hurrah! "Senate Scuttles Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage "

from the Post

The Senate voted today to block a White House-backed constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriages, dooming its prospects for approval by Congress this year but ensuring it an emotionally-charged role during campaigns this fall.

The vote was 48-50 against bringing up the amendment -- 12 short of the 60 votes needed to limit debate and 19 short of the two-thirds majority that it would take to amend the Constitution.

Republicans had hoped to win at least a simple majority in favor of proceeding with the amendment but were thwarted when six of their own colleagues joined all but three Democrats in voting to scuttle the measure without a vote on its substance. Several senators had said there would have been even more "no" votes if the showdown had occurred on substance rather than procedure.

The vote by the Republican-controlled Senate amounted to an embarrassing defeat for President Bush and conservative leaders who had pushed hard for approval of the amendment as a way of protecting traditional marriage. But Senate GOP leaders vowed to continue pushing for the amendment, hoping it will galvanize conservatives in the November election and help elect more supporters of the amendment.

deadlines

My editing friends will appreciate the humour of this situation. One of my colleagues brought me a job of copyediting to do (minor rewrites needed here and there, some technical editing, plus careful proofreading, checking for consistency, typos, etc.) and aksed if I could do it by Monday or the end of Monday at the latest. I pointed out I was going to be out tomorrow morning for minor surgery but could probably work in the afternoon, and said "Maybe."

He'd only brought me a few chapters and made a guess as to the length (maybe 200 pp.?) I got the whole thing today. Over 300pp of *laid-out*, formatted copy! :-) Monday morning? No, I don't think so...

the most fundamental institution of civilisation

That's what President Bush called marriage, "traditional" marriage, "a union between a man and a woman" in his radio address last Saturday. (Thanks to the BBC for tipping me off to this statement.)( Read more... )