Tuesday, July 18, 2006

House vote on same sex marriage

Each chamber of Congress must pass a resolution for a Constitutional amendment by a 2/3 majority. It would then go to the states where 3/4 must ratify. To put that in numbers, you would need 67 positive votes in the Senate and 289 positive votes in the House. So, with only 236 votes, the amendment failed in the House. It is no surprise that most of the Democrats voted no. On a straight party vote, there would have been no chance (231 Republicans, 201 Democrats and one independent). Only 34 Democrats supported the amendments. Twenty-seven Republicans voted against it. Here is the text of the amendment:

`Section 1. This article may be cited as the `Marriage Protection Amendment'.

`Section 2. Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.'.

Here is the vote:

(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents=Sanders)


H J RES 88 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 18-Jul-2006 2:00 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage

Yeas

Nays

PRES

NV

Republican

202

27

2

Democratic

34

159

1

7

Independent

1

TOTALS

236

187

1

9

---- YEAS 236 ---

Barrow
Berry
Bishop (GA)
Boren
Boucher
Boyd
Chandler
Cooper
Costello
Cramer
Cuellar

Davis (AL)
Davis (TN)
Edwards
Etheridge
Ford

Gordon
Herseth
Holden
Jefferson
Marshall
Matheson
McIntyre

Melancon

Ortiz
Peterson (MN)
Rahall
Ross
Scott (GA)
Skelton
Spratt
Tanner
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (MS)

---- NAYS 187 ---

Bass
Biggert
Boehlert
Bono
Castle
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dreier
Fitzpatrick (PA)

Foley

Frelinghuysen
Gerlach
Gilchrest
Hobson
Hostettler
Johnson (CT)
Kirk
Knollenberg

Kolbe

Leach

Paul

Pryce (OH)
Ros-Lehtinen
Schwarz (MI)
Shays
Simmons
Sweeney

---- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 1 ---

Lipinski

---- NOT VOTING 9 ---

Brown (OH)
Davis (IL)
Evans

Hinojosa
Johnson, Sam
Kind

McKinney
Northup
Strickland

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Happy Fourth of July

I think it is good to reflect on what it really means to be an American. Some folks have no concept of history beyond their own personal experience. So let me direct you to a few articles that are well worth the read today:

Kenneth Copeland discusses the flag and the anthem that refers to it in The Star Spangled Banner.

Bill Whittle discusses civilization as a whole in Rafts.

The Patriot Post talks about a Nation of Resolve. (Pemanent link).

Cassandra, as always, stands Behind The Flag.

And here is a quote from Ronald reagan:

"The day of our nation's birth in that little hall in Philadelphia, [was] a day on which debate had raged for hours. The men gathered there were honorable men hard-pressed by a king who had flouted the very laws they were willing to obey. Even so, to sign the Declaration of Independence was such an irretrievable act that the walls resounded with the words 'treason, the gallows, the headsman's axe,' and the issue remained in doubt. [On that day] 56 men, a little band so unique we have never seen their like since, had pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Some gave their lives in the war that followed, most gave their fortunes, and all preserved their sacred honor... In recent years, however, I've come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation. It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history. Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government. Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should."
—Ronald Reagan
Have a great day.