Senate to Debate Gay Marriage Ban

WASHINGTON -- In a move many observers describe as an effort to redirect focus from other pressing political issues, President Bush and the Republican Party are introducing the "Marriage Protection Amendment" to the Senate today. If passed, the amendment would ban gay marriage by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"An amendment to the Constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice," Bush said in his weekly radio address over the weekend.

"Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society," Bush continued.

Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts stated that "A vote for this amendment is a vote for bigotry pure and simple." Massachusetts legalized gay marriages in 2003.

Also other Democrats oppose the amendment, calling it a divisive bow to the religious right, and political observers do not believe the amendment will pass in the Senate.

In order for the amendment to pass, it would need to be approved by two-thirds of the Senate and House. All U.S. Senate Democrats, with the exception of Ben Nelson of Nebraska, oppose the measure. The Democrats, along with moderate Republicans, are expected to kill the amendment for one year.

The Senate rejected a similar amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman two years ago..