Senators urged to support marriage amendment, resist filibuster

Published: 2004-07-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman "is not simply a Catholic concern" but one shared by "believers and nonbelievers, Christians and non-Christians alike," the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a July 6 letter to U.S. senators. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., urged the senators to support the Federal Marriage Amendment and to oppose efforts to prevent a vote through a filibuster. The amendment, which would revise the U.S. Constitution to stipulate that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman," must be approved by two-thirds of each house of Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of three-quarters of the states. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said he would bring the issue to the Senate floor in mid-July.

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