AHC: Pass the Federal Marriage Amendment
- Thread starter lerk
- Start date
-
- Tags
- constitution
RightHoJeeves
Banned
That one is tough. A GOP House can pass the bill but then it has two hurdles to clear in the Senate: 60 votes for cloture and then 67 votes to send it to the states for ratification.
Off the top of my head I'd say for that to happen Gore must win the 2000 election and subsequently become the most unpopular president in modern history, thus dragging the entire Democratic Party down in the 2002 midterms and 2004 elections.
Off the top of my head I'd say for that to happen Gore must win the 2000 election and subsequently become the most unpopular president in modern history, thus dragging the entire Democratic Party down in the 2002 midterms and 2004 elections.
The Avenger
Banned
Very unlikely, but what if GOPers propose a package deal--making same-sex civil unions legal nationwide in exchange for banning same-sex marriage nationwide?
Would the Dems buy it?
nyet AL - nye Gay .. AL Bi
I could see Civil Unions being sanctioned in theory, but this is 1990 we are talking about. its 2018 and homophobia is bad enough.. the biggest issue is one that people tended to treat it as some form of a disease or mental illness, people associated being gay with AIDS and other virus's.
Good selling point is that by encouraging people to shack up, IE marry... then you reduce the number of free wheeling sexual partners to some extent. financial benefits of marriage could help in this regard.
unfortunately I think that the religious groups will act exactly as they have now for the most part.
so to pass it 1990, you would have to start educating the population back in 1985, which is about the time that AIDS really starts to take notice. So maybe there could be a chance to pass it if it is framed right.
Last edited:
The Avenger
Banned
It's Obergefell, not Obergefall. Sorry, I'm being a Grammar Nazi here.
Also, even in this TL, the Dems might insist on making it a states' rights issue. Even back then, there was a serious possibility that Hawaii would legalize SSM.
thatsbunkers
Banned
1994 would be a bigger republican landslide if the scotus legalized gay marriage, and would there be 33 democrats willing to take that position
Excluding what people have already said, one possibility is making AIDS hit harder and continue to be thought of as strictly a gay disease.
First up, avert Magic Johnson getting HIV. Keep it a gay disease as far as the public is concerned. And make it more devastating - strengthen the religious right with a bigger win in 1994 and flip over enough Dems. Remember, even Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act - if he really gets on board with the anti-gay movement, expect an FMA endorsement in his second term.
And if the religious right really gets ambitious, they could tack on a rider to the FMA that allows states to ban sodomy - I don’t think a federal ban on sodomy would fly but something that would stop the Lawrence decision in its tracks.
First up, avert Magic Johnson getting HIV. Keep it a gay disease as far as the public is concerned. And make it more devastating - strengthen the religious right with a bigger win in 1994 and flip over enough Dems. Remember, even Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act - if he really gets on board with the anti-gay movement, expect an FMA endorsement in his second term.
And if the religious right really gets ambitious, they could tack on a rider to the FMA that allows states to ban sodomy - I don’t think a federal ban on sodomy would fly but something that would stop the Lawrence decision in its tracks.
The Avenger
Banned
That might sabotage the whole amendment, though. After all, gay people aren't the only ones who have butt sex.
You would need the religious right to be strong enough to push America toward an extremely conservative viewpoint on sex. For what I described, a narrower ban on sexual activity between members of the same sex would fly better than a blanket sodomy ban.
For a blanket sodomy ban, turn AIDS loose on everyone and make it a disease of gays AND fornicators (and drug users, just for shits and giggles.) You might need a POD in the 80s or some ASB shit like AIDS mutating into something that kills you dead without any help from other diseases to pull it off, but the crux of the need is to make the religious right immensely powerful AND willing to restrict sex to within marriage - possibly even with an insanely strict “sex is for procreation and nothing more” mentality.
Pat Robertson becoming President in 1988 is a good start. Robertson re-elected and replaced in 1996 with someone as hard-line helps. Congress mirroring him in enough time would do it. Yes, this is Handmaid’s Tale-level shit here but it’s pretty much what the religious right could aspire to.
The Avenger
Banned
Does that include lesbian sex?
You'd need a really powerful PoD for that, though!