Georgia gay marriage ban approved on second vote, now heads to ballots

<p>The Georgia House gave final approval to a gay marriage ban in the state constitution Wednesday, sending the question to voters this fall.</p><p>After hours of tense debate, the amendment passed 122-52. If voters agree, the state constitution would say that Georgia will not recognize any same-sex unions, even if they were performed in other states.</p><p>The amendment was narrowly defeated by the Democratic House last month, although it breezed through the Republican-controlled Senate earlier this year.</p><p>Gay marriage is already illegal, but the matter is not addressed in the state constitution.</p><p>Amendment supporters, some of them quoting Bible verses, said a law alone would not prevent a judge from allowing same-sex couples to marry.</p><p>"We cannot let judges in Boston, or officials in San Francisco, define marriage for the people of Georgia," said Rep. Bill Hembree, R-Douglasville, sponsor of the amendment.</p><p>The House's reversal was due mostly to a fissure in the black caucus. Last time, nearly all black lawmakers opposed the amendment, comparing the gay rights debate to the civil rights struggle. Thirteen black House members purposely didn't vote during the first debate, presumably because they supported the amendment but didn't want to buck their caucus.</p><p>A month later, after heavy lobbying from black clergymen and other social conservatives, several of those abstainers voted "yes." That gave the amendment the needed two-thirds majority of 120 votes. Last time, the amendment got only 117 votes.</p><p>The split angered some blacks. Rep. Douglas Dean, a black Atlanta Democrat, took the podium to plead with black lawmakers to vote down the amendment and was so angry after the vote he left the House floor.</p><p>"They're absolutely crazy," Dean said of the blacks who sided with Republicans and conservative Democrats. "It's a sad day, and I'm angry as hell."</p><p>Another black opponent, Rep. Ron Sailor, called the black votes for the amendment "unacceptable."</p><p>"This limited the freedom of people! That's unacceptable for a member of the minority caucus to be limiting freedom of another minority," said Sailor, a minister from Decatur.</p><p>The black switchers made no apologies. Rep. Randal Mangham, D-Decatur, took the podium at the first debate to denounce homosexuality as sin and then didn't vote. This time, he voted for it, calling it a matter of personal morals.</p><p>"I don't appreciate having to explain to my nine-year-old why two big husky guys are kissing," Mangham said, then added, "God discriminates against the act, but he loves the person. I will continue to protect people who live that lifestyle."</p><p>The change of heart from a some of the black lawmakers was cheered by social conservatives.</p><p>"They displayed a great deal of courage in the face of a lot of pressure," said Sadie Fields, head of the Christian Coalition in Georgia. "The eyes of the nation were on Georgia, and the South has once again become the moral conscience of the nation."</p><p>Both sides of the gay marriage debate used Georgia's role in the South as an argument. Opponents cited Georgia's history of tolerance during the civil rights struggle, saying Atlanta has become an economic jewel mostly because of that tolerance.</p><p>"The South and Georgia have a long history between two forces, forces to move us backward and forces to keep us moving forward," said Democratic Whip Nan Orrock of Atlanta. "We see those forces here again tonight, and I say to you, be bold, be strong, be brave and vote no."</p><p>That position was rejected by most rural Democrats, who joined Republicans on the measure.</p><p>"We make a big mistake when we say the people of Georgia cannot be trusted to make the right decisions," said Rep. Tommy Smith, D-Nicholls.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2857e00)</p>

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