Is Senator Bill Frist, one of the most influential Republicans on Capitol Hill, backing away from his declared support for a Federal Marriage Amendment? In late June, the Senate majority leader told an ABC audience he would support such an amendment, adding: "I absolutely do. Of course I do."

But now, with the Massachusetts Supreme Court on the verge of issuing a ruling that could legalize same-sex marriage, the senator from Tennessee appears to have softened his tone somewhat, saying that "one alternative is a constitutional amendment."

"Right now it is too early to speculate even what the Massachusetts court will do," Frist tells Associated Press. "Once they make a decision ... I'm sure there will be a lot more discussion."

The senator's personal beliefs on the subject? "Marriage is very simple: a union between one man and one woman -- not two men or three men or four men or two women or three women or three women and three men. It's not that; it's one man, one woman," he says. "It's what the law of the land is. I will support that."

But if the courts "systematically begin to tear down what is the law of the land," Frist says "we would at least need to think about what our alternatives are."

AP points out that Frist's position now reflects that of President Bush, who is taking a "wait and see" approach on the need for a constitutional amendment.

Democratic Hopefuls Tackle the Issue
Meanwhile, the issue of homosexual marriage -- which promises to be a contentious issue during the 2004 presidential campaign -- was one topic of discussion Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest pro-homosexual lobby in the nation. Seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates were in attendance and were asked to state their position on same-sex marriage and the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

Three of the seven candidates -- Al Sharpton, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Senator Carol Moseley Braun -- endorsed homosexual marriage.

"That's like asking: Do I support black or white marriage?" Sharpton said. "We must stop the separation of gays and lesbians from other Americans. If people respect you, it's not about gays and lesbians; it's about human beings having the right to marry who they choose."

Sharpton urged other clergy to join him in opposing the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, saying it is "a human rights question that needs to be led by people like me that are in the church."

The other four candidates -- Congressman Dick Gephardt, Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman, and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean -- endorsed "civil unions" but not marriage for homosexual couples.

Gephardt, whose daughter, Chrissy, is a lesbian, believes homosexual couples should have the same rights afforded to married heterosexuals.

"My belief is the civil union is something that could be accomplished," he said. "We've come a long way. Minds are being changed and opened. If we continue to work and advocate and inform, I fully believe civil union laws can be expressed."

Interestingly, both Kerry and Dean cited religious reasons for their opposition to homosexual marriage.

"I do not support [homosexual] marriage itself because [it is] a matter of how I view the world culturally, historically, religiously," Kerry said. "I don't believe that that is a distinction that makes a difference with respect to the rights that we can afford under civil union in this country."

Dean, who as governor of Vermont signed into law the nation's first -- and, thus far, only -- civil union bill, stated that the term "marriage" is the hang-up.

"Marriage has a long, long history as a religious institution -- and when the rule of law developed, marriage became a civil and a religious institution. People have a lot of trouble telling the difference," Dean said. "My view is that we have to have a civil institution which provides equal rights for every single American. That's what we did in Vermont."

The former governor told those in attendance that the Defense of Marriage Act is the primary obstacle to homosexual couples gaining the same rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples. DOMA, he said, is "the barrier to all equal rights under the law."

The other two Democratic contenders -- Senators John Edwards and Bob Graham -- did not attend the forum.