smart senators speaking

U.S. Senate committee passes same-sex marriage ban

The following are highlights from an article at Advocate.com.

A Senate panel today advanced a measure that would amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The measure passed 10–8 on a party-line vote. The same-sex-marriage ban is one of several hot-button social issues Republicans are raising to rally conservative voters ahead of November's congressional elections. Because the measure would change the Constitution, it must pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority and then be approved by at least 38 states.

Here are some intelligent comments from a few Senate Democrats:

> Vermont senator Patrick Leahy, the committee's top Democrat, said the same-sex marriage ban was a waste of time for a committee that needs to tackle a wide range of other pressing issues, from judicial nominations to oversight of the National Security Administration's domestic-spying program. "I didn't realize marriages were so threatened. Nor did my wife of 44 years," Leahy said.


> Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold, who may run for president in 2008, wrote, "The Constitution of the United States is an historic guarantee of individual freedom. It has served as a beacon of hope, an example to people around the world who yearn to be free and to live their lives without government interference in their most basic human decisions. I took an oath when I joined this body to support and defend the Constitution. I will continue to fight this mean-spirited, divisive, poorly drafted, and misguided amendment when it comes to the Senate floor."