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Marriage Amendment Defeated

By David Brody
CBN News

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - As expected, the Marriage Protection Amendment went down in defeat in the Senate. Supporters couldn't muster the 60 votes they needed to bring the amendment up for a final vote.

Going in to the vote, Republicans knew they didn't have enough senate support to bring the bill up for a final vote but there was still fierce determination to continue fighting. They said activist judges are overturning voter-approved marriage amendments and statutes across the country.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) said, "We are going to have this vote and people are going to be responsible for this vote, and we are making progress in America on defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman – and we will not stop until it is defined and protected as the union of a man and a woman."

Democrats said that Republicans are playing politics by pandering for votes from a disenchanted political base, and said the amendment is mean-spirited.

"This amendment would make a minority of Americans permanent second-class citizens of this country," said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI).

After a vote count in the Senate, the response came back, "The motion is not agreed to."

The final vote was 49 for it, 48 against. Two years ago, supporters had 48 votes. So technically, Republicans gained one vote.

But two years ago, there weren't as many Republicans in the Senate as there are today, so supporters were hoping for more than 50 votes. The problem was that Republicans Arlen Specter and Judd Gregg voted “no” this time instead of “yes.” Other Republicans who went against their party were John McCain, Susan Collins, Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe, and John Sununu.
Senator Chuck Hagel was absent.

"We were hoping to get over 50 percent but that didn't happen today,” Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) said. “We're content that we've got our margins to grow. The main reason we didn't get 50 percent was because we had an absentee. We had a couple of votes that voted with us the last time we had a cloture vote, but weren't with us this time."

This debate on marriage now goes quietly back into its box, not to be seen again in the Senate until next year. The House, though, will take up the Marriage Amendment sometime next month. Though it should get a majority of votes, it's nearly certain it won't have the two-thirds it needs to pass.

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