Just Vote No

Earlier this week the U.S. Senate defeated the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, getting only one more vote than it got the last time it was voted on in 2004. The vote of 49 – 48 was 11 votes shy of closing debate and moving the proposal to a final up or down vote; and 18 votes shy of the two-thirds vote required in the Senate and the House in order to send any constitutional amendment to the states for ratification. In other words, this proposal is going nowhere. At this rate, the Senate will have the necessary votes nailed down in about 35 – 40 years. The House will vote on the matter next month, but there’s little chance it will pass there, either.

It goes without saying that the president and the Reb majority leadership in Congress knew full well how this vote would come out and never thought for a minute that there was any likelihood of passage. They didn’t bring it to a vote for purpose of passing it; they brought it to a vote in order to attempt to shore up the right wing of the GOP in an election year. Conservative Christians have been very disappointed in the president and his comrades on the Hill. It was time for the administration to toss them a sop in the form of a rash of speeches about protecting the American family from this threat of all threats. The hope is that this burst of moral indignation would help fan the flames under their dissatisfied, conservative constituency.

As a result, we witnessed a colossal waste of Senate time and we will witness a similar waste of time in the House next month. I know that there are a number of Americans who see this issue as important, but a recent Gallup Poll revealed that less than a half-percent of American voters include gay marriage on the list of important matters that they believe Congress should be addressing. Of course, in an election year Congress isn’t particularly interested in what Americans want them to work on; Congress is interested in getting votes in November.

If so many Americans think this issue needs to be addressed, then what’s the reason for the poll results? I think it’s because all but a few Americans apparently hold three important opinions: 1) this issue should be handled by each state, rather than the federal government; 2) the Congress has other more important matters to attend to at this point in time; and 3) the U.S. Constitution should not be amended for this purpose.

On the first point, last Tuesday Alabama became the 20th state to pass a ban on gay marriage. Other states have the matter under consideration at various points in their legislative process. While I disagree with the idea of such a ban, I believe each state can address the issue as it sees fit.

On the second point, I wholeheartedly agree. The list of more important matters is long and weighty: Iraq; Afghanistan; Iran; North Korea; energy costs and policy; healthcare and medical insurance; poverty; AIDS; Katrina recovery and hurricane preparation; budget deficits; global warming; tax reform; etc.; etc.

On the third point, I wholeheartedly agree. The United States Constitution has served us well because it has not been used as a political lever to divide and separate categories of Americans. There is no other operative provision in the Constitution that mandates discrimination against a distinct group of American citizens; there is no other provision that denies certain rights to one group of American adults that are enjoyed by other groups of American adults. The Constitution is not the place to work out American family law policies, particularly any policy that in the final analysis rests on arguments grounded in religious doctrine or dogma.

I will reserve for another day my views on the idea that American families are seriously threatened because two women in Vermont want to spend the rest of their life together in a “marriage”, civil union or domestic partnership – all of which would have been banned under the proposed amendment.