Gay Marriage Ban Defeated in Senate - GoFuckYourself.com

NTSS · 06-07-2006, 07:47 AM

Heres the Story

Washington -- The Senate dealt a crushing defeat to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage Wednesday, failing to muster even a simple majority on a procedural move to bring the measure to a vote.

The size of the loss, a 48-50 vote to end debate on the proposal, was humiliating to its backers -- including President Bush, who threw his support behind the amendment in February, after San Francisco began issuing same-sex marriage licenses and the Massachusetts high court ordered that state to begin marrying lesbians and gays starting this spring. Just Saturday, Bush devoted his radio address to urging Senate approval.

Gay activists relished what they called a historic turning point.

"This is the biggest win in the history of the lesbian and gay civil rights movement," said Christopher Anders, lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This means the tide has turned on anti-gay legislation in Congress."

But amendment backers said their loss would only fire up the conservative grass roots, arguing that the debate had brought the threat to traditional marriage to the attention of the public.

"The battle has just begun," said amendment sponsor Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pledged to push through a bill as early as next week to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act -- which allows states not to recognize same-sex marriages sanctioned elsewhere -- and to bring up a constitutional ban in the House by fall.

"The opposition is fighting on all fronts," DeLay said. "We need to fight on all fronts."

Bush quickly signaled his approval of the idea, saying he was deeply disappointed the amendment was "temporarily blocked in the Senate" and urged House action.

Same-sex marriage had been billed for months as a cultural hot button -- opposed by the vast majority of Americans and viewed by political operatives on both sides as a potential wedge that would split off Catholic, African American, Latino and other potential Democratic voters.

The Senate showdown, proponents said, would force every senator -- including the Democratic ticket of John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina who will face Bush in November -- to declare his or her support for preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

But the amendment fizzled in the Senate under a divided Republican Party concerned, as Arizona Sen. John McCain put it, that to strip states of their traditional jurisdiction over marriage "strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans."

Indeed, the amendment appalled the libertarian wing of the GOP, and many prominent conservatives denounced it. Dozens of House Republicans, particularly from California, as well as many senators, are loath to increase federal power over the states, and many said they fear the amendment's wording would simply fuel more court battles while tarring them as intolerant.

Their arguments provided ample cover for Democrats who trooped to the Senate floor during three days of debate to denounce the amendment as a violation of states' rights while hastening to add that they oppose same-sex marriage.

"I think it's quite clear that (Senate Majority Leader Bill) Frist and the administration miscalculated," said Nathaniel Persily, a professor of law and political science at the University of Pennsylvania. "They thought they would get a majority" at least, for the constitutional ban, even though amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority of the House and Senate and approval by three-quarters of the states.

The religious conservatives who urged the White House on -- threatening to stay home in November if Bush did not endorse the amendment -- threw everything they had into the fight.

Groups such as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and the Marriage Amendment Project reached more than 1 million churchgoers in a broadcast appeal to the pews on Sunday, sent 2.5 million petitions to the Senate, and swamped the offices of undecided senators with e-mails and telephone calls.

But by Monday, Frist, R-Tenn., and GOP whip Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., found themselves facing a humiliating loss as roughly a dozen Republicans threatened to break ranks and send the amendment to an even worse defeat -- possibly with as few as 42 votes -- on an up-or-down vote.

They settled instead for the procedural vote -- a motion to end debate on the measure -- hoping to get at least a simple majority to declare a moral victory.

Six Republican senators -- McCain, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and John Sununu of New Hampshire -- voted against the procedural motion. Half a dozen more, including Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, Indiana's Richard Lugar and New Hampshire's Judd Gregg, were considered "no" votes had the amendment itself been at issue.

Kerry and Edwards both skipped Wednesday's vote though Edwards was in Washington. They said they would have voted against the amendment had it come to the floor.

Anti-amendment lobbyists said two of the three Democratic senators who voted to end debate -- Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Zell Miller of Georgia -- might have switched to no on the actual amendment.

"It's big," said Cheryl Jacques, president of the gay activist group Human Rights Campaign, which ran a lobbying drive against the amendment. "The Republican Party and the president tried to divide the country, and it backfired."

But Kerry's and Edwards' avoidance of the vote indicates that same-sex marriage is hardly popular with voters and gives credence to contentions by amendment backers that the issue has plenty of life left in it.

They pointed out that almost every member of the Senate -- including California Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein -- opposes same-sex marriage, as do most Americans.

