WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Wednesday rejected a Republican push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, effectively killing the proposal for the year.
The 50-48 procedural vote -- largely along party lines -- ended any chance of approval of the Bush re-election campaign platform issue. The Democratic ticket, Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina were not present but their offices said they would have been there for the final vote if it came to that.
Republicans had sought to have an up or down vote on the amendment itself despite not having the 67 votes needed to ensure passage, a move criticized by Democrats as overtly political when the body has approved precious few priority measures this year.
Although Democrats had agreed to hold a vote only on a single proposed amendment, Senate Republican leaders were unable to come to terms on a single proposal that pleased factions within the caucus, leading to their refusal to move forward with a series of votes on potential amendments.
Despite the failure, the issue is not going away with House Republican leaders expected to bring legislation aimed at protecting what proponents call "traditional marriage" -- including one removing the issue of marriage from the auspices of federal courts -- up for a vote as soon as next week, and vote on a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage sometime in September.
