US House kills marriage-protection amendment
Washington, Jul. 18 (CWNews.com) - The US House of Representatives has defeated a proposal to amend the US Constitution to prevent legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Although a majority of representatives supported the proposed amendment, the 236- 187 vote in favor of the measure fell well short of the required two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. With the Senate having already rejected the measure, the Marriage Protection Amendment is now dead for the year.
The White House had lobbied in favor of the measure, saying that a constitutional amendment is "the only alternative left" to protect the institution of marriage from activist courts.
While lamenting the defeat in the House of Representatives, proponents of the Marriage Protection Amendment said that the votes would stimulate more grassroots activism, prompting conservative citizens to support political candidates who will protect traditional marriage. After a similar failure to secure Congressional support for a proposed amendment in 2004, pro-family groups were more successful in their efforts to enact statewide legislation barring same-sex marriage.