Calls Pour in on Gay Marriage Ban

None by KCPW

U.S. Senate Ignites Fervor in Utah

(KCPW News) Phones are ringing off the hook in the offices of Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett over the subject of gay marriage.

"This issue has generated more phone calls and faxes and emails in a shorter period of time than any issue I remember," says Hatch spokesperson Heather Barney.

Hatch's offices received 800 calls Monday with more than 90 percent in favor of amending the U.S. Constitution to define as a union between a man and a woman. Today was the Senate's first day of debate on the amendment, which President Bush is pushing in hopes of preventing judges from sidestepping state laws and endorsing same-sex marriages.

Both Hatch and Bennett support the amendment. Many of the calls to their offices are likely driven by a directive from leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last week urging church members to contact lawmakers. Utah's gay and lesbian community countered with a similar call to oppose the amendment.

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