"This will be a wakeup call to grassroots America," said Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. "The fact that Sen. McCain went down there just like the gladiator and did a thumbs-down -- he didn't just say no, he did a thumbs-down -- people are going to be outraged over that."

Lafferty said the average person is busy and has not yet gotten the message about how the decision by the Massachusetts court to sanction same-sex marriage affects them.

"This will be a very good tool to continue to educate people," she said. "... This is not the end by any means."

Lafferty said members such as Sununu who voted "no" are scared to death of gay activists.

"There is a spirit of intimidation regarding the homosexual issue by a small percentage of the population who want to change marriage for the whole nation," Lafferty said, adding that African American church leaders are joining the fight.

"The African American community is not going to tolerate this as well," Lafferty said.

Persily said the issue still works politically for Republicans, because about 40 percent of the public is "die-hard against gay marriage, no matter how you phrase the question. These people don't think homosexual relations should be legal, whether it's gay marriage or civil unions, and those people say they will not vote for someone who has a different opinion on gay marriage. This amendment was for those people, to get them out to the polls."

Tom_PM · 06-07-2006, 07:49 AM

hmm.. old story, has tom delay in it, lol.

G-Rotica · 06-07-2006, 07:55 AM

that story is from 2004, wtf.

Tdog · 06-07-2006, 07:57 AM

What happened to the killing in Iraq? Is that on page 3 now?

NTSS · 06-07-2006, 07:59 AM

Oops wrong story...sorry

Here Ya go

NTSS · 06-07-2006, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tdog

What happened to the killing in Iraq? Is that on page 3 now?

What?????

Tom_PM · 06-07-2006, 08:03 AM

Thats pretty funny, one senator says we're growing votes, but it was defeated by the same margin.
Another funny thing is that more people approve of gay marriage than approve of Bush... interesting, lol.

E$_manager · 06-07-2006, 08:27 AM

the story is so long. It contains a lot of info or just bla bla.
Could anyone retell it to me in one word?!

E$_manager · 06-07-2006, 08:29 AM

What about the gays - they are not going to be married?

06-07-2006, 07:47 AM	#1
NTSS Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Da Hood Posts: 5,688	Gay Marriage Ban Defeated in Senate Heres the Story Washington -- The Senate dealt a crushing defeat to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage Wednesday, failing to muster even a simple majority on a procedural move to bring the measure to a vote. The size of the loss, a 48-50 vote to end debate on the proposal, was humiliating to its backers -- including President Bush, who threw his support behind the amendment in February, after San Francisco began issuing same-sex marriage licenses and the Massachusetts high court ordered that state to begin marrying lesbians and gays starting this spring. Just Saturday, Bush devoted his radio address to urging Senate approval. Gay activists relished what they called a historic turning point. "This is the biggest win in the history of the lesbian and gay civil rights movement," said Christopher Anders, lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This means the tide has turned on anti-gay legislation in Congress." But amendment backers said their loss would only fire up the conservative grass roots, arguing that the debate had brought the threat to traditional marriage to the attention of the public. "The battle has just begun," said amendment sponsor Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pledged to push through a bill as early as next week to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act -- which allows states not to recognize same-sex marriages sanctioned elsewhere -- and to bring up a constitutional ban in the House by fall. "The opposition is fighting on all fronts," DeLay said. "We need to fight on all fronts." Bush quickly signaled his approval of the idea, saying he was deeply disappointed the amendment was "temporarily blocked in the Senate" and urged House action. Same-sex marriage had been billed for months as a cultural hot button -- opposed by the vast majority of Americans and viewed by political operatives on both sides as a potential wedge that would split off Catholic, African American, Latino and other potential Democratic voters. The Senate showdown, proponents said, would force every senator -- including the Democratic ticket of John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina who will face Bush in November -- to declare his or her support for preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman. But the amendment fizzled in the Senate under a divided Republican Party concerned, as Arizona Sen. John McCain put it, that to strip states of their traditional jurisdiction over marriage "strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans." Indeed, the amendment appalled the libertarian wing of the GOP, and many prominent conservatives denounced it. Dozens of House Republicans, particularly from California, as well as many senators, are loath to increase federal power over the states, and many said they fear the amendment's wording would simply fuel more court battles while tarring them as intolerant. Their arguments provided ample cover for Democrats who trooped to the Senate floor during three days of debate to denounce the amendment as a violation of states' rights while hastening to add that they oppose same-sex marriage. "I think it's quite clear that (Senate Majority Leader Bill) Frist and the administration miscalculated," said Nathaniel Persily, a professor of law and political science at the University of Pennsylvania. "They thought they would get a majority" at least, for the constitutional ban, even though amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority of the House and Senate and approval by three-quarters of the states. The religious conservatives who urged the White House on -- threatening to stay home in November if Bush did not endorse the amendment -- threw everything they had into the fight. Groups such as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and the Marriage Amendment Project reached more than 1 million churchgoers in a broadcast appeal to the pews on Sunday, sent 2.5 million petitions to the Senate, and swamped the offices of undecided senators with e-mails and telephone calls. But by Monday, Frist, R-Tenn., and GOP whip Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., found themselves facing a humiliating loss as roughly a dozen Republicans threatened to break ranks and send the amendment to an even worse defeat -- possibly with as few as 42 votes -- on an up-or-down vote. They settled instead for the procedural vote -- a motion to end debate on the measure -- hoping to get at least a simple majority to declare a moral victory. Six Republican senators -- McCain, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and John Sununu of New Hampshire -- voted against the procedural motion. Half a dozen more, including Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, Indiana's Richard Lugar and New Hampshire's Judd Gregg, were considered "no" votes had the amendment itself been at issue. Kerry and Edwards both skipped Wednesday's vote though Edwards was in Washington. They said they would have voted against the amendment had it come to the floor. Anti-amendment lobbyists said two of the three Democratic senators who voted to end debate -- Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Zell Miller of Georgia -- might have switched to no on the actual amendment. "It's big," said Cheryl Jacques, president of the gay activist group Human Rights Campaign, which ran a lobbying drive against the amendment. "The Republican Party and the president tried to divide the country, and it backfired." But Kerry's and Edwards' avoidance of the vote indicates that same-sex marriage is hardly popular with voters and gives credence to contentions by amendment backers that the issue has plenty of life left in it. They pointed out that almost every member of the Senate -- including California Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein -- opposes same-sex marriage, as do most Americans. "This will be a wakeup call to grassroots America," said Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. "The fact that Sen. McCain went down there just like the gladiator and did a thumbs-down -- he didn't just say no, he did a thumbs-down -- people are going to be outraged over that." Lafferty said the average person is busy and has not yet gotten the message about how the decision by the Massachusetts court to sanction same-sex marriage affects them. "This will be a very good tool to continue to educate people," she said. "... This is not the end by any means." Lafferty said members such as Sununu who voted "no" are scared to death of gay activists. "There is a spirit of intimidation regarding the homosexual issue by a small percentage of the population who want to change marriage for the whole nation," Lafferty said, adding that African American church leaders are joining the fight. "The African American community is not going to tolerate this as well," Lafferty said. Persily said the issue still works politically for Republicans, because about 40 percent of the public is "die-hard against gay marriage, no matter how you phrase the question. These people don't think homosexual relations should be legal, whether it's gay marriage or civil unions, and those people say they will not vote for someone who has a different opinion on gay marriage. This amendment was for those people, to get them out to the polls." __________________ ICQ: 150-803-430 Email: marketing7(at)cox(dot)net

06-07-2006, 07:49 AM	#2
Tom_PM Porn Meister Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,443	hmm.. old story, has tom delay in it, lol. __________________ 43-922-863 Shut up and play your guitar.

06-07-2006, 07:55 AM	#3
G-Rotica Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 4,258	that story is from 2004, wtf. __________________

06-07-2006, 07:59 AM	#5
NTSS Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Da Hood Posts: 5,688	Oops wrong story...sorry Here Ya go __________________ ICQ: 150-803-430 Email: marketing7(at)cox(dot)net

06-07-2006, 08:03 AM	#7
Tom_PM Porn Meister Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 16,443	Thats pretty funny, one senator says we're growing votes, but it was defeated by the same margin. Another funny thing is that more people approve of gay marriage than approve of Bush... interesting, lol. __________________ 43-922-863 Shut up and play your guitar.

06-07-2006, 07:57 AM	#4
Tdog Confirmed User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,707	What happened to the killing in Iraq? Is that on page 3 now?

06-07-2006, 08:27 AM	#8
E$_manager Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: pink adult dreams Posts: 13,557	the story is so long. It contains a lot of info or just bla bla. Could anyone retell it to me in one word?! __________________ Enjoy more sales with EnjoyBucks! Homemade: Asian : Ebony : GFs : Voyeur : Nudist : Public : 3D

06-07-2006, 08:29 AM	#9
E$_manager Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: pink adult dreams Posts: 13,557	What about the gays - they are not going to be married? __________________ Enjoy more sales with EnjoyBucks! Homemade: Asian : Ebony : GFs : Voyeur : Nudist : Public : 3D