Today the Republican-controlled Senate could not even muster a majority to advance the Marriage Discrimination Amendment. It is good news that the Constitution has been protected from the likes of Pat Robertson and James Dobson. Senators who voted against bringing the amendment to a vote should be proud of their stand.

Senator Frist and President Bush never should have wasted our country’s time with such divisive election-year fear mongering. It shows, sadly, how far they will go to satisfy the far-right ideologues whose political demands are so far removed from most Americans’ priorities.

Those who have clamored for discrimination have always been shown to be on the wrong side of history. There’s no doubt that time will show political leaders who are now vilifying gay and lesbian Americans for political gain to be shamefully out of touch with our enduring values.