For Foes of Same-Sex Marriage, It's the Thought That Counts

Added Exodus International's Alan Chambers, who said he quit homosexuality 14 years ago: "Our children are being raped every day of school by what's being taught. Are you mad? I'm mad. I'm so mad. God have mercy."

Chambers is likely to be angrier still if he checks out the results of last month's Washington Post-ABC News poll. When voters were asked about the most important issue in November's election, they chose the economy, Iraq, immigration, gas prices, terrorism and health care. Same-sex marriage merited only an asterisk, meaning it rated below 0.5 percent of responses.

With that in mind, Senate Democrats have tried furiously to keep the debate on topics more likely to depress Republican turnout in November. Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) brought a list to the floor Monday. "High gas prices, the war in Iraq, the national debt, health care, senior citizens, education, crime, trade policy, stem cell research: Each issue begging for the president's attention, each issue being ignored."

But liberal advocacy groups fell into the conservatives' trap, holding at least four events of their own to treat the doomed amendment as if it were an imminent threat. "It has come to a point in this country," Rabbi Joui Hessel said at a National Press Club event dueling with the conservatives, "where our government is poised to legalize a lesser status to gay and lesbian people."

Poised? It's not the first word that comes to mind when listening to proponents try to explain urgency for a same-sex-marriage ban this week.

When White House press secretary Tony Snow, at Monday's briefing, likened the amendment to efforts to enact civil rights laws, CBS News's Bill Plante challenged him.

"You would equate that with civil rights?" Plante asked.

"No, I'm just saying that I think -- well, I don't know. How do you define civil rights?"

"Up to you," Plante offered.

"Okay," Snow said. "Well, no, it's your question. So I -- if I -- . . . I need to get a more precise definition."

Likewise, Allard held a news conference Monday at which the speakers said they wanted to reduce the "epidemic level of fatherlessness in America."

"How would outlawing gay marriage encourage heterosexual fathers to stick around?" was the first question.

Allard skirted the question by saying that "laws send a message to our children."

The moderator, Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage, tried to find a question on another subject. But when reporters continued to press Allard on the link between same-sex marriage and deadbeat dads, Daniels blurted out: "All right, you know what? We're going to call this press conference to a close."