How conservatives are keeping the gay marriage issue alive on Capitol Hill
Three weeks after the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage a constitutional right, conservative lawmakers continue pressing to have Congress weigh in with a response — even as top Republican leaders show little stomach for putting divisive social issues on the front burner.
Reversing the ruling would mean pursuing a constitutional amendment that most anti-gay-marriage lawmakers admit will be a long-term -- and uphill -- project. In the short term, they are instead pressing for a more modest measure, the "First Amendment Defense Act," that would protect individuals or groups who believe same-sex marriages are immoral from government sanction.
The House version has garnered 124 co-sponsors, while the Senate companion has 34 cosponsors. While neither has enough support at this point to guarantee passage, the bills enjoy wide support among conservatives who have proven influential in setting the congressional agenda.
(Here are the key excerpts on religious liberty from the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage)
"Individual Americans, of course, may differ in their views about the definition of marriage; they may differ in their views about how this decision should have been reached," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), author of the Senate bill, said at a Thursday press conference. "But I do think Americans are overwhelmingly united in their belief that religious freedom needs to be protected and that neither a person nor any group of people ought to be subject to government retaliation against based on their religious beliefs. ... That's why we're pushing this bill."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/17/how-conservatives-are-keeping-the-gay-marriage-issue-alive-on-capitol-hill/?tid=hpModule_f8335a3c-868c-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z8
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Why not make that amendment allows cops to murder people. I know it's OK now but it would be so much more convenient for them if they didn't have to go through a lot of rig-a-ma-roll and paperwork that they do now. 