Eles estão lixados e não sabem ...

... no Capitolio travaram a discussão dos casamentos do mesmo sexo. O Bush anda à rasca. Que fazer?

Amendment to ban same-sex marriage blocked in Senate

By Andrea Stone/USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Senate blocked a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage Wednesday, splitting 48-50 on a procedural vote that probably ends any chance of action on the issue this election year.

Backers of the amendment fell 12 votes short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate to allow a vote. The amendment aims to reverse a Massachusetts court ruling that legalized gay marriage and stop other courts from making similar rulings.

President Bush, who backed the amendment, said he was "deeply disappointed" and urged the House of Representatives to pass the measure.

Which lawmakers crossed party lines

Democrats who joined Republicans:
• Zell Miller of Georgia
• Ben Nelson of Nebraska
• Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Republicans who joined Democrats:
• Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado
• John McCain of Arizona
• Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine
• John Sununu of New Hampshire
• Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.

Senate supporters put a positive spin on the vote. "I view this as a very good start," said Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., the amendment's lead sponsor. "As John Paul Jones said, 'We have just begun to fight.' "

Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards, the Democratic presidential ticket, were campaigning and did not vote. Both say they oppose same-sex marriage but are against changing the Constitution to prevent it.

Opponents of the amendment say a state's marriage laws should be decided by the people who live there. But backers say "activist judges" will force gay marriage on states whether they want it or not.

Senators who voted against the measure say the vote showed there is no political will to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage.

"This was an attempt to divide Americans that backfired and divided Republicans," said Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group.

The proposed amendment would have required that marriage "consist only of the union of a man and a woman." But it contains wording that could also invalidate civil unions, a same-sex alternative to civil marriage that is legal in Vermont.

The Senate and House must each pass a potential amendment by a two-thirds margin. Then it must be ratified by 38 of 50 states to become law.