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Senate acts on gay rights issueluss
Rejected bill would have made discrimination against gays illeg
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Senate gave final congressional
approval today to a bill that
would deny federal recognition
of same-sex marriages and let
states refuse to sanction such
unions licensed in other states.
In a separate vote the Senate
rejected a bill outlawing job dis
crimination against gays.
The anti-discrimination bill
failed on a 49-50 vote. It would
have banned employers from
using sexual orientation as a basis
for hiring, firing, promotion or
compensation.
‘‘This bill would validate a
lifestyle that is unacceptable,”
Majority Leader Sen. Trent Lott,
R-Miss said.
“Discrimination because of
sexual orientation is very similar
to other kinds of discrimination
we have prohibited,” said Sen.
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the
bill’s sponsor.
The Senate passed the
Defense of Marriage Act —
which would define marriage in
federal law as a legal union
between one man and one
woman — 85-14. The House
passed the bill in
July, and President
Clinton has said
he will sign it.
During debate
on the Senate floor,
supporters called
the marriage bill a
common-sense
response to a law
suit going to trial
today that could
lead Hawaii to
become the first
state to issue mar-
“This is not
prejudiced
legislation. It is
not mean-
spirited or
exclusionary.”
Senator Trent Lott
Majority leader
riage licenses to gay couples.
“The traditional family has
stood for 5,000 years,” Sen. Phil
Gramm, R-Texas, said. “Are we so
wise today that we are ready to
reject 5,000 years of recorded his
tory? I don’t think so.”
Gay marriage “flies in the face
of the thousands of years of expe
rience about the social stability
that traditional marriage has
afforded civilization,” said Sen.
Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.
The bill does not bar any state
from legalizing gay marriages
within its own boundaries.
But other states would be freed
from having to recognize them as
lawful. Homosexual couples
would remain ineligible for
spousal benefits under the Social
Security and Medicare programs
or for any other federal benefit
now reserved for married couples.
The Senate also was to vote
today on a bill that would ban job
discrimination against gays.
Lott denied allegations that the
marriage bill was motivated by
bigotry against gays.
“This is not prejudiced legis
lation. It is not mean-spirited or
exclusionary,” he said. “It is a
preemptive measure to make
sure that a handful of judges in a
single state cannot impose a rad
ical social agenda upon the
entire nation.”
Gay rights activists and con
servatives said they lobbied law
makers until the
last minute today.
“We’re definite
ly lobbying with
every ounce of our
being,” said David
Smith, a
spokesman for the
Human Rights
Campaign, one of
the country’s
largest gay politi
cal groups.
“We have deliv
ered 12,800 letters
members and others
Same-sex marriage
Bills barring recognition of same-sex marriage have
been introduced in 34 state legislatures since 1995.
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from HRC
throughout the country to sena
tors today, and we’re very much
on the phone nationwide,” Smith
said Monday.
Conservative groups also
were busy lobbying, decrying
homosexuality as immoral. A
group of black ministers com
plained about the way some gay
activists likened their struggle
for fair treatment to the civil
rights movement.
“As an African American, I am
deeply offended by homosexual
claims that they suffer the same
discrimination that people of color
have suffered,” said the Rev. Lester
James, a regional director of the
Traditional Values Coalition.
“Politicians who invoke the
images of the civil rights move
ment and throw around terms like
‘racist’ or ‘bigot’ are taking some
thing decent and honorable and
using it to disguise bizarre sexual
behavior.”
The Family Research Council
spent the day making phone calls
to senators, group spokeswoman
Kristi Hamrick said.
“We’ve certainly been work
ing on this around the clock,”
she said.
Gay rights groups, how
were optimistic of winning
battle over the Senate im
outlawing job discrimiK
against homosexuals.
Smith said his group
received word that at leasi
senators would vote for the
and members were hopefuli
could get the seven more nee
for passage.
Kennedy originally
planned to introduce the n
sure bill as an amendment to
Defense of Marriage Act,
Republican’s objected, beta
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