Bayh & Lugar Continue Hair Splitting On Gay Marriage Issue

Neither Sen. Evan Bayh (D) nor Sen. Richard Lugar (R) can be accused of being a profile in courage when it comes to the gay marriage debate. As the Senate begins debating the Family Marriage Amendment (FMA) this week, both sought to make clear (or further cloud) their positions.

Sen. Richard Lugar, as we reported last week, released a statement to the Star's Maureen Groppe saying he would vote to consider a vote on FMA "because the definition of marriage and legal matters surrounding that definition are legitimate issues that likely will require examination by American society and our government." She adds, "Lugar declined to say whether he supports or opposes the underlying amendment." Lugar also voted on the side of the amendment's supporters in 2004 to bring it to a vote.

Sen. Evan Bayh more or less repeated the position he laid out to AI Editor Gary R. Welsh during his luncheon with Indiana-area bloggers last month. His spokesman, Meghan Keck told Groppe that "Bayh would consider amending the Constitution if the Supreme Court ever strikes down the state and national laws prohibiting same-sex marriage, but he would not support an amendment now." That is the same position he took when he sided with opponents in 2004 to successfully block a vote on the amendment.

Their positions will win them no fans from the GLBT community. Lugar's hair splitting is bothersome in that he doesn't even face an opponent in this November's election where he is seeking an unprecedented sixth term to the Senate. What does he have to lose in taking a firm position one way or the other? Bayh's position, meanwhile, will not bode well for him in his quest to win the 2008 presidential nomination. Liberal activists in key primary states will find his position unacceptable.