President Bush's proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage died in the Senate on Wednesday as expected. The final vote was 49-48 meaning that the proposal fell 11 votes short of the 60 it needed to stay alive.
Critics of Mr. Bush have considered the proposed amendment as a smoke screen to divert the public's attention away from the administration's failures in Iraq, high gas prices and the president's low popularity ratings. They see Mr. Bush proposing the amendment despite knowing he couldn't win in an attempt to galvanize his flailing conservative political base.
'The Republican leadership is asking us to spend time writing bigotry into the Constitution,' said Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). In 2003, Massachusetts became one of the few states that have legalized gay marriage. 'A vote for it is a vote against civil unions, against domestic partnership, against all other efforts for states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law,' Kennedy said.
Supporters of the proposal feel that they are gaining support to win over the long haul. 'We're building votes,' Senator David Vitter, (R-La.), a supporter of the ban, told the Associated Press. 'That's often what's required over several years to get there, particularly to a two-thirds vote.'
Supporters vow to continue to bring up the proposal which would define marriage as being between a man and a woman and prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriages.
'I do not believe the sponsors are going to fall back and cry about it,' said Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). 'I think they are going to keep bringing it up.'
To become law, the proposal would need two-thirds support in the Senate and House, and then would have to be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
