Specter will let
antigay marriage amendment out of committee

Pennsylvania Republican senator Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he would vote for the federal Marriage Protection Act when it is heard before a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday. While Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he opposes a ban on same-sex marriage, he agrees with conservative senators that the measure should be voted on before the full Senate. So he will support the bill in the subcommittee, bringing it one step closer to a vote before all 100 senators. The amendment would codify marriage as the union of one man and one woman, overriding Massachusetts's same-sex marriage law. Efforts to pass the legislation failed in both houses of Congress last year. To become law, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress and must be ratified by three quarters of the states. The Senate panel on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights, which will hold the vote, is made up of five Republicans and four Democrats. Many gay rights leaders were hoping the moderate Specter would oppose the measure and kill it for the year. But Specter said the bill's supporters, including Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, deserve their "day in court." Christopher Barron, political director of the gay political group Log Cabin Republicans, called the legislation "politics at its worst." But conservative Republicans have found a solid response from their base on this and other social issues, and while the measure is not likely to become law, keeping it alive could help the Republicans maintain their control of both houses of Congress a year from now. (Matthew Berger, Sirius OutQ News)