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Today, the U.S. Senate considered two bills today concerning gays and lesbians. Kwame Holman reports on the close calls on the Senate floor.
KWAME HOLMAN: The first of the two bills the Senate debated today is a reaction to a lawsuit brought by this lesbian couple against the state of Hawaii. The two women sued the state seeking the right to marry. They scored a victory when the Hawaii Supreme Court ordered the state to show why their marriage should not be legally recognized.
NINA BAEHR, Gay Marriage Advocate: I think before this case people thought, ah, same-sex marriage is not going to happen, but the reality is that this is something that is so important to lesbians and gays in this country that there turns out to be tremendous support.
KWAME HOLMAN: Arguments in the Hawaii case began today, though it is not expected to be decided for another two years. But many in Congress are not waiting.
SEN. PHIL GRAMM, (R) Texas: If their courts rule in favor of single-sex marriages under their Constitution, on the basis of sex discrimination in Hawaii, a failure to pass the Defense of Marriage Act here today will require that the state of Texas, the state of Kansas, and every other state in the union recognize and give full faith and credit to single-sex marriages that occur in Hawaii.
KWAME HOLMAN: The Defense of Marriage Act would for the first time legally define marriage on a federal level as a union between a man and a woman.
SEN. JOHN ASHCROFT, (R) Missouri: And that's very important because unless we have a federal definition of what marriage is, a variety of states around the country could define marriage differently; they haven't to date. And if they were to define marriage differently, people in different states would have different eligibility to receive federal benefits which would be inappropriate.
KWAME HOLMAN: More significantly, the Defense of Marriage Act would free a state from having to recognize a same-sex marriage legalized by another state.
SEN. DON NICKLES, Majority Whip: If one state wishes to legalize same-sex marriages, say the state of Maryland or Massachusetts or any other state, they can certainly do so. This legislation would not prohibit it. What this legislation would do is said they wouldn't have to recognize same-sex marriages if some other state should enact them. And I think that's an important distinction.
KWAME HOLMAN: Currently, however, no state recognizes same-sex marriages as legal, a point made by opponents of the Defense of Marriage Act.
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD, (D) Wisconsin: And even if the Hawaiian state courts find that the Hawaiian constitution compels recognition of same-sex marriages, final resolution of this issue is at least a couple of years away, and somehow, this is still deemed a priority in the waning days of the 104th Congress.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY, (D) Massachusetts: We all know what is going on here. I regard this bill as a mean-spirited form of Republican legislative gay bashing, cynically calculated to try and inflame the public eight weeks before the November 5th election.
KWAME HOLMAN: As the debate unfolded, it became apparent a Senate examination of same-sex marriages had some members befuddled.
SENATOR: It is incomprehensible to me that federal legislation would be needed to provide a definition of two terms that for thousands of years have been perfectly clear and unquestioned.
KWAME HOLMAN: But the debate also gave members a chance to bare their own closely examined beliefs.
SEN. CHARLES ROBB, (D) Virginia: Madame President, I believe that it's time for those of us who are not homosexuals to join the fight. A basic respect for human dignity which gives us the strength to reject racial, gender, religious, and tolerance dictates in America we also discrimination against homosexuals. I believe that ending this discrimination is the last frontier in the ultimate fight for civil and human rights.
SEN. NANCY KASSEBAUM, (R) Kansas: Shortly after the August recess I visited with a young man from Kansas who made a strong plea in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, arguing that fear was the driving force behind the measure. Although I was not persuaded to change my position on the legislation, I was deeply moved by his very genuine desire to move the debate beyond stereotypes and unchallenged assumptions.
KWAME HOLMAN: This afternoon, the Defense of Marriage Act passed easily through the Senate, just as it passed the House in July. The President says he'll sign the measure but a court battle challenging the bill's constitutionality is assured. Those Senators who oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, however, were given the opportunity by the Republican leadership to debate and vote on a second bill. That bill is aimed at protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in the work place.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY: We know that discrimination against gay men and lesbians exists in this country today, No. 1. No. 2, we know that there are no laws to protect them, No. 2. Three, we know that the whole issue of gay men and lesbian women is an immutable condition. It's a condition of life. And what we are trying to say is when Americans want to work and can work and do a job, they ought to be able to be judged on the job that they are going to do and not on one of these other factors.
SEN. DAN COATS, (R) Indiana: Mr. President, we are not speaking of extending rights that every citizen of the United States is guaranteed. Rather, we are considering special rights for persons based on their lifestyle choice as evidenced by their behavior. I share the concern of many that no person be subjected to violence and hatred simply because they do not or may not meet with societal approval. But I am just as concerned about individuals who because of sincerely and deeply held religious or moral convictions find certain lifestyles to be morally unacceptable and yet are told by the government that those beliefs must not only be kept private but they may also not be applied to their business decisions.
KWAME HOLMAN: On this issue, the Senate was almost equally divided but Arkansas Democratic David Pryor missed the vote due to a family emergency and the measure fell by one.
SPOKESMAN: The ayes are forty-nine, the no's are fifty. The bill is not agreed to.
KWAME HOLMAN: This evening, a spokesperson for Sen. Pryor said she did not know how the Senator would have voted.
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