Faced with the likelihood of falling far short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution, some Senate Republicans were pushing for a chance to vote on an alternative that stated simply that marriage exists only between a man and a woman.
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Democrats objected to the move and derided it as a desperation effort to avoid the embarrassment of a huge defeat when the Senate votes on the issue tomorrow.
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As currently drafted, the amendment consists of two sentences: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
Some Republicans argued that proposed language on other legal arrangements, such as civil unions, was confusing and could be interpreted as either sanctioning or banning such unions.
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