Harry Reid Senator says marriage should be between man and woman, but opposes amending Constitution

Disagreement over a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage doesn't mean Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is at odds with his church over the issues behind the amendment, a Reid spokesman said Saturday.

Reid, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will vote this week against a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for the senator.

The church, however, supports the proposal and issued a statement on May 26 calling on its members to contact their senators and voice support for the measure.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the resolution to amend the Constitution. The amendment would define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Observers don't expect the measure to pass the Senate.

"He feels this is an issue best addressed at the state level and not through a constitutional amendment," Manley said of Reid.

Reid, the Senate minority leader, agrees with the church in that marriage should be between a man and a woman, said Sharyn Stein, a spokeswoman for the senator. In the past, he voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows states to deny marriagelike unions that are recognized in other states.

"But he feels that bringing up a constitutional amendment is divisive and unnecessary," Stein said.

Michael Otterson, a spokesman for the church, said on Saturday that the church is neutral on matters of party politics and declined to comment on the positions of individual politicians, including Reid.

"It's very important to recognize that elected officials are representatives of their constituents and are responsible to their constituents," Otterson said. "Senator Reid or any other elected official does not represent the church. They are free to vote in any way they choose."

In a May 26 letter from the First Presidency of the church to church leaders in the United States about the amendment, the church stated that marriage between a man and a woman is the only acceptable form of marriage.

"We urge our members to express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate," the church wrote.

The church has repeatedly stated that it is opposed to same-sex marriage.

The amendment is widely seen by critics as a Republican election-year tactic to shore up support among religious conservatives.