California lawmakers urge Congress to reject marriage ban

The California senate voted Wednesday to urge Congress to reject the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. By a 21-13 vote, the senators approved a resolution by openly gay assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) that urges Congress to reject any legislation that would "prohibit or restrict" the rights of same-sex couples. Last month the U.S. Senate scuttled the proposed amendment, but supporters said they wouldn't give up. A little over a week later, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would bar federal judges from ordering states to recognize same-sex marriages that took place in other states. California state senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) said approval of an amendment banning gay marriages would go against a tradition of changing the Constitution to "further protect the rights, liberty, and freedom of the American people." The resolution returns to the state assembly, which adopted a slightly different version of the measure in June.