WASHINGTON, June 7: A constitutional amendment seeking a national ban on gay marriage, strongly backed by US President George Bush and conservative Christian groups, failed to pass the Senate on Wednesday.

The Republican-controlled upper chamber failed to endorse the amendment despite a majority of senators backing the proposal in a 49 to 48 vote. The measure required the backing of two-thirds of the Senate for it to be approved and taken forward to a formal vote.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a likely Republican contender in the 2008 presidential election, remained upbeat in the face of the defeat.

“For thousands of years, marriage — the union between a man and a woman — has been recognised as an essential cornerstone of society,” he said. “We must continue fighting to ensure the Constitution is amended by the will of the people rather than by judicial activism.”

“If it’s up to me,” said another Republican senator, Wayne Allard, who authored the measure, “we’ll have a vote on this issue every year. I think it’s important to the American people.”—AFP