Same-sex marriage showdown in U.S. Senate expected

-- The announcement in January by Majority Leader William Frist (R-Tenn.) that the Senate will take up a constitutional amendment to defend traditional marriage in June is only the latest sign that the fight over marriage is expanding in the United States.

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Campaigns to win legal recognition of same-sex unions as marriages and efforts to counter them are now taking place against the background of proposals to legalize polygamy and "polyamory" – relationships that involve three or more persons and any gender mix. Legalization of same-sex marriage is seen as a necessary step to that end.

Frist scheduled Senate debate on the Marriage Protection Amendment for the week of June 5. That will be almost two years after 50 Senate Democrats refused to halt a filibuster and let the amendment come to a vote. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.), awaiting nomination by the Democrats as their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, skipped the vote.

Forty-eight Republicans voted to end the filibuster. A filibuster, requiring 60 votes to halt it, is likely when the amendment comes up again this year. The Marriage Protection Amendment would define marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman. It has the support of President Bush and pro-family groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. --