Marriage amendment

The Marriage Protection Amendment states:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.

It has not obtained the two thirds majority necessary for a constitutional amendment to be sent to the states for ratification, but has repeatedly been supported by a majority in the House of Representatives and a plurality (49-48) in the Senate. The amendment has only been proposed in election years.