June 6, 2006

Republican leaders are once again kicking around gay families like a political football.

Instead of debating and passing meaningful laws, they scheduled a vote on the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment. It should more aptly be called the Marriage Prevention Amendment, as it would write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.

One of the most ridiculous things about this vote is that Republican leaders knew it would fail, as it did two years ago. The measure does not have the necessary two-thirds majority to pass either chamber of Congress.

The main reason for forcing an election-year vote on such an unpopular and divisive measure is so that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and President Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, can try to punish Democrats for voting against it. They want the amendment to fail so they can whip up a frenzy among religious conservatives and distract people from their -- and the president's -- plummeting approval ratings.

On June 2, Bush said, "People have the right to live their lives" how they want to. Yet in the next breath he carved out an exception for gay Americans.

By banning marriage for gays, lawmakers would lock out millions of Americans from more than 1,000 rights and benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy: hospital visitations, social security survivor benefits or even the right to make funeral arrangements.

Republicans are disingenuously trying to boost turnout of religious conservatives as they did during the 2004 presidential campaign with anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives in 11 states.

If conservatives want to strengthen marriage and families as they claim, then why are they trying to stop so many from gaining the freedom to marry? If they want to encourage monogamy, child rearing and responsible lifestyles within the sacrament of marriage, why are they working so hard to restrict who can get married?

The attack on the freedom to marry is not about protecting marriage -- it's about punishing gay people.

Opponents of marriage equality have not produced any good reasons why banning marriage for gays will help achieve the goal of protecting marriage.

Banning marriage for gays won't reduce the divorce rate.

It won't lower the rate of infidelity.

And it won't prevent husbands from beating their wives.

Republicans claim they want the government out of people's lives, yet they are trying to make it more intrusive than ever before.

Enough is enough.

Sean Kosofsky is director of policy for Triangle Foundation, Michigan's largest civil rights organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. He can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.