[JURIST] Senators supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage said Monday they will press for passage of the amendment in the new Congress despite President Bush's recent indication that he will not lobby for its passage [APB report]. GOP Senate leaders are expected to bring the amendment to a vote before the 2006 mid-term elections. The so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment" reads:

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.

A two-thirds majority in the Senate is needed for the amendment's passage, but it received only 48 votes last year. With most Democrats opposing the measure it is expected to fail again unless a court rules that one state must recognize a same-sex marriage made in another state. AP has more.