Sat - July 10, 2004Federal Marriage Amendment (now S. J. Res. 40)S. J. Res. 40 was introduced by Sen. Allard [CO]
on July 7, 2004, proposing an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as
"the union of a man and a woman." Debate on the amendment began on Friday,
July 9.
The amendment
reads:
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. According to the Associated Press, the "Proponents of the amendment said they included the second sentence to clarify that state legislatures -- but not courts -- could still establish laws recognizing civil unions and domestic partnerships between two people of the same sex." But suppose the people of a state wanted to change the constitution of their state to allow same-sex marriage? The FMA seems to explicitly exclude that. It also seems, by means of the clause "or the legal incidents thereof," to exclude the possibility of any state writing civil unions into their constitution with all the benefits of marriage, such as Vermont did. The FMA now has 19 cosponsors: Sen Brownback, Sam [KS] - 7/7/2004 Sen Cochran, Thad [MS] - 7/7/2004 Sen Craig, Larry E. [ID] - 7/8/2004 Sen Crapo, Michael D. [ID] - 7/8/2004 Sen Dole, Elizabeth H. [NC] - 7/13/2004 Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] - 7/7/2004 Sen Fitzgerald, Peter [IL] - 7/7/2004 Sen Frist, Bill [TN] - 7/7/2004 Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 7/7/2004 Sen Hutchison, Kay Bailey [TX] - 7/7/2004 Sen Inhofe, Jim [OK] - 7/7/2004 Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] - 7/7/2004 Sen Lott, Trent [MS] - 7/7/2004 Sen McConnell, Mitch [KY] - 7/7/2004 Sen Miller, Zell [GA] - 7/7/2004 Sen Santorum, Rick [PA] - 7/7/2004 Sen Sessions, Jeff [AL] - 7/7/2004 Sen Shelby, Richard C. [AL] - 7/7/2004 Sen Talent, Jim [MO] - 7/7/2004 Posted at 10:17 AM Tue - June 15, 2004Federal Hate Crimes Amendment Passed in Senate 65-33A federal hate crimes amendment (S.AMDT.3183)
covering sexual orientation was attached to a major appropriations bill (S.2400)
for the DOD and passed in the Senate by a vote of 65-33. The hate crimes
amendment would provide federal assistance to states and local governments to
prosecute hate crimes.
The hate crimes amendment provides for
some non-financial assistance to states and local governments in the
investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, as
follows:
"At the request of a law enforcement official of a State or Indian tribe, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that-- (A) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code); (B) constitutes a felony under the laws of the State or Indian tribe; and (C) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State or Indian tribe." The hate crimes amendment provides for some financial assistance to states and local government: "The Attorney General may award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law enforcement officials with the extraordinary expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes." The hate crimes amendment also includes a Federal prohibition of hate crimes and provides federal penalties: "Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person-- ``(i) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and ``(ii) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if-- ``(I) death results from the offense; or ``(II) the offense includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill." Posted at 08:36 AM Wed - March 24, 2004Federal Marriage Amendment (modified wording)S. J. Res. 30 was introduced by Sen. Allard on
March 22, 2004, proposing an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as
"the union of a man and a woman." This bill is a modification of the previously
introduced S. J. Res. 26 from November of last year. It seems to be just as
damaging as the earlier version.
Resolved by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled
(two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of
the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several
States:
'Article-- 'SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 'This Article may be cited as the `Federal Marriage Amendment'. 'SECTION 2. MARRIAGE AMENDMENT . '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.'. Cosponsors (8): Sen Brownback, Sam - 3/22/2004 [KS] Sen Enzi, Michael B. - 3/22/2004 [WY] Sen Inhofe, Jim - 3/22/2004 [OK] Sen Lott, Trent - 3/22/2004 [MS] Sen Miller, Zell - 3/22/2004 [GA] Sen Santorum, Rick - 3/22/2004 [PA] Sen Sessions, Jeff - 3/22/2004 [AL] Sen Shelby, Richard C. - 3/22/2004 [AL] What Changed from the Previous Version The phrase "within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress" was dropped, allowing the states an unlimited amount of time in which to ratify the amendment. The phrase "nor State or Federal law," was deleted after the word "State." The phrase "marital status" was replaced with the word "marriage" in the second sentence. The phrase "unmarried couples or groups" was replaced with "any union other than the union of a man and a woman." The bill still seems to be just as dangerous as the earlier version. Not only does it write discrimination into the Constitution with regard to marriage, but it also still contains the phrase "or the legal incidents thereof," which could be used to deny any benefit of marriage to domestic partners or civil unions. Posted at 11:01 AM Sat - March 6, 2004Senator Smith Reminds the Senate of Hate CrimesSince the introduction of S.699 on 1 May 2003,
Senator Gordon Smith [OR] has repeatedly stood before the Senate to remind them
of the existence of hate crimes. Many of the examples he cites involve crimes
based on perceived sexual orientation. Here are some of the cases he has
cited:
In February, 2003 , in Antioch, CA, a 15-year-old
teen was charged with assault and battery and for committing a hate crime. He
viciously assaulted and taunted another teenager because he believed he was
gay.
