The state Assembly failed to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of AB 475 Wednesday night, marking the sixth time legislators have failed to override a veto this session.
The bill would have changed the definition of marriage from a union between a husband and wife to between a man and woman. Supporters said it would guard against activist judges who might interpret husband and wife as two members of the same sex. Opponents said the bill was an unnecessary slap in the face to homosexuals.
Legislators voted 66-33 to override the veto, falling one short of the two-thirds majority needed.
\Personally I'm very happy to see that they were unable to get the two-thirds majority they needed to override the governor's veto and I think it was very responsible for the governor to veto this bill,"" said UW-Madison senior Josh Petit, spokesperson for UW-Madison's Ten Percent Society. ""It would be more of a benefit to citizens of the state of Wisconsin if the state Legislature spent less time redefining marriage and spent more time trying to make sure there are equal rights for all citizens.""
But the bill's co-author Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin, said Doyle was ""obsessed with the gay agenda,"" according to the Associated Press.
Gundrum also criticized Doyle for offering health benefits to live-in partners of state workers, regardless of their sex.
