And So It Begins - If you are gay, you may be interested in the fact that today the U.S. Senate has formally taken up a proposal to write discrimination against you into the American Constitution. The good news is that handicappers on both sides of the debate put the FMA's chance of passage near zero. However, the "Bush Republicans" are energized on this issue, and there will apparently be another meaningless vote in the House this month on a no-chance bill to remove gay marriage lawsuits from the jurisdiction of federal courts.

As disturbing as all this grandstanding is, it was pleasant to read a missive sent by the American Family Association, which is trying to put the best face on their losing battle:

The FMA will probably not get the necessary two-thirds vote required for a constitutional amendment to pass. In fact, there is a possibility that it may not even get a simple majority.

I urge you, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED! This is only the beginning of a long fight for the very foundation of Western Civilization. One of the primary purposes of this vote is to make public the position of each Senator. There is a general feeling that some Senators will have to be voted out of office before the FMA can pass.

(That may be wishful thinking on the part of the bigot brigade.)Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership has been strategizing about the best way to squelch the FMA. According to a report in Thursday's Roll Call, the Dems are considering upstaging the GOP desire for a wedge-issue vote by blocking it with procedural tactics that require 60 votes to overcome. The Senate Republican leadership was twisting arms hard yesterday to try to come up with enough votes to defeat that strategy, but one Democrat responded that

This is not a serious effort to amend the Constitution - this is a serious effort to create an issue for November. They want a roll-call vote, and they want to put Senators on the spot. And I frankly don't think we are going to step back and let that happen.

And let's not forget that an extra benefit of snarling things with a procedural snafu would be to let John Kerry and John Edwards avoid voting one way or another on the issue.

Regardless of the amendment's actual legislative prospects, I understand that the self-annointed outing activists, Mike Rogers and John Aravosis, are continuing their campaign against closeted Hill staffers with gusto.

UPDATE: The AP covers the start of today's emotional debate. You can also check C-SPAN and the Congressional Record for sound bites from your favorite (as if!) Senators.