Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Fails In House, PIMP Act Still Has A Way To Go

If you weren’t aware, today is apparently a holiday. It’s National Anti-Gay Marriage Day, where leaders from both political parties get all high and mighty and debate whether President Bush has a right to stop two dudes or gals from signing a lifelong, binding contract.

Constitutional amendments need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, and this one managed to lose outright, 49-48. (Huzzah, huzzah.) Of course, the press has been telling us this is just a political ploy to shore up the base and get people’s minds from Iraq, gas prices and whatever else is bad right now. That’s probably right, but it’s also a much easier idea to get your head around, too. I mean, it’s easier to think of politicians as opportunists who don’t mind using gays to as a way to score political points. Thinking of it another way is, well, almost scary. Right?

Speaking of scary, here in Pennsylvania our lovely legislators — when not voting themselves pay raises* — have their own Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages, which actually passed in the House. The Pennsylvania Marriage Protection Act, or the PIMP Act, would ban gay marriage as well as limit municipalities from recognizing civil unions of same-sex persons. It would also, apparently, defend marriages, although I’m not quite sure how.

For some reason, the PIMP Act still has to be ratified by the Senate and the House and Senate again in 2007 before being put out to the voters on the ballot. This will bring conservatives out the polls, presumably for that bastion of conservative elections, the Philadelphia mayoral race.

Pray they don’t hold it until ‘08.

Penna. House Passes State Constitutional Amendment Banning Gay Marriages [KYW 1060]
Gay Marriage Ban Falls Short of Majority [AP/KYW 1060]

*This clause copyrighted by John Baer, Daily News columnist, and John Grogan, puppydog and Inquirer scribe.