Gay marriage ban defeated

Not surprisingly, the Senate failed to approve a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Here's what the text of the amendment would have been:

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

I support such an amendment for the most part, but here are the pros and cons:

Reasons to oppose an anti-gay-marriage amendmentt:

• The amendment is known as the "Marriage Protection Amendment" -- I have no desire to protect marriage, as it is an immoral institution that ought to be abolished
• Supporters of the amendment (including President Bush and Speaker Bill Frist) have made gross comments about how marriage helps to create a moral society and is "the most fundamental institution of civilization"

Reasons to support an anti-gay-marriage amendment:

• Opponents of the amendment have made statements just as gross as those of its supporters. For example, according to Ted Kennedy, "The Republican leadership is asking us to spend time writing bigotry into the Constitution. A vote for it is a vote against civil unions, against domestic partnership, against all other efforts for states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law." Jack would be rolling in his grave! I can't believe the Kennedys call themselves Catholic.
• The U.S.A. needs to have an official policy on marriage. Marriage is an issue of morality, and therefore it should be handled not by the states, but by the federal government.
• The amendment restricts marriage, and I support allowing as few people as possible to marry. The less marriage, the better! It even seems to ban civil unions too. (Note the phrase, "the legal incidents thereof"!)

So, although I can sort of understand some reasons why people oppose the amendment, I think the Senate made a bad decision. The American people must unite to ban gay marriage once and for all!