HOW THEY VOTED: EQUALITY IN MARRIAGE

The Resolution: H Res 88 (The “Marriage Protection Amendment”)
Date Not Passed: July 18, 2:00 p.m.
About: This resolution, which was to create a constitutional amendment defining marriage as something between a man and a woman, was largely viewed as an exercise in election-year politics. The Senate had already rejected an identical resolution last month (6/7/06), yet the House scheduled this vote anyway.

The proposed amendment read: “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.”

While we at City Belt believe that too much social focus is placed on marriage -- whether by LGBT activists, young professionals, nagging suburban mothers or “old maids” -- we do acknowledge the inequality that pervaded this proposed amendment, and applaud its failure to pass. (In City Belt's ideal world, marriage would be strictly religious in nature, and it would not be entwined with the state in any way.)

The resolution failed to garner the two-thirds (290 votes) it needed to pass. The final vote result was 236 in favor, 187 opposed. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) was the only representative from NJ to break ranks – he voted against the resolution.

They Voted For It:
Frank LoBiondo (R-2)
Jim Saxton (R-3)
Christopher Smith (R-4)
E. Scott Garrett (R-5)
Michael Ferguson (R-7)

They Voted Against It:
Robert Andrews (D-1)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-6)
Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-8)
Steven Rothman (D-9)
Donald Payne (D-10)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R - 11)
Rush Holt (D-12)

How They Voted is a regular City Belt feature breaking down how New Jersey’s congressmen voted on the bills we think are important.

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