Information about the vote from special interest groups and other information providers in our Report Cards:
American Civil Liberties Union
Federal Marriage Amendment.
The Senate failed to invoke cloture, and therefore defeated in the Senate a
proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit states from allowing same-sex
couples to marry and to take away most other protections for same-sex couples
and their children. An amendment to the Constitution
requires a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
This group opposed this constitutional amendment because it would discriminate
against same-sex couples and their children and use an amendment to the United
States Constitution to restrict, rather than expand, freedom.
Family Research Council
Cloture Motion on Marriage Protection Amendment.
Sponsored by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), the Marriage Protection Amendment (S.J.Res. 1) would have amended the United States Constitution and defined marriage as between one man and one woman. The Senate did not agree on the procedural motion to close further debate and proceed to a vote on the Amendment.American Conservative Union
Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. J. Res. 1; Marriage Protection Amendment.
On the Cloture Motion- The Senate rejected the motion to close further debate on the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill.Americans for Democratic Action
S J Res 1. Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage.
Motion to invoke cloture and limit debate (requiring 60 votes) on the motion to vote on the proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as consisting only in the union of a man and a woman. The constitutional amendment would prevent any court from construing the U.S. Constitution or any state's constitution to require that marriage or any other constructs of marriage be conferred on any other union.American Association of University Women
Federal Marriage Amendment.
The Federal Marriage Amendment was defeated after the Senate rejected an effort to invoke cloture, a procedural vote on whether to move to a final vote on the bill. Introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), the resolution amends the Constitution to define marriage as a union of man and woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage. The legislation would also have removed states’ ability to permit same-sex marriage. While this groups members have differing perspectives on the issue of marriage and civil unions among samesex couples.
This group rejects the idea of writing discrimination into the Constitution. It has seen the Constitution expand to protect civil rights and civil liberties and believes using it to deny rather than confer rights upon an identifiable group of people runs contrary to both the history and spirit of this great document.Republican Liberty Caucus (Civil Liberty)
S.J.Res. 1.
Same-sex Marriage Ban Constitutional Amendment.The Human Rights Campaign
Federal Marriage Amendment (S.J. Res. 1).
The Federal Marriage Amendment would enshrine discrimination into the U.S.
Constitution by defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman
and prohibiting federal and state laws from conferring same-sex couples with marital
status and “the legal incidents thereof.” The amendment would thereby endanger civil
unions and domestic partnership benefits.Service Employees International Union
Senate Rejects Federal Marriage Amendment.
The Senate rejected efforts to write discrimination into the Constitution with an amendment banning same-sex marriage. This amendment flies in the face of the values of liberty, equality, and fairness the Constitution is designed to promote. Besides banning marriage for same-sex couples, this amendment could have eliminated the rights of gay and lesbian families to protect one another in times of crisis, whether to take care of a sick family member, share retirement savings, or make important decisions on the death of a partner. This group has long been a leading voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, who every day confront inequality in the workplace, in our laws, and society itself.The National Association of Social Workers
Same Sex Marriage Resolution.
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage.Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. J. Res. 1; Marriage Protection Amendment.
On the Cloture Motion. Those Senators duly chosen and sworn, not having voted in the affirmative, Senate rejected the motion to close further debate on the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill. Bill Number: S.J.Res.1