This is our cache of http://christianity.about.com/od/adultchristianity/a/gaymarriage3.htm.
our cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web.
The page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current page without highlighting.

We are neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its content.

Gay Marriage Amendment Defeated ... Again

You are here:

About>Religion & Spirituality>Christianity - General> Adult Christianity> Gay Marriage Amendment Defeated ... Again

Home

Christianity - General

Gay Marriage Amendment Defeated ... Again

From Charles Henderson,
Your Guide to Christianity - General.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

The Vote Decisive: 186 Vote No

The US House has voted decisively to reject a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; the measure fell far short of the two-thirds vote needed for passage. But Conservative Christians vow to continue fighting and some commentators suggest that bringing the measure to the floor in the face of such strong opposition was a largely symbolic move on the eve of a national election. Meanwhile, progressive and moderate Christians are encouraged that a sense of fairness will prevail. And it appears that some states and municipalities may continue to extend legal protections to gay couples as they see fit.

Majority Leader Tom DeLay who would be relieved to divert attention from congressional investigations of his own ethics, told reporters, "This is only the beginning of the fight. Marriage is the basic unit of society, the very DNA of civilization, and if that civilization is to endure, marriage must be protected."

The proposed amendment would not only bar gay marriage, it would deny gay couples equal protection under the law by prohibiting states from providing for civil unions or in other ways insuring that gay citizens have the same access to health care coverage, retirement and inheritance benefits enjoyed by heterosexuals and their families. Because it is so widely perceived as punitive and failing basic tests of fairness, the measure is unlikely to pass in any future congress. In the House it drew the support of 191 Republicans and 36 Democrats. Voting against it were 158 Democrats, 27 Republicans and one independent. The Senate rejected theamendment in July.

For more on this issue:

A Question of Fairness

Gay Marriage: The Debate Continues

The Blessings of Gay Marriage