Fridae

The United States Senate is debating the Federal Marriage Amendment this week as President Bush for the second time in three days implored the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Using his weekly radio address, Bush on Saturday delivered a plea for the US Senate to formally define marriage as the union of man and woman. On Monday, he said that the issue needs to be wrestled away from "overreaching judges" and placed in the hands of the American people.

Opponents say the president is experiencing slumping popularity in opinion polls - particularly over Iraq and is using the issue to win back disillusioned Republican voters.

Bush told conservative religious leaders, educators and social activists that he's supporting the Marriage Protection Amendment in the Senate because traditional marriage - between a man and a woman - is under fire.

"Marriage is the most fundamental institution of civilisation and it should not be redefined by activist judges," Bush said following a meeting with amendment supporters in the White House.

"Our policies should aim to strengthen families, not undermine them. And our changing the definition of marriage would undermine the family structure."

The measure is said to unlikely to win the two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives that the Constitution requires.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the White House is using the gay marriage issue to try to divert attention from the war in Iraq, high gasoline prices and other issues that aren't going the administration's way.

"This is another one of the president's efforts to frighten, to distort, to distract and to confuse America," Reid said. "It is this administration's way of avoiding the tough, real problems that American citizens are confronted with each and every day."

The Senate measure states: "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 legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

Bush's explicit support of the act has won support from his conservative base.

"I was very pleased with what the president said," said James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organisation.

"I would prefer the amendment prohibit civil unions, but we will take what he can get," referring to the possibility that state legislatures are still able to approve civil unions for same-sex couples despite the amendment.

People on both sides of the debate say they do not expect the amendment to come anywhere near winning approval this week. According to reports, both sides acknowledge that the amendment will fall well short of the 67 votes it needs in the Senate for approval. The amendment's supporters concede that they lack the necessary votes in the House of Representatives as well.

Meanwhile, the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay GOP group, called Bush's support of the measure "offensive and unworthy of the office of the presidency."

"Wedge-issue politics may score short-term political points, but will end up eroding your ability as president to unite the American people behind winning the war in Iraq, enhancing border security, advancing immigration reform and controlling spending," said Patrick Guerriero, the group's president, in a statement.

"Your call for civility and decency in this debate rings hollow because the effort to write discrimination into our Constitution is intolerant and uncivil."

Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, told CNN last month that "writing discrimination into the Constitution of the United States is fundamentally wrong."

A recent Gallup Poll shows that issues such as same-sex marriage are a low priority for most Americans at this time. In the poll, conducted last month, 42 percent of Americans said Iraq should be the top priority for the president and Congress, while only 1 percent said ethics/moral, religious/family decline issues should top their agenda.