On June 7, the Senate defeated, 49-48, an effort to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of the “Marriage Protection Amendment” (S. J. Res. 1); the vote fell 11 votes short of the 60 votes necessary to limit debate. The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), proposed adding an amendment to the Constitution stating, “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.”
In March 2005, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) introduced a companion resolution in the House (H. J. Res. 3), but no action has been taken.
A constitutional amendment requires that two-thirds of the House and Senate vote to approve the resolution. Following congressional action, three-quarters — 38 — of the states would have to ratify the resolution before it could be added to the Constitution.
