The US Senate voted down a constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage on Wednesday, dismissing arguments by social conservatives
that federal intervention is needed to preserve the traditional tie
between a man and woman.
The 49 to 48 Senate vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to
move ahead with formally considering the amendment backed by US
President George W. Bush and mostly Republican lawmakers, let alone
the 67 votes required by the Constitution to approve it.
Constitutional amendments must win approval from two-thirds of
each house of the US Congress and three-quarters of state
legislatures before taking effect.
The US House of Representatives is expected to take up the
marriage amendment in July, though Republican leaders do not expect
it to pass there either.
President Bush later said in a statement that the Senate vote
"marks the start of a new chapter in this important national
debate" and that it might take several attempts to build up enough
Congressional support to pass the amendment by the necessary
two-thirds majority.
"I am disappointed the Senate did not achieve the necessary
number of votes to move the amendment process forward," he
said.
Democratic critics of the proposed amendment said its Republican
authors advanced it to rally socially conservative voters even
though lawmakers knew it would be defeated. Opponents of the
amendment said that marriage should remain regulated by the states
and that the same-sex ban should not be added to the
Constitution.
Bush said on Monday that he supports a proposed amendment to the
country's Constitution against gay marriage, saying that the
amendment "would fully protect marriage from being redefined."
"Marriage is the most fundamental institution of civilization,
and it should not be redefined by activist judges," he said in a
speech at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
State judges have struck down several state gay-marriage bans
and court challenges are pending in nine states.
Since 2004, about 8,000 gay couples have married in
Massachusetts, the only state to fully recognize same-sex
marriages. Six other states and the District of Columbia offer
same-sex couples some legal protections.
(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2006)
