write in a lot of ways. because of the way in which he s so fest idious with his opinions. and he s been an extraordinary mentor and role model. as you know he s on senior status and when he went on senior status, we re able to recommend the thompson to succeed him. of whom i think rhode islanders are equally proud and she has gone on senior status. and mr. chairman, i hope we ll be considering shortly an equally impressive biden nominee for her position. on an unrelated subject and weilates to yesterday s activities, you can relax a moment, your honor. this will not be a question for you. but a lot was said in the room about dark money by our republican friends are to the point where one of the headlines about yesterday read republicans hammer dark money
0 of marriage, correct? i am aware there are various religious faiths that define marriage in a traditional way. do you see that when the supreme court makes a dramatic pronouncement about the invalidity about state marriage laws, it will inevitably set in conflict between those who ascribe to the supreme court s edict and those who have a firmly held religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman? well, senator, these issues are being litigated, as you know, throughout the courts i as people raise issues and so, i m limited in what i can say about them. i m aware there are cases i m not asking you to decide a case or predict how you would decide in the future. i m asking isn t it apparent that when the supreme court decided something that is not even in the constitution is a fundamental right and no state can pass any law that conflicts with the supreme court s edict, particularly in an area where people have sincerely held religious believes, doesn t that effec