Senate Democrats Offer Early Vote on Gay Marriage

[Blackaxe]

Senate Republicans began arguing their case on Friday for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage as Democrats signaled that they were willing to drop procedural hurdles and allow a vote on the proposal next week.

At the same time, President Bush restated his backing for the politically charged amendment, telling a crowd in Pennsylvania that the issue of gay marriage should be settled through ratification of a constitutional amendment rather than left up to the courts.

"What they do in the privacy of their house, consenting adults should be able to do," Mr. Bush said. "This is America. It's a free society. But it doesn't mean we have to redefine traditional marriage."

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic whip, said Democrats would not mount a filibuster against moving to a final vote on the amendment as long as Republicans agreed not to offer changes to the proposal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/10/politics/10amend.html