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Activists rally again on gay-marriage issue
By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press Writer
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Members of the Kentucky House - the battleground over a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriages - were greeted Monday by activists on both sides of the emotional issue.
Gay-rights activists sang, chanted and held placards opposing the proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages.
Michael Roberts, a senior at St. Xavier High School
in Louisville, said the proposal would deny gays and lesbians a fundamental right.
"Think about all the benefits that you get from being married, from having someone that you share your lives wi
th,
quot; he said.
"And to completely shut us off from
that, from any possibility of ever having any kind of legal recognition of love or commitment, that really puts us in a box and really stunts our emotional growth."
Kentucky law already prohibits same-sex marriages.
Supporters of the proposed amendment also gathered near the House chamber as lawmakers met for the next-to-last day of the 2004 General Assembly. They insist that a constitutional amendment is needed to cement the prohibition against gay marriage. A small group of pro-amendment activists huddled to pray as others held signs, including one that said, "What Part of Thou Shall Not Don't You Understand."
In pushing for a vote, the amendment supporters also want the House to consider a versi
on that would deny legal recognition of civil unions. That version easily passed the Senate.
Kent Ostrander of the Family Foundation, a conservative group vocal in the push for the ma
rria
ge a
mend
ment, calle
d on House leaders to let rank-and-file Democrats "vote their mind and the
ir conscience."
"We're optimistic then that this bill could be passed in a bipartisan way as it was in the Senate," he said.
The House defeated a version of the amendment that would ban same-sex marriages but was silent on civil unions. It failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to go on the ballot when House Republicans staged a dramatic walkout. They were protesting a decision by the Democratic majority to curtail debate and quash Republican amendments.
---
The legislation is Senate Bill 245.
On the Net: http://www.lrc.state.ky.us
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K...EMPLATE=DEFAULT
Activists rally again on gay-marriage issue
By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press Writer
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Members of the Kentucky House - the battleground over a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriages - were greeted Monday by activists on both sides of the emotional issue.
Gay-rights activists sang, chanted and held placards opposing the proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages.
Michael Roberts, a senior at St. Xavier High School
in Louisville, said the proposal would deny gays and lesbians a fundamental right.
"Think about all the benefits that you get from being married, from having someone that you share your lives wi
th,
quot; he said.
"And to completely shut us off from
that, from any possibility of ever having any kind of legal recognition of love or commitment, that really puts us in a box and really stunts our emotional growth."
Kentucky law already prohibits same-sex marriages.
Supporters of the proposed amendment also gathered near the House chamber as lawmakers met for the next-to-last day of the 2004 General Assembly. They insist that a constitutional amendment is needed to cement the prohibition against gay marriage. A small group of pro-amendment activists huddled to pray as others held signs, including one that said, "What Part of Thou Shall Not Don't You Understand."
In pushing for a vote, the amendment supporters also want the House to consider a versi
on that would deny legal recognition of civil unions. That version easily passed the Senate.
Kent Ostrander of the Family Foundation, a conservative group vocal in the push for the ma
rria
ge a
mend
ment, calle
d on House leaders to let rank-and-file Democrats "vote their mind and the
ir conscience."
"We're optimistic then that this bill could be passed in a bipartisan way as it was in the Senate," he said.
The House defeated a version of the amendment that would ban same-sex marriages but was silent on civil unions. It failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to go on the ballot when House Republicans staged a dramatic walkout. They were protesting a decision by the Democratic majority to curtail debate and quash Republican amendments.
---
The legislation is Senate Bill 245.
On the Net: http://www.lrc.state.ky.us