Posted on 06/01/2006 2:28:31 PM PDT by new yorker 77
President Bush will promote a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a cause dear to his conservative backers, at a Rose Garden event Monday, the eve of a scheduled Senate vote on the issue.
The amendment would prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriages. To become law, the proposal would need two-thirds support in the Senate and House, and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
It stands little chance of passing the 100-member Senate, where proponents are struggling to get even 50 votes. Several Republicans oppose the measure, and so far only one Democrat — Sen. Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska — says he will vote for it.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the amendment on May 18 along party lines after a shouting match between a Democrat and the chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa. He bid Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., "good riddance" after Feingold declared his opposition to the amendment and his intention to leave the meeting.
Bush aides said he would be making his remarks on the subject Monday.
A slim majority of Americans oppose gay marriage, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press from March. But the poll also showed attitudes are changing: 63 percent opposed gay marriage in February 2004.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court decided to legalize such marriages in 2003. A year later, San Francisco issued thousands of marriage licenses to gay couples.
This November, initiatives banning same-sex marriages are expected to be on the ballot in Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. In 2004, 13 states approved initiatives prohibiting gay marriage or civil unions, with 11 states casting votes on Election Day.
Bush benefited as religious conservatives turned out to vote and helped him defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in 2004. In Ohio, an initiative rejecting the legality of civil unions won handily. The same state tipped the election to Bush.
"The president firmly believes that marriage is an enduring and sacred institution between men and women and has supported measures to protect the sanctity of marriage," White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
Bush has lost support among conservatives who blame the White House and Congress for runaway government spending, illegal immigration and lack of action on social issues such as the gay marriage amendment.
Opponents of the amendment objected to Bush's use of the Rose Garden to promote a measure they said amounts to discrimination.
"This is fundamentally both a civil rights and religious freedom issue and the president's position of supporting amending the constitution is just dead wrong," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "This is simply to give ammunition to the so-called religious right just to show that the president is still with them."
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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""President Bush will promote a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a cause dear to his conservative backers, at a Rose Garden event Monday, the eve of a scheduled Senate vote on the issue. ""
Yawn, Karl, yawn.
Nice try, George. We've still got our eyes firmly focused on your inadequate attempts to get spending under control and you utter NON-effort to get the borders secured.
This is rhetoric fight we are going to have endlessly with the MSM.
It's not a gay marriage ban. It is a "definition of marriage."
Well, there's lotsa folks that don't think it's important. That the ONLY thing that matters is the border. They are wrong. This matters, the partial birth abortion issue matters, the WOT matters, Iran matters, Iraq matters, the tax cuts matter.
"Nice try, George."
Not fooled, eh?
Why even bother doing anything, is what I say. If you can't get it all done at once, no need to do anything piecemeal.
just a lame attempt at placating the base, he knows it wont pass, and that's the only reason he is backing it.
Sodomy is a right!
It doesn't cost him any business lobby money. It's a near freebie, like his father denouncing broccoli - how many broccoli farmers are there?
My understanding is it's already the law. The "Defense of Marriage" act. That act hasn't been declared unconstitutional so there is no need for what Bush is declaring.
It's just pandering.
The last time Bush spoke at length on this issue, he said he wanted an amendment to give states the right to define relationships other than marriage, while keeping marriage at 1 man and 1 woman.
The judges who have been redefining marriage are saying that marriage should be any two people so as not to discriminate, but these same judges aren't realizing that limiting marriage to two people is also discriminatory.
There's already been at least one lawsuit filed to legalize polygamy, though no courts have yet legalized it. Yet....
If it's arbitrary and discriminatory to limit marriage to opposite sex couples, it's also discriminatory to limit to 2 people, or limit marriages among close family members.
While I oppose same sex marriage, I think if it happens it should happen through state legislatures passing a law, not an activist judge re-writing the law.
The fact is, that our current marriage laws do not discriminate against anyone. Any eligible man can marry any eligible woman. Any eligible woman can marry any eligible man. Thus,everyone has the same rights regarding marriage. Thus, there is no discrimination.
Right. Since Bush is not with us on immigration, then he is against us on everything else too because there is only one issue - immigration - "everything, all the time". We might as well issue smarmy comments and belittle the President on things he does that is right. After all there is no difference between Republicans and Dems up there in DC. Kerry probably would have supported a Marriage Amendment too, right ... (wait a minute)
(sarcasm)
I would rather that ever QUEER on the planet get married than have our borders unsecure for another day
Dude, as