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‘With gas prices hitting $3 a gallon, millions living without health care, a broken immigration system and an endless war in Iraq, Congress should be helping make America stronger, not weaker by trying to put discrimination in the United States Constitution,’ said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. ‘Whether 40 pages or one sentence, any amendment that writes discrimination into the Constitution is wrong.’

WASHINGTON - The Federal Marriage Amendment is scheduled to be marked up tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Earlier this year, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., announced that the Senate would vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment during the week of June 5.

“With gas prices hitting $3 a gallon, millions living without health care, a broken immigration system and an endless war in Iraq, Congress should be helping make America stronger, not weaker by trying to put discrimination in the United States Constitution,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Tampering with the Constitution in order to pander to a political base is wrong, and all fair-minded Americans should call their members of Congress to speak out against the Federal Marriage Amendment.”

Republicans have made it clear that they will use the vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment to drive their base vote.

As introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., the amendment currently reads: “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.”

However, sources from Capitol Hill are anticipating the amendment will be altered before it comes up for a vote on the floor, deleting the second sentence in an attempt to attract more votes. The far right’s increasing discontent with the administration and congressional leadership is fueling the push for this amendment.  Essentially, it comes down to trying to ban marriages and civil unions outright or leaving it vaguer and trying to get civil unions banned through court rulings.

“Whether 40 pages or one sentence, any amendment that writes discrimination into the Constitution is wrong,” added Solmonese. “People want Congress focused on things like rising gas prices and health care affordability, not writing Americans out of their own Constitution.”

In 2004, the Senate and House both fell far short of the two-thirds vote necessary to send the amendment to the states for ratification. In the Senate, the vote against cloture was 50 to 48, with six Republicans voting no. The Republicans who opposed cloture were Sens. Ben Campbell, R-Colo.; Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Olympia Snowe, R-Maine; and John Sununu, R-N.H. In the House, the vote was 227 to 186.

Many prominent Republicans and conservatives expressed opposition to the amendment in 2004, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Arlen Specter, Rudy Guiliani, Chuck Hagel, David Dreier, George Pataki, Bob Barr, Alan Simpson, George Will and David Brooks.  This year, those numbers increased to include former Sen. John Danforth, R-Minn., who called the amendment “silly” and “contrary to basic Republican principles.” Also, First Lady Laura Bush was recently quoted as saying, “I don’t think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously.”

After it was announced that McCain would deliver the commencement address at the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, the many media stories prompted McCain to reaffirm his opposition to the amendment several times.

Along with McCain’s reaffirmation, other senators, such as Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have expressed their concern about spending time on a Federal Marriage Amendment when Republicans are losing in the polls while average Americans are facing the greatest challenges of our generation. Graham was quoted in a recent New York Times article as saying, “Gay marriage is not the magic bullet to get us out of our situation.”

In response to a letter sent by Frist in late April outlining the Federal Marriage Amendment as a key vote, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said, “We owe it to the American people to focus on their needs, and not waste a single day focusing on partisan needs. That means setting aside an issue like the marriage amendment, and tackling the issue of gas prices instead.”

A long list of African-American leaders has spoken out against the amendment. Coretta Scott King told college students once that “a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay-bashing. … Instead of trivializing the Constitution, we need some laws that give families the kind of help they really need, like job training and child care assistance, stronger schools and health insurance coverage for every family.” Julian Bond; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; the Rev. Andrew Young; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun; Leonard Pitts; the Rev. Peter Gomes; and Dr. Henry Louis Gates have all been public in their strong opposition to the amendment. The NAACP also opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment and testified against the amendment in 2004.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.