News
2005-11-11
Kansas senator
leads push for federal marriage amendment
A conservative
push to ban same-sex marriage through a constitutional
amendment gained renewed momentum Wednesday after a Senate
A conservative
push to ban same-sex marriage through a constitutional
amendment gained renewed momentum Wednesday after a Senate
panel led by Kansas Republican Sam Brownback narrowly
approved the measure.
The Marriage Protection Amendment would define
marriage as a union between a man and a woman,
effectively rescinding the Massachusetts law that made
same-sex marriage legal last year. "None of us takes
amending the Constitution lightly," said Brownback, the
chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the
Constitution. "The plain fact is, this amendment has
been exhaustively studied and it really is time to act."
While a similar effort led by President Bush
failed in both chambers of Congress last year,
conservative lawmakers are pushing for another vote to
head off any decision in the federal courts that could
legalize same-sex marriage.
In a 5–4 vote along party lines, Sen.
Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Rebublican, cast the
deciding vote allowing the amendment to pass to the
full Judiciary Committee and a likely vote in the Senate
next year. Specter said he opposes the amendment but
feels it shouldn't "be bottled up" in committee.
The measure would need to be approved by two
thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and
then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
Using an argument often made by Republicans,
Democrats on the panel said the amendment would
trample decisions that should be left to the states.
Nineteen states have already passed a constitutional ban on
same-sex marriage, with Texas voters being the latest
to take that step on Tuesday.
Voters in five other states will consider
similar constitutional amendments next year. "No one
can say in good faith that states are not wrestling
with the issue in exactly the way domestic-relations laws
have been historically addressed in this country," said Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy.
Sen. Russ Feingold, the ranking Democrat on the
panel, called the measure "an extreme and unnecessary
reaction" that has little chance of passing.
California senator Dianne Feinstein accused those pushing
the amendment of harboring a political agenda.
Brownback, who is weighing a presidential bid,
denied any political motives. (AP)
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