Marriage Amendment Legislative History
The Federal Marriage Amendment was first introduced in 2002 by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) and Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO).
In 2004 the marriage amendment was defeated in both the House and Senate. There was no direct vote on the amendment in the Senate, but rather a cloture vote, which would end debate and require a straight up or down vote on the amendment. Cloture requires 60 votes to end the debate. In a bi-partisan vote of 48-50, the Senate rejected the cloture motion, thus blocking the amendment.
In the House, by a bipartisan vote of 227-186, the amendment was also defeated, falling 46 votes short of the required two-thirds majority.
On January 25, 2005, Sen. Allard reintroduced the Federal Marriage Amendment, renamed the Marriage Protection Amendment (S.J. Res 1). In June 2006, that amendment failed on a 49-48 procedural vote; sixty votes were necessary to bring the measure to the floor.
In July 2006 the marriage amendment was once again defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House voted 236 to 187 in favor of H.J. Res. 88, falling short of the two-thirds necessary to advance a constitutional amendment.
Additional Information: