Lasza

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said Tuesday that he could support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.


The Massachusetts Supreme Court last month struck down that state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it is unconstitutional and giving state lawmakers six months to craft a way for gay couples to wed.


Bush has condemned the ruling before, citing his support for a federal definition of marriage as a solely man-woman union. On Tuesday, he criticized it as "a very activist court in making the decision it made."


"The court, I thought, overreached its bounds as a court," Bush said. It did the job (news - web sites) of the Legislature."


Previously, though Bush has said he would support whatever is "legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage," he and his advisers have shied away from specifically endorsing a constitutional amendment asserting that definition.


But on Tuesday, the president waded deeper into the topic, saying state rulings such as the one in Massachusetts and a couple of other states "undermine the sanctity of marriage" and could mean that "we may need a constitutional amendment."


"If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that," he said. "The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state (news - web sites) or at the state level."


Bush said he believes his view on the topic does not make him intolerant.


"I do believe in the sanctity of marriage ... but I don't see that as conflict with being a tolerant person or an understanding person," he said.


His remarks drew criticism from gay rights groups.


"It is never necessary to insert prejudice and discrimination into the U.S. Constitution — a document that has a proud history of being used to expand an individual's liberty and freedom (news - web sites), not to take them away," said Winnie Stachelberg, political direction of the Human Rights Campaign.


The president also said that he — like any politician — could lose his next run for office, next year's bid for a second term in the White House.


"Everybody's beatable in a democracy," Bush said. "And that's the great thing about a democracy. People get to make that decision. I know how I'm voting."


Bush said he has not decided who would be in his Cabinet and other top administration posts — other than retaining Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) — if he is "fortunate enough" to win.


Here is the liink.

Deafness

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sablescort

Ban gay marriages on the Constitution?


Hell NO!


Let our GLBT friends be happy and have the same marriage rights as straight people enjoy their rights. Isn't America supposed to be a beacon for FREEDOM?!

Federal interference in what is supposed to be a choice between 2 consenting adults is just plain fucking stupid

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javapride

U CAN bet he will LOSE! as far as im concerned THERE WILL NO CHANCE IN HELL will he come back i so am disgusted we're supposed to be an FREE COUNTRY he wanna run like a hitler/Stalin then GO to russia or go to iraqi and run there country JEEZ we don t need a fucked up texan! he thinks he can mess with tx and mess with USA he got another THHINKING coming he's SO gone!

GBLT has EVERY right to marry and be reconized! GAWD this is WAR for GBLT and BUSH!

Lasza

Bush's mouth about Marriage Ban costs lot of voters who are part of GLBT community. But glad he say it that which can make us see what kind of person he is. I feel that Bush's words can make lot of GLBT aware and start consider for vote regrister.

Liza

I dont want someone like Bush or worse to be the country's leader.. even if he acquieses to same sex marriages. I want a leader in integrity who knows how to use his/her heart and lead at the same time without being compromised.

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Kalista

Java,

You need to invitation Pres Bush a plenty of Boston Bake Beans for a dinner. Give him more gas during his debate or lecture in the audience. Give him more His election may be lower because of his bad odor. :wink:

P.S. Do not forgot to put lit the candles on the table. Sever him some petzels.

J/K Saddam Bin Laden
Pres Bush

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Fly Free

Bush is VERY stupid in this decision and that the GLBT community are already well known in society now and we ARE going to be fighting for the equal rights to marry our partners -- Bush really has NO say in this issue especially when states are starting to recognize the marriages and realizing that this is the 21st century (i hope im correct on this if im not feel free to correct me LOL) and we are OUT and proud!

Lasza

If Prez Bush sign the bill about Gay Marriage Ban. Then my quesiton is How hard the repeal for this bill? Notice myself that any bill or laws that signed by USA Presidents, are very difficult for repeal these.

Only way is get rid of Bush is regrister for VOTE. Go, Donkey, Go!

Kai Onca

I think Bush is doing the right thing with the "marriage" concept. No offense to the GLBT community, but there need to be some new definition what defines GLBT union. Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Your community can come up with another term and then everyone can recongize it, insurance, jobs, surveys: everything... it would make things whole alot better for EVERYONE.

illustrator

gay is sin. It's like you are have sex with angle which is wrong. It start long time ago before Jesus born. That's old lesson.

Kai Onca

The bible says not to judge other people- thats another old lesson-

illustrator

Are you sure I saying to judge other people? I give the lesson. huh?

Kai Onca

you just judged a gay person by stating that they're committing sin and its wrong... thats judgemental to me

illustrator

okay, I got you.

javapride

Read ON!

Which Way Will He Go?
It's a risky election-year issue: Will President Bush support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage? Conservative groups are pushing him to in his State of the Union speech. But doing so could alienate some potential supporters. How much does the issue matter to you? Post


Bush's Marriage Push Falls Short for Some



By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

(Jan. 15) -- Some major conservative Christian groups said yesterday that they were pleased but not satisfied by a new White House initiative to promote marriage, and they stepped up pressure on President Bush to champion a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage in his State of the Union speech next week.



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"This is like lobbing a snowball at a forest fire," said Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women of America, one of the largest conservative Christian advocacy groups. "This administration is dancing dangerously around the issue of homosexual marriage."

The conservative Christians' insistence on an amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage may put President Bush in a political bind as he starts his re-election campaign, caught between wooing potential swing voters and turning out his core evangelical supporters. Some conservative strategists warn that pushing to amend the Constitution to prohibit same-sex unions could turn off some potential Republican voters like suburban women, who might find excessive talk about the perils of same-sex marriage as intolerant, mean-spirited or weirdly obsessive.

"I think there are a lot of people that don't want to endorse a lifestyle contrary to their personal values, but they want to be tolerant," said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster who is working with the Bush re-election campaign, "and quite frankly they don't like being put in a position where they look to be intolerant."

Mr. Goeas added: "The president hasn't been hesitant at all in saying he thinks marriage is between a man and a woman, period. Questioning whether you need a constitutional amendment is another matter. Those are major actions."


"If the White House puts this on the back burner... that would deeply demoralize a large block of voters..."
-Gary L. Bauer, head of a conservative group

Mr. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, citing polling data, has often said that he believed the failure of four million conservative Christian voters to turn out in the 2000 presidential election almost kept President Bush out of the White House. Projecting another close race this year, Mr. Rove has worked hard to stay in regular contact with conservative Christian political leaders.

A coalition of several prominent conservative Christian political advocates from organizations like the Family Research Council and the Southern Baptist Convention said it had been urging Mr. Rove and others in the White House to persuade the administration to embrace an amendment blocking same-sex marriage. Some, including Concerned Women of American and the Family Research Council, said they also hoped for an amendment to prohibit states from recognizing same-sex civil unions.

In his only public statement on same-sex marriage, President Bush left many evangelical leaders puzzled about his intention. In a television interview last month, Mr. Bush said he believed a marriage was "between a man and a woman" and that he would support a constitutional amendment "if necessary." But he also said that "whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state, or does start at the state level," and he emphasized the need for tolerance.

Ms. Rios of Concerned Women of America said Mr. Bush had implicitly endorsed gay unions. "It is the same as saying the federal government doesn't want to weigh in on slavery, but if the states want to call it chattel that is O.K.," Ms. Rios said.

Several prominent evangelicals said their concerns were not assuaged by a report that the White House was planning a $1.5 billion initiative to promote marriage.




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Gary L. Bauer, who ran on a traditional-values platform in the Republican primaries in 2000 and is now president of the conservative group American Values, said, "If the White House puts this on the back burner or doesn't put political capital into it, that would deeply demoralize a large block of voters that they are expecting to turn out in November."

Several conservative Christians involved in the push for an amendment said they saw the State of the Union speech, when President Bush will lay out his agenda for the year, as a pivotal test. "Time is running out but the clock is still ticking," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

Christian conservatives say they are puzzled at the administration's hesitation because prohibiting same-sex marriage appeared broadly popular, at least in the months since the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that the state had to recognize gay marriages.

Opinion polls have shown more than 60 percent support the idea that marriage should be restricted to a man and a woman.

Other prominent conservatives, however, argue that yes-or-no polls do not show how significant an issue might be to a voter. "Because it is a new issue, we don't know how it is going to affect votes cast for candidates," said Grover G. Norquist, a conservative strategist and the chairman of Americans for Tax Reform.

Mr. Norquist said some potential Republican voters might be turned off by raising the issue to a constitutional level, just as they were by too much talk of guns or abortions. "Obsessions turn people off," he said.

There are also gay Republicans to consider. About a million of them, or a quarter of the 4 percent of voters who identify themselves as gay, turned out for President Bush in the last election, Mr. Norquist said, citing polls of those who had cast votes.

How Mr. Bush himself feels about the issue personally is also unclear. Mr. Bush has made no secret of his own born-again faith. But some gay Republicans say he appears far more friendly to gays than previous Republican administrations. The administration has invited leaders of two gay groups, the Log Cabin Republicans and the Republican Unity Coalition, to the White House.


More From The Times


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One of President Bush's longtime friends from Texas, Charles Francis, now heads the Republican Unity Coalition. At his inauguration, he sat near Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and her female partner.

Ms. Cheney is now director of vice-presidential operations in the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.

In a debate in the 2000 campaign, Mr. Cheney spoke sympathetically of same-sex civil unions. "It's really no one else's business in terms of trying to regulate or prohibit behavior in that regard," he said. Last week, however, Mr. Cheney told The Denver Post that he would back any decision President Bush made on the question of an amendment.


Copyright © 2003 The New York Times Company.

Mizzou

I notice some of people who work in the Senate or Congress could be embarrassed by their children who are OUT OF CLOSET ?? I just wonder why?

Fly Free

MizzDeaf -- good question -- i personally think its cuz theyre too chickenshit to make a stand on their own opinions and state it themselves as opposed to be hiding behind Bush's ass and to stupid idiot Bush

MizzDeaf