On Tuesday the House voted on the ban - passing easily. Today the Seante voted and also passed it without a single objection. It will now go to the voters of Alabama and we all know where it will end up - in the constitution.

A year after a wave of gay marriages swept America, the Alabama Legislature approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages in the state and refuse to recognize those from other states.

The Senate voted 30-0 to give final approval to the proposed constitutional amendment, which the House passed on Tuesday. The measure still must be approved by Alabama voters at the next election; which currently would be the party primary election scheduled for June 2006.

Gay weddings became a national issue last year, starting Feb. 12 in San Francisco when Mayor Gavin Newsom open the city's wedding registry to gays couples. Gay weddings jumped to Oregon in March, then New Mexico and New Paltz, N.Y., before a court ruling in May cleared the way for thousands of gay marriages in Massachusetts.

A backlash followed with voters in 11 states approving constitutional amendments in November to ban gay marriages. Voters in two other states, Missouri and Louisiana, barred gay marriages earlier in 2004.

Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Albertville, had been trying for four years to pass the ban. He said the gay weddings last year heightened public interest and helped get his proposal passed.

"It's not good for our children to see," he said.

Howard Bayless, chairman of the board of the gay rights group Equality Alabama, accused the Legislature of "meddling into the lives of families. The government is deciding what our families are and what families are made of and to me that's unconscionable."

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 12:03 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.