The odds of a passing the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) got a little longer the end of August. The key element was word from Rep F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Wisc., that he opposes such an amendment, at this time. The story appeared on Aug. 25 in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
This fairly obscure congressman is important because he chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over proposed amendments to the Constitution.
The conservative Sensenbrenner is not exactly a champion of gay rights. In the article he made clear that he opposes marriages and civil unions for same-sex couples. He supported the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes, and believes that legislation is sufficient.
Amending the Constitution 'is very strong medicine,' he said, 'It's been done only 27 times in over 200 years.' Ten of those were the Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791, which many states demanded as a condition for ratifying the Constitution. Two amendments, those dealing with prohibition and the sale of alcohol, canceled each other out. Several others were of a technical nature, changing the line of presidential succession and the date of inauguration.
Tammy Baldwin, the only open lesbian member of Congress, also represents a Wisconsin district and sits on the Judiciary Committee. She called Sensenbrenner's statement 'very significant.'
Both she and former Wisconsin Republican congressman Steve Gunderson are in long-term relationships. Their example and quiet lobbying may also have affected Sensenbrenner's decision.
The chairman's opposition makes it unlikely that hearings will be scheduled on the FMA. That makes it much more difficult for House Republican leaders to bring the measure up for a vote on the floor, even if only as a marker for interest groups to use on their rating scorecards.
Reinforcing the case against the FMA was an Aug. 21 column in the Washington Post by former Georgia Republican Congressman Bob Barr, the author of DOMA. He argued, 'Marriage is a quintessential state issue. The Defense of Marriage Act goes as far as is necessary in codifying the federal legal status and parameters of marriage. A constitutional amendment is both unnecessary and needlessly intrusive and punitive ... the Constitution is no place for forcing social policies on states.'
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has announced he will hold a hearing on the FMA, likely in September, though no date has yet been set. Human Rights Campaign issued a statement saying the hearings could be this week (see Web site http://www.hrc.org). That subcommittee includes conservative Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., whose support of the amendment was made clear in a policy paper from the Senate Republican Policy Committee that he chairs
Another member is Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, who signed on as a cosponsor of the FMA in 1999, when he was a member of the House. However it is unclear whether that was from deep conviction or for political expediency in his upcoming race for the Senate. The then 46-year-old and never been married candidate was gay-baited by his Democratic opponent during the 2002 campaign to succeed Strom Thurmond.
The Democratic side of the subcommittee includes Russell Feingold (Wisconsin), Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts), Charles Schumer (New York) and Richard Durbin (Illinois), all of whom are strong supporters of the gay community. So the hearing should be fair.
In early August, HRC released data from a new bi-partisan poll conducted by the Democratic polling firm of Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Republican firm American Viewpoint, showing that 63 percent of registered voters support or would accept that gays and lesbians receive the same rights and protections as other Americans. The Hart/American Viewpoint Poll is in accordance with another poll released by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News showing that 53 percent of the country favors allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that are not marriages, but that would give them many of the same legal and financial relationships as married couples.
The Hart/American Viewpoint poll also showed that 50 percent of registered voters support or accept granting civil marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples with the same rights, responsibilities and protections given to other married couples, as long as religious institutions do not have to recognize or perform these marriages. Forty-seven percent oppose.
There are more than 1,000 federal rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities associated with civil marriage.