In the wake of DOMA and Prop 8....

[ironbite]

THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE!

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional isn't stopping Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) from trying to block same-sex marriages through another route: by amending the U.S. Constitution.

Huelskamp said he plans to introduce the Federal Marriage Amendment later this week, a measure that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. DOMA did the same thing, but was a federal law, not a constitutional amendment. As such, the Federal Marriage Act is more far-reaching but also a tougher climb. It requires the support of two-thirds of the House and Senate, and ratification by three-fourths of the states, or 38 states.

"This would trump the Supreme Court," Huelskamp told The Huffington Post.

Huelskamp said his bill has no cosponsors yet, but said its language will be almost identical to past Federal Marriage Amendments introduced in Congress. The last time Congress voted on the proposed constitutional amendment was in July 2006, when it failed 236-187. It needed 290 votes to pass. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were among those who voted for the amendment at the time.

Support for same-sex marriage among Americans has grown steadily over the past year. A Gallup poll from May 2013 found that 53 percent of Americans say federal law should recognize gay marriages. Just ahead of Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling, CNN/ORC released a new poll that put support at 55 percent.

Asked why he thinks lawmakers would embrace his amendment to ban gay marriage when such a move doesn't reflect what most Americans support, Huelskamp said majority opinions aren't always the best measure.

"A majority of Americans don't like President Obama as president, but he's still the president," Huelskamp said. "What did not happen is what the court and then the folks pushing for [DOMA repeal] hoped would happen: that it would end the debate. The debate is not over."

Never in my life did I think these assholes would give me such a present.  This will get out of the House, that's the scary part, but it'll die in the Senate.  BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T WANT THIS!  And no, a majority of Americans do like the President.  THAT'S WHY HE WAS VOTED IN WITH 53% OF THE VOTE JACKASS!

Ironbite-what reality is this idiot in anyways?

[Barbarella]

These idiots are desperate! At least the Senate is likely to block it! Between now & 2014 is CRUNCH-TIME! 2014 is when America will vote these punks out and these punks are doing everything they can to prevent the inevitable. They're messing with the Civil Rights Act, their repeatedly pushing this & that anti-abortion bill in Texas! This is gonna be close! Progressives must keep pluggin' stay diligent & never lose hope!

[anti-nonsense]

I'm not so sure these idiots are being voted out, sadly they seem to be able to get away with an infinite amount of stupid crap due to a contamination of people being stupid and vote fraud.

[Barbarella]

I'm not so sure these idiots are being voted out, sadly they seem to be able to get away with an infinite amount of stupid crap due to a contamination of people being stupid and vote fraud.

Well, hopefully, this will be the turning point.

[ThunderWulf]

I can't wait to see this spectacularly explode in his face like you know it will.

[Askold]

Huelskamp said his bill has no cosponsors yet, but said its language will be almost identical to past Federal Marriage Amendments introduced in Congress. The last time Congress voted on the proposed constitutional amendment was in July 2006, when it failed 236-187. It needed 290 votes to pass. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were among those who voted for the amendment at the time.

So, the last time something like this was suggested it got majority support? And it wasn't so long ago.

[Veras]

Never in my life did I think these assholes would give me such a present.  This will get out of the House, that's the scary part, but it'll die in the Senate.  BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T WANT THIS!  And no, a majority of Americans do like the President.  THAT'S WHY HE WAS VOTED IN WITH 53% OF THE VOTE JACKASS!

Ironbite-what reality is this idiot in anyways?

Don't worry, it won't even make it out of the House.  Assuming it actually gets to the floor, it would need 290 votes to pass.  For that to happen, every Republican and 56 Democrats (which is more than 1/4 of the Dems in the House) would have to vote in favor.  It might get a simple majority, but there's no way that it will get the 2/3 that it needs.

This guy has to know that it's DOA, and this is just political positioning.  Voting against it might threaten some Democrats in conservative areas, but the reverse is true for Republicans from moderate districts.  If anything, it could hurt Republicans more than it helps them, which is why the House leadership might make sure it gets killed in committee.  Much like Rep. Huelskamp, this is completely meaningless and will soon be forgotten by history.

[rookie]

Well, hopefully, this will be the turning point.

I like your optimism, but... As long as they can convince 10% of voters in their districts they'll suck less than the other guy, they won't be going anywhere. That thing where nobody likes Congress, but their guy is OK.

[MadmanJohnson]

We can always overthrow the Goverment. THAT'LL SHOW THEM.

[ScrappyB]

This has less than a snowball's chance in hell of passing.

Even if it did make it out of committee, I doubt all the Republicans would vote for it. Plus it would need support from a lot of Dems, and that's not going to happen.

He's just trying to get publicity and score points with fundie voters. Really stupid fundie voters who don't realize it's a futile effort doomed to failure and a waste of time and taxpayer money.

[RavynousHunter]

Spending's only okay when the people we like do it!