This week, the procedural vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment — a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman — failed to get the required 60 votes so that a vote on the amendment itself could take place. The final tally was 49-48. "The outcome was clear: 48 Senators voted not to consider the MPA and have left the future of marriage to the courts," noted Tony Perkins, president of Family Resource Council.
Focus on the Family Action chairman James Dobson was outraged. "The 48 senators who voted against the MPA this week have left the definition of marriage at the mercy of activist courts intent on forcing a politically correct agenda on our nation. Judges already have struck down marriage-protection laws and amendments in Massachusetts, Nebraska and Georgia. They will continue to do so unless checked; that's the Senate's job, and it has failed at it."
President Bush thanked those who supported the amendment, but expressed disappointment that the measure did not achieve the necessary number of votes. But he also sent a reminder that it can take several tries before an amendment builds the two-thirds support it needs in both houses of Congress. "My position on this issue is clear: marriage is the most fundamental institution of our society, and it should not be redefined by activist judges," he said. "The people must be heard on this issue."
• Alabama is now the 20th state in the U.S. to pass a marriage-protection amendment, and it did so by one of the largest majorities yet: 81 to 19 percent. Voters in six more states will get the chance to do the same soon: Idaho, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin will vote on marriage-protection amendments in November. And several other states, such as Colorado, are close to adding such an initiative to their ballots.
• The Canadian Parliament last year redefined marriage as a union between "two people," rather than the traditional definition of "a man and a woman," a position that conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced last weekend will be put to a vote again this fall. Both homosexual/lesbian activists and supporters of the traditional marriage definition are predicting a close battle in the House of Commons, with both sides promising to use the lengthy summer parliamentary break to galvanize support, CNSNews.com reports.
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