In January 1999, Frank Breton, age 47, was convicted of hate crime assault for assaulting his neighbor in March because he believed the man was gay. A terrible crime occurred in Upland, CA, in December 1999. There, a man died after being hit in the head with a pool cue by an attacker who accused him of being gay. A horrendous crime occurred 4 years ago today in Richmond, VA. There, a homeless man was killed and his severed head left atop a footbridge in James River Park near a popular meeting place for gay men. One such crime occurred in Honolulu, HI, in August 1998. A heterosexual man was found dead in a public shower. He had been brutally killed by a group of teenagers because they thought he was gay. Last fall in Portland, ME, Joshua Nisbet pulled up in a car near a bar that caters to the gay community. Nisbet and a friend yelled an antigay slur at two men walking nearby and assaulted them. One such crime occurred in Tillamook, a small town on the Oregon coast. On February 11, 1999, James Ash, 48, and Kevin Hawthorn, 25, were charged with intimidation and assault for allegedly beating a man because of his sexual orientation. One such crime occurred in Santa Rosa, CA, on September 20, 1999. Four youths allegedly fired shots from a pellet gun toward a woman whose car had gay pride, diversity, and rainbow stickers on it. The youths also allegedly yelled derogatory comments regarding the woman's sexual orientation. On July 3, 1999, in Philadelphia, PA, a 59-year-old gay man was found beaten to death in his apartment. The bodies of two other gay men from the Philadelphia area were found in the Schuylkill River the previous month. In Council Bluffs, IA, a 15-year-old girl allegedly approached two other girls who were holding hands and assaulted them saying she was ``tired of seeing them hold hands and kissing.'' The girl has been accused of assaulting the girls because of their sexual orientation. I would like to describe a terrible crime that occurred on August 30, 2003 , in New Orleans, LA. There, a 53-year old gay man from Pennsylvania was stabbed in the back. Upon arrest, his attacker confessed that he ``wanted to kill a gay man.'' In May 2002, two young male assailants targeted a Washington, D.C. resident after he left a local gay bar. The victim suffered severe face wounds, including a broken nose. Later that night, and in the week that followed, several more gay men were attacked by an unidentified group of young men. In early May 2003 , Jessica Mercado, a Latina transgender woman was found dead in her apartment. According to police reports, Mercado was stabbed twice in the neck in her New Haven, CT apartment which was then set on fire in a possible attempt to cover up the crime. Posted at 03:38 PM Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2003Senate Bill S.966 was introduced by Senator
Kennedy [MA] on 1 May 2003. It would provide Federal assistance to State and
local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes. This bill is apparently
languishing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is busy trying to figure
out how to ban same-sex marriage.
SUMMARY AS OF:
5/1/2003--Introduced. Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under Federal law or a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State or tribe. Directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one State and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law enforcement officials with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Prohibits specified offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study and provide sentencing enhancements for adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes. Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to require the crime data to be collected and published by the Attorney General to include data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender. COSPONSORS(49), ALPHABETICAL Sen Akaka, Daniel K. - 5/1/2003 [HI] Sen Bayh, Evan - 5/1/2003 [IN] Sen Biden Jr., Joseph R. - 5/1/2003 [DE] Sen Bingaman, Jeff - 5/1/2003 [NM] Sen Boxer, Barbara - 5/1/2003 [CA] Sen Breaux, John B. - 5/1/2003 [LA] Sen Cantwell, Maria - 5/1/2003 [WA] Sen Carper, Thomas R. - 5/1/2003 [DE] Sen Chafee, Lincoln D. - 5/1/2003 [RI] Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham - 5/1/2003 [NY] Sen Coleman, Norm - 7/9/2003 [MN] Sen Collins, Susan M. - 5/1/2003 [ME] Sen Corzine, Jon - 5/1/2003 [NJ] Sen Daschle, Thomas A. - 5/1/2003 [SD] Sen Dayton, Mark - 5/1/2003 [MN] Sen Dodd, Christopher J. - 5/1/2003 [CT] Sen Dorgan, Byron L. - 5/1/2003 [ND] Sen Durbin, Richard J. - 5/1/2003 [IL] Sen Edwards, John - 5/1/2003 [NC] Sen Ensign, John E. - 5/1/2003 [NV] Sen Feinstein, Dianne - 5/1/2003 [CA] Sen Graham, Bob - 5/1/2003 [FL] Sen Harkin, Tom - 5/1/2003 [IA] Sen