Although president Bush would like to see a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, politicians are having a hard time convincing the public and their constituents on the issue. In July last year, GOP leaders tried unsuccessfully to pass the amendment, which would effectively ban same-sex marriage (Same-sex/CNN). Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, sponsor of the bill, noted that it was a long process, and he hadn't expected the battle to be over with at this time. President Bush issued a statement saying he was disappointed that the amendment was temporarily blocked in the Senate, and urged the House to take up the matter. He said that "Activist judges and local officials in some parts of the country are not letting up in their efforts to redefine marriage for the rest of America, and neither would defenders of traditional marriage flag in their efforts."
The proposed amendment was killed after a procedural vote to move the measure to the Senate floor for final consideration failed 48-50, 12 votes below the 60 needed by Senate rules (Same-sex/CNN). Three Democrats and 45 Republicans voted for it. Six Republicans, including Senator John McCain of Arizona, joined the Democrats and one independent to defeat the measure. Republicans had expected to get at least the 60 votes to advance the bill, if not the 67 needed to pass it. Bush commented, "We stand for institutions like marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society," and added, "We stand for judges who strictly and faithfully interpret the law, instead of legislating from the bench." Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Republican Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee were vocal in defense of the amendment.
Corporations and other fiscally concerned parties sometimes oppose same-sex marriage with the aim of avoiding extending benefits, such as health insurance coverage, to same-sex spouses of their employees (Same-sex). There are also concerns...