New York Daily News - By KENNETH R. BAZINET
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, February 26th, 2004
WASHINGTON - President Bush's controversial call for a quick constitutional ban of gay marriage doesn't stand a chance, Republican lawmakers said yesterday.
Bush pushed Congress "to promptly pass" an amendment defining marriage as a union of a man and woman, but conservative House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) signaled the President doesn't have the two-thirds support he needs in either chamber of Congress.
"We are looking at other ways of doing it, knowing that it would be very difficult to pass a constitutional amendment both in the House and the Senate," DeLay said. "We're looking at all our options."
"I believe that this should go through the courts, and I think that we're at a point where it's not necessary," added Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.).
Moreover, Senate sources said Bush will have an even tougher time winning votes there, where maverick Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is an opponent. McCain believes states should handle the issue and that it isn't appropriate to change the Constitution.
"It's just not going to happen anytime soon. The mathematics of it dictate you just can't get 67 votes in the Senate," said a GOP Senate source.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan dodged a question asking whether Bush had anticipated such a cool reception in his own party, saying only that Bush wants swift action.
"This is about acting on an important principle that the President has always held, and Presidents make decisions," McClellan said.
Critics have charged Bush is pandering to his most conservative supporters by touting an amendment that seems to have little chance of becoming the Constitution's 28th amendment.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), an expert on constitutional law, questioned whether Bush "cynically" proposed an amendment he knew would fail.
"Karl Rove keeps saying, 'Four million evangelical Christians didn't vote in 2000 and we've got to get them.' Maybe that is what this is all about," Nadler said.
Gay rights advocates accuse Bush of polarizing the country over the issue, but the White House blames the mayor of San Francisco and the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, February 26th, 2004
WASHINGTON - President Bush's controversial call for a quick constitutional ban of gay marriage doesn't stand a chance, Republican lawmakers said yesterday.
Bush pushed Congress "to promptly pass" an amendment defining marriage as a union of a man and woman, but conservative House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) signaled the President doesn't have the two-thirds support he needs in either chamber of Congress.
"We are looking at other ways of doing it, knowing that it would be very difficult to pass a constitutional amendment both in the House and the Senate," DeLay said. "We're looking at all our options."
"I believe that this should go through the courts, and I think that we're at a point where it's not necessary," added Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.).
Moreover, Senate sources said Bush will have an even tougher time winning votes there, where maverick Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is an opponent. McCain believes states should handle the issue and that it isn't appropriate to change the Constitution.
"It's just not going to happen anytime soon. The mathematics of it dictate you just can't get 67 votes in the Senate," said a GOP Senate source.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan dodged a question asking whether Bush had anticipated such a cool reception in his own party, saying only that Bush wants swift action.
"This is about acting on an important principle that the President has always held, and Presidents make decisions," McClellan said.
Critics have charged Bush is pandering to his most conservative supporters by touting an amendment that seems to have little chance of becoming the Constitution's 28th amendment.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), an expert on constitutional law, questioned whether Bush "cynically" proposed an amendment he knew would fail.
"Karl Rove keeps saying, 'Four million evangelical Christians didn't vote in 2000 and we've got to get them.' Maybe that is what this is all about," Nadler said.
Gay rights advocates accuse Bush of polarizing the country over the issue, but the White House blames the mayor of San Francisco and the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
