A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the US failed to obtain a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives… but this doesn’t mean the issue is dead:
The largely party-line vote in the Republican-led House was 227-186, 49 votes short of what was required for approval.
In July, Democratic-led foes blocked a similar measure in the 100-member Senate where proponents failed to get even a simple majority to lift a procedural hurdle against it.
[ . . . ]
Democrats charged that Republicans have pushed the measure, along with other proposals which had little chance of passing, merely to divide voters and rally social conservatives.
Of course, voters aren’t left with much of a choice, as none of the candidates in this election have been willing to clearly speak out against the continued discrimination of gays and lesbians on this issue. Instead, voters have a choice between Bush – who wants to ban their right to marry – and Kerry, who thinks the states should get to decide:
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, oppose gay marriage. Yet like most fellow Democrats in Congress, they favor leaving the matter to individual states.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a lesbian daughter, has said he also believes states should decide whether to sanction same-sex marriages, but that Bush sets the administration’s positions.
One day, the US leadership will realize that continuing to maintain a second-class citizenry is wrong. Until then, I suppose gay people can always come to Canada.