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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (35525)	7/14/2004 10:37:19 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

Bush fails to ban gay marriages Washington, July 14 (Reuters): President George W. Bush today failed in his attempt to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage when a divided US Senate blocked the measure, virtually killing it for at least this election year. On a vote of 48-to-50, proponents fell 12 short of the needed 60 in the 100-member Senate to clear a Democratic procedural hurdle. Sixty-seven votes would be needed for passage of a constitutional amendment. Democrats accused Republicans of pushing the measure merely to rally their conservative base for the November presidential and congressional elections. “We all know what this issue is about,” declared Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. “It’s not about how to protect the sanctity of marriage. It’s about politics — an attempt to drive a wedge between one group of citizens and the rest of the country, solely for partisan advantage.” Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said: “Nobody wants to discriminate against gays ... Gays have a right to live the way they want. But they should not have the right to change the definition of traditional marriage. That is where we draw the line.” Polls show most Americans oppose same-sex marriage, but are split on whether a constitutional ban is needed. <font color=red>Surveys also find voters believe many other issues are more important this election year — such as health care and national security. <font color=black>Bush in February called on the US Congress to approve an amendment after Massachusetts’ highest court ruled gay couples had a right to wed and San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This helped trigger a crush of lawsuits, some challenging the right of one state to refuse to recognise a same-sex marriage licensed in another. Even in defeat, Senate Republicans obtained at least two goals: They got a four-day Senate debate on what they denounced as “activist judges” defying the will of the public by permitting same sex-marriage and put senators on the record.