Inouye, Daniel K. - 5/1/2003 [HI] Sen Jeffords, James M. - 5/1/2003 [VT] Sen Johnson, Tim - 5/1/2003 [SD] Sen Kerry, John F. - 5/1/2003 [MA] Sen Landrieu, Mary - 5/1/2003 [LA] Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. - 5/1/2003 [NJ] Sen Leahy, Patrick J. - 5/1/2003 [VT] Sen Levin, Carl - 5/1/2003 [MI] Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. - 5/1/2003 [CT] Sen Lincoln, Blanche - 5/1/2003 [AR] Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. - 5/1/2003 [MD] Sen Miller, Zell - 5/1/2003 [GA] Sen Murray, Patty - 5/1/2003 [WA] Sen Nelson, Bill - 5/1/2003 [FL] Sen Nelson, E. Benjamin - 5/1/2003 [NE] Sen Pryor, Mark Lunsford - 5/1/2003 [AR] Sen Reed, John F. - 5/1/2003 [RI] Sen Reid, Harry M. - 5/1/2003 [NV] Sen Rockefeller, Jay - 5/1/2003 [WV] Sen Sarbanes, Paul S. - 5/1/2003 [MD] Sen Schumer, Charles E. - 5/1/2003 [NY] Sen Smith, Gordon - 5/1/2003 [OR] Sen Snowe, Olympia J. - 5/1/2003 [ME] Sen Specter, Arlen - 5/1/2003 [PA] Sen Stabenow, Debbie - 5/1/2003 [MI] Sen Wyden, Ron - 5/1/2003 [OR] Posted at 03:18 PM Mon - March 1, 2004Federal Marriage Amendment Senate CosponsorsThere are now 9 cosponsors of the Federal
Marriage Amendment in the Senate.
Additional cosponsors in the Senate since the
beginning of this year include:
Sen Shelby, Richard C. - 12/9/2003 [AL] Sen Miller, Zell - 2/9/2004 [GA] Sen Santorum, Rick - 2/12/2004 [PA] Sen Fitzgerald, Peter - 2/23/2004 [IL] Sen Lott, Trent - 2/26/2004 [MS] Posted at 02:12 AM Sat - November 29, 2003Federal Marriage Amendment (Senate version)S.J.Res. 26 was introduced by Sen. Allard on
November 25, 2003, proposing an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage
as "the union of a man and a woman". This is the counterpart of H.J.Res.
56.
Resolved by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled
(two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of
the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the
Congress:
Article-- 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, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups. Cosponsors: Sen Brownback, Sam - 11/25/2003 [KS] Sen Bunning, Jim - 11/25/2003 [KY] Sen Inhofe, Jim - 11/25/2003 [OK] Sen Sessions, Jeff - 11/25/2003 [AL] Posted at 11:03 AM Thu - November 27, 2003Affirmation of the Defense of Marriage ActS. Res. 275 was introduced by Sen. Nickles on Nov
25 to give Senators Brownback, Sessions, Bunning, Cornyn, Santorum and Allard
another opportunity to voice their ignorant, homophobic opinions.
S. Res.
275
Whereas, marriage is a fundamental social institution that has been tested and reaffirmed over thousands of years; Whereas, historically marriage has been reflected in our law and the law of all jurisdictions in the United States as the union of a man and a woman, and the everyday meaning of marriage and the legal meaning of marriage has always been defined as the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife; Whereas, families consisting of the legal union of one man and one woman for the purpose of bearing and raising children remains the basic unit of our civil society; Whereas, in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled 4 to 3 that the Constitution of the State of Massachusetts prohibits the denial of the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples; Whereas, the power to regulate marriage lies with the legislature and not with the judiciary and the Constitution of the State Massachusetts specifically states that the judiciary ``shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men''; and Whereas, in 1996, Congress overwhelmingly passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, the Defense of Marriage Act under which Congress exercised its rights under the effects clause of section 1 of Article IV of the United States Constitution: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate-- (1) Congress should take whatever steps necessary to affirm the fact that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman; (2)(A) same-sex marriage is not a right, fundamental or otherwise, recognized in this country; and (B) neither the United States Constitution nor any Federal law shall be construed to require that marital status or legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups; and (3) the Defense of Marriage Act is a proper and constitutional exercise of Congress's powers under the effects clause of section 1 of Article IV and that no State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship. Cosponsors (6) Sen Allard, A. Wayne - 11/25/2003 [CO] Sen Brownback, Sam - 11/25/2003 [KS] Sen Bunning, Jim - 11/25/2003 [KY] Sen Cornyn, John - 11/25/2003 [TX] Sen Santorum, Rick - 11/25/2003 [PA] Sen Sessions, Jeff - 11/25/2003 [AL] Posted at 10:04 AM |
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