Gay Marriage Amendment Fails

Gay Marriage Amendment Fails
by Paul Johnson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Washington Bureau Chief
Posted: September 30, 2004 5:24 pm ET
Updated: September 30, 2004 6:03 pm ET
Updated: September 30, 2004 6:46 pm ET

(Washington) The US House of Representatives failed Thursday to get enough votes to pass a proposed amendment to the Constitution to bar same-sex marriage.

227 members voted for the amendment, while 186 voted against it, falling short of the two-thirds needed for passage.

Members of Congress of both sides of the House made impassioned speeches.

In kicking off the debate the sponsor of the bill, Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) denounced what she called "activist judges" who were attempting to impose their views "against the will of the people".

Another GOP Congressman called Massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal "a rogue state".

Democrats denounced the amendment.

"Years from now people will look back on this debate with the same incredulity as we do today for the ban on interracial marriage" said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D- NY).

"If any member of this House feels that by letting gay and lesbian couples who love each other marry it would somehow endanger or threaten their own marriage would they please explain how that could be. Any takers," Nadler challenged GOP lawmakers.

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) said that contrary to what "opponents of same-sex marriage and unions say this hurts children in gay families."

Baldwin, the first out lesbian to sit in the House, said that thousands of children are being raised in same-sex households and these children would be disadvantaged.

"By bringing this issue to come to a vote now just five weeks before an election accomplishes only one thing -- it distracts the American people from the real issues facing them," Baldwin said.

Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said the amendment would tell states that their views don't count.

"Undeniably but silently this amendment says that no matter what any state decides it will be overruled," said Frank.

Frank asked incredulously, "You are defending yourselves against two loving people?"

"We feel love and we feel it in a way different than you. We feel it with someone of the same sex, male or female, and we look at your institution of marriage and we see the joy it brings. How do we hurt you when we share it?"

Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay admonished Democrats for equating the amendment to same-sex marriage.

"I want to remind everyone that this debate is not about gay marriage," DeLay declared. "It is about marriage. And, protecting that institution."

The mark was challenged by Frank. "Yeah, and it doesn't rain in Indianapolis," Frank said, quoting a famous song.

Most speakers did not use all of their time, a fact noted by one observer who noted the sound bites, especially by Republicans, are likely to wind up in TV campaign ads.

That the measure failed to get the required two-thirds vote came as little surprise. Earlier this week Tom DeLay acknowledged as much. (story)

But, Republicans pushed the issue anyway, arguing that it would force members of both parties to publicly state their position on the issue of gay marriage.

The defeat of the proposed amendment was hailed by LGBT civil rights groups.

"They're blasting the radio as they pass the gas station on an empty tank," said Cheryl Jacques, President of the Human Rights Campaign.

"The Republican leadership has continued to focus on this divisive measure while critical security needs are neglected. This is a pathetic attempt to distract voters from the issues that matter."

"This vote was engineered for short-term political gain by those who care little about the long-term harm they are causing to individuals and communities," said People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas.

"The White House and its political allies are all too willing to foment and exploit unfounded fears in hopes of distracting voters and energizing their political base. It is crass and destructive politics at its worst," Neas added.

"President Bush and the Republican leadership are looking down the barrel of the biggest defeat for anti-gay extremists ever," said Christopher E. Anders, an ACLU Legislative Counsel.

"They played fast and loose with the Constitution in a cheap election year ploy, and they lost. Discrimination has no place in the Constitution," said Anders.

"Republican Leaders have shamelessly admitted that they pushed this amendment so that they could create a wedge issue to benefit their candidates in this election," said Dave Noble, National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director. "The only institution that this amendment is designed to protect is the Republican Party.

Amending the Constitution is complex. A proposed amendment must pass the House and the Senate with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. It must then be ratified by three-quarters of the states.

The GOP sees same-sex marriage as a defining issue in November's election. It has electrified the party's conservative base, with political action groups mounting large campaigns to urge followers to call their congressmen and demand they vote for the ban.

But, it has also divided the party. Last month Vice President Dick Cheney, with his lesbian daughter in the audience, told a campaign rally in Davenport, Iowa that the issue should be left up to states. (states)

When the proposed amendment came up in the Senate it was defeated (story) partly due to disarray within the GOP.

President Bush supports the amendment. His opponent, Sen. John Kerry while opposing same-sex marriage, does not support a constitutional amendment. Kerry is on record supporting civil unions and legal protections for gay couples.

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