Forty-five Republicans and three Democrats voted in favor of cloture. The Democrats were Zell Miller (GA), Ben Nelson (NE), and Robert C. Byrd, (WV).
	Forty-three Democrats and six Republicans voted against it. The Republicans were: Susan M. Collins and Olympia Snowe (ME), John E. Sununu (NH), Lincoln Chafee (RI), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO), and John McCain (AZ).

Comments were varied:

	Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) said there was no "urgent need" to amend the Constitution. "Marriage is a sacred union between men and women. That is what the vast majority of Americans believe. It's what virtually all South Dakotans believe. It's what I believe....In South Dakota, we've never had a single same sex marriage and we won't have any. It's prohibited by South Dakota law as it is now in 38 other states. There is no confusion. There is no ambiguity."
	Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said: "I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance. Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"
	Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) said: "The issue is not ripe. It is not needed. It's a waste of our time. We should be dealing with other issues."
	But Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) Tennessee said that "Same-sex marriage will be exported [from Massachusetts] to all 50 states. The question is no longer whether the Constitution will be amended. The only question is who will amend it and how will it be amended: [either by] activist judges" or lawmakers.
	Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stated "This issue is not going away. Will we bring it back? Absolutely." 6
	House Majority Leader Tom Delay said he expects the House to debate a similar bill in 2004-SEP. 6
	Two religious conservatives compared the FMA, whose purpose is to deny same-sex couples the right to marry, to major American conflicts to grant defend civil rights: James Dobson, founder and chairperson of the fundamentalist group Focus on the Family said: "Although we are disappointed by today's outcome, we are not distressed or defeated. This is only the opening salvo in a long battle to preserve the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman — a battle we are determined to win."  He likened the FMA to the Civil War which ended human slavery. He said: "The Civil War, another great struggle in the history of the American people, was not won in a day — and like that great cultural clash, we are certain morality will prevail." 7 Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage (AFM), the group which drafted the first draft of the FMA said that it was "a great day....Today's Senate vote marks the start of a democratic debate that AFM hoped to create when we drafted our marriage amendment over three years ago. Our amendment was introduced into both the House and Senate, in order to let the people decide the future of marriage. It will continue to gain ground so long as activists continue to strike down our marriage laws in court." He likened the FMA to the Civil Rights Act. The latter took many passes through Congress before it was taken seriously and finally passed. 7
	Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights group, was pleased at the failure of the FMA. She said: "This was an attempt to divide Americans that backfired and divided Republicans."  7
	How did your senators vote? Find out at: http://www.senate.gov/

	The bill has 129 co-sponsors -- an unusually large number. All are expected to vote in favor of the bill.
	Forty additional representatives are expected to vote in favor.
	Eighty are undecided.
	183 are expected to vote against the bill.

To pass, 288 affirmative votes are required. Assuming that all of the undecided representative vote against the bill, -- an unlikely occurrence -- and that nobody changes their mind, there would only be 249 votes in favor -- 39 votes short of the minimum required to pass the bill.

	Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said: "Clearly there is concern [among conservatives]. I believe there is no more important issue for the president's second term than the preservation of marriage."
	Tim Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family said: "I'm sure [that White House] phone lines are lighting up all over...."The president is willing to spend his political capital on Social Security reform, but the nation is greatly conflicted on that issue. The nation is united on marriage. The president's leadership is desperately needed.....It seems wrong to signal at the start of the new Congress that nothing is likely to happen. We would like him to stoke this first, so when there is this precipitating event, we can hit the ground running."
	Janet M. LaRue of Concerned Women for America, said that the president was simply referring to the deeply divided Senate: "I think he was speaking practically about the fact that there are senators who are waiting to see whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act is struck down by a court." LaRue is reported as calling this position  "foolish." She pointed out that: "The responsibility for an amendment lies with Congress, not the White House." 11

The phrases "preservation of marriage" and "united on marriage" are used by religious and social conservatives to refer to excluding same-sex couples from marriage.