Committee approves resolution opposing federal gay marriage ban



By Jim Wasserman
ASSOCIATED PRESS


SACRAMENTO – A state Assembly committee voted Tuesday for a resolution urging the defeat of a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban gay marriage.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee, which voted earlier this year for a bill supporting gay marriage, voted 8-3 for a resolution expressing the Legislature's opposition to the amendment backed by President Bush and other federal moves to restrict rights of same-sex couples. The resolution must pass the entire Assembly and Senate to take effect.

Bush endorsed the proposed federal amendment in February, saying he wanted to stop activist judges from changing rules that oversee the "most enduring human institution."

The committee's party-line vote Tuesday – with Democrats prevailing – represented the newest move in a cultural battle that has gripped the nation amid thousands of gay weddings this year in California, Massachusetts and other states. Though Bush's call to protect traditional marriage has galvanized supporters in an election year, it has reaped criticism from his opponents, including the resolution's author, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.