans. “He didn’t glaze anything over.”

Ray praised Goodlatte, calling the representative “responsive” in coming to JMU.
“It was a very civil Q-and-A session,” he said. He appreciated that the opposition “didn’t try to make a statement.”

Ray responded to charges of Goodlatte’s evasiveness.

“The College Democrats refused to debate us. Their stated reason was they had no time,” Ray said.