Utah delegation split over ban on gay marriage | Salt Lake Tribune

[Ediacara]

Delegation split over ban on gay marriage

By Christopher Smith
The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON -- Like those Republicans in Congress leery of pursuing a gay marriage ban this election year, GOP Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch of Utah have hesitated to endorse President Bush's call to rewrite the Constitution to outlaw same-sex nuptials.

So has Utah 1st District Republican Rep. Rob Bishop. Only 3rd District Republican Rep. Chris Cannon and 2nd District Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson immediately embraced Bush's request this week for Congress "to promptly pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife."

All five members of the state's congressional delegation personally oppose same-sex marriage and have expressed concern over the spate of homosexual matrimony that began this month in San Francisco and is spreading to other municipalities. But their responses to Bush's plan to stop gay marriage by amending the Constitution blur traditional political fault lines and illustrate the delicate posturing going on in Congress.

"What is happening in Utah is the norm nationally," said political analyst Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia. "Most Republicans in Congress are not terribly enthusiastic about this amendment because the realistic ones know it is going nowhere and the others think a better approach is a full-court press defending the Defense of Marriage Act."

More at the Salt Lake Tribune

[Hamlette]

1. something's happening here . . .

Jim Matheson is our only dem and he's in favor of it??? And Rob Bishop is a nut case red neck and he's not sure? And HATCH is at least thinking about this?

I posted a link to a NYTimes article that not all evangelicals are happy about the amendment.

The same thing is happening now that happened to Bush I. Bush I didn't lose because he lost the religious right it was because his pandering to the religious right freaked out thinking people, moderate republicans etc.

Maybe the mormons (all of Utah's delegation are mormons) are thinking its not the best idea to let Falwell and Robertson decide what the rules are. (Some christians think Mormon's are not christian. Drives the mormons nuts.)

[Ediacara]

2. From what I've read on DU the last couple of days

Hatch was definately for it, but Bennett was still thinking. atheson's gung-ho support was more than a little surprising, but I suppose being the only Dem in Utah....

[BR_Parkway]

3. I agree, they see it as trying to codify religion into Constitution

and the Mormon' have taken their share of sh*t throughout the years - wasn't more than 120 years ago or so that they were chased out of Illinois (or Indiana, my Mormon history is weak) so they know what it's like to be persecuted. Now, the Rabid Right is so up in arms about the Passion, there are many Jews afraid of a backlash, many gays have expressed fears of the fundies bashing them. Yeah, I think they are having second thoughts about putting Pat Robertson in the Consitution, they can too easily see themselves as next.

All the "next thing you know gay marriage will open door to polygomy" has probably hit a nerve too - this was a strong practice for fundamental Mormons and one of the biggest reasons they were so hated by other denominations.