Not that it was expected to pass, but President Bush’s push to add an ammendent to the Constitution banning gay marriage isn’t expected to secure enough votes in the Senate and, like Janet Jackson’s repeated attempts at a comeback (hey, we love her too), the effort is doomed to fail.
As that hearing gets under way, debate on the marriage amendment will enter its second day on the Senate floor. All but one of the Senate Democrats – the exception is Ben Nelson of Nebraska – oppose the measure and, with moderate Republicans, are expected to block an up-or-down vote, killing the measure for the year.
Democrats say the amendment is a divisive bow to religious conservatives, and point out that it conflicts with the GOP’s opposition to big government interference.
Unless, of course, you point to the GOP’s position on “family”:
”Marriage between one man and one woman does a better job protecting children better than any other institution humankind has devised,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. ”As such, marriage as an institution should be protected, not redefined.”
Stoney
Bill Frist is a bumbling fucking idiot. I am so ashamed that he’s from Tennessee.
Kelly Halpine
If the conservatives want to protect marriage, part of the bill should be that divorce is outlawed. They can’t have it both ways! One man and one woman. After that you’re on your own and you don’t get the benefits that come with second and third marriages. Which would include a lot of the Senate.
anonymous
The Republicans could care less about whether or not gay people get hitched. They just want to keep making enough noise to drown out the sound of the jackboots.
kizmet
This is all smoke and mirrors. Get the fundies worked up over gay marriage, get everyone talking, and maybe we won’t notice Big Brother slowly (or not so slowly) taking over.
piper
Well, the right might back off if the left went after divorce similarly. If children need a man and a woman together to raise them, then no divorces should be allowed in marriages with children. Conservatives are so stupid.
Steven Yanis
So what if the bill gets murdered in the Senate? The important thing is that gay couples are in love with each other, and therefore don’t need the supposed validation a “marriage” gives. Just look at how successful heterosexual marriages in the United States are.
Reality check
The reason hetero marriages are failing at such an alarming rate is because by and by the institution of marriage is becoming a novelty in the minds of many and is not respected as it should be. It is now “fashionable” for women to disrespect the institution, thinking that this makes them “equal” to men. It is also now okay to make a promise, in the eyes of God, to love, cherish, and devote oneself to another and be able to “take it back” when the going gets rough. It has little to do with the orientation of its members but rather the fact that American society is so lazy and doesn’t believe in having standards on behaviour anymore because it might ‘offend’ some people. Just because people WANT to do things doesn’t necessarily mean they SHOULD.
I am a woman married to a man and my marriage is great because we are willing to sacrifice for eachother. Being gay doesn’t mean it will be any easier or more successful. And, given the current stigma and culture, it is going to be harder. REALITY CHECK. So if indeed gay marriage does become possible, you still have a great deal to overcome and bringing children into it at this time is selfish. Raising children today is hard enough without making them part of an agenda, and whether you intend to do so or not they will become just that.