The vote on a gay marriage ban is today. It's not looking good for Bush, and his fellow anti-gay marriage Republicans. The creation of the amendment is seemingly backfiring, in what President Bush wanted to have happen - make the Democrats look bad, and in a sense override a federal law that gives the states the right to define marriage.

When Senate Republicans scheduled a vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, they knew it would fail. They were hoping instead to put Democrats — and their expected presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry — on the spot. But with the vote coming today, it is a divided Republican Party that will seal the measure's doom. And it is President Bush (news - web sites) who faces a potentially embarrassing defeat in the Republican-controlled Senate on a measure he has pushed. There may not even be a straight up-or-down vote on the measure. The amendment, which would define marriage as a "union between a man and a woman," may succumb to a filibuster if the Senate cannot muster 60 votes to limit debate and put the issue to a vote.

But the amendment has caused discomfort within the GOP's ranks, despite Bush's support for it. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John McCain of Arizona have come out against the amendment. Collins told reporters Tuesday: "I see no need for a constitutional amendment … at a time when we already have a federal law on the books that protects the rights of states to define marriage as between a man and a woman." Even Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), usually a reliable GOP vote, expressed concerns about the wording of the measure, saying it could prevent states from passing legislation dealing with civil unions and domestic partnerships. [via LA Times]

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