Federal Marriage Amendment Defeated!

[chicken]

The anti-gay-marriage people couldn't even muster 50 votes, let alone the 60 they needed to keep the issue alive.

A big thank you to everyone who wrote and called their Senators. I think we helped a lot. Woo!!!

HOWEVER, the House will be debating the same issue next week, so it ain't time to rest, yet.

The YEAs in favor of banning gay marriage only got 48 votes.
The NAYs who opposed the amendment got 50 votes. Neither Kerry nor Edwards voted, although the press says they would have voted against the amendment.

The Republicans who broke rank and voted with the Democrats to oppose the heinous amendment included six Senators:

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO)
       Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)
         Susan Collins (R-ME)
          John McCain (R-AZ)
       Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
          John Sununu (R-NH)

We all expected Chafee to side with gay rights (because Rhode Island Republicans are really almost Democrats), as well as John McCain. And isn't Olympia Snowe an out lesbian or something? If so, why is she a Republican? Could be one of those nutty log cabin republicans.

However, I am quite impressed with Ben Nighthorse Campbell from my own home state of Colorado, who defied his party and his fellow Coloradoan Wayne Allard (the sponsor of the bill) in voting against it. Good man.

There were several Democrats who voted with the Republicans in favor of banning gay marriage, sadly:

Robert Byrd (D-WV)
  Zell Miller (D-GA)
   Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Does anyone know much about these guys' general voting records? Not sure why they voted to ban gay marriage. Shame.

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