Cloture Vote Fails, Marriage Amendment Stalls in Senate
July 14, 2004

(AgapePress) - On a 50-48 vote, the U.S. Senate has failed to overcome a Democratic filibuster and force a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards, both on the campaign trail, were the two senators not present for the vote; neither had planned to attend the procedural vote.

The "cloture vote," as it is called, required 60 votes to bring debate to a close. Supporters of the FMA had conceded beforehand that they did not expect to garner enough votes to force the vote. Pro-family leader Gary Bauer had stated that regardless of the specifics of the motion, there would be only one way to interpret the results. Senators who support traditional marriage will vote for cloture, he said, while senators who support homosexual "marriage" will vote against cloture.

Conservative leaders are vowing to hold those senators who show support for same-sex marriage accountable in November's election.

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on a measure that would strip federal courts of jurisdiction over the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which passed Congress overwhelmingly and was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. It defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman under federal law and exempts states from being forced to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Some senators argue that DOMA precludes the need for a constitutional ban on homosexual marriage. But supporters of the Federal Marriage Amendment say federal courts could soon strike down the 1996 law.

Article three, Section two of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to remove issues from federal courts' jurisdiction. Unlike a constitutional amendment, such a bill would only need a majority of the House and Senate and the president's signature to take effect.

...more to come...