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June 7, 2006

Chafee helps defeat gay-marriage ban amendment

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee was among a handful of Republicans who joined Democrats today to defeat an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning gay marriage.

The senators' vote was 49-48 to limit debate and bring the amendment to a yes-or-no decision. That was 11 short of the 60 needed, killing the measure in the Senate for this year.

Other senators who joined the Rhode Island Republican in the effort to block the amendment were John McCain, of Arizona; Arlen Specter, of Pennsylvania; and every Republican senator from New England: Maine's Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and New Hampshire's John Sununu and Judd Gregg.

Connecticut's Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, did not vote. Like almost all of his fellow Democrats, Rhode Island's Jack Reed voted against the motion.

Supporters knew they wouldn't achieve the two-thirds vote needed to approve a constitutional amendment, but they had predicted a majority of votes. Instead, they fell one short, 49-48.

See the roll call vote.

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 4:27 PM | Permalink

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Greg | June 7, 2006 4:34 PM link

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