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Graham: Keeping Marriage Amendment In Party Platform Will Hurt GOP In 2016

Lindsey Graham conceded the obvious, but not his party's willingness to continue using gay marriage as a wedge issue for years to come.

Sen. Lindsey Graham told Meet the Press host Chuck Todd that the Republican party needs to finally hang it up when it comes to keeping a proposal for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in their party platform, but that he made it clear they're not going to let it go as a wedge issue any time soon.

As long as they can keep the religious right whipped into a frenzy over whether their "liberties" are being violated by not being free to discriminate against a group of people they don't like, they're going to keep going after those votes.

Here's how Graham responded when asked about Ted Cruz hyperventilating over the weekend, saying he wants to add same-sex marriage bans, Supreme Court elections to Constitution.

GRAHAM: I don't believe there is any chance for a Constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman to get two thirds votes in the House and the Senate and be ratified by three fourths of the states.

TODD: Get it out of the platform?

GRAHAM: In my view, you can put it in the platform, but it will in my view hurt us in 2016 because it's a process that's not going to bear fruit. What I want to do is protect the religious liberties of those who believe that opposing same-sex marriage is part of their faith, so no, I would not engage in the Constitutional amendment process as a party going into 2016. Accept the court's ruling. Fight for the religious liberty of every American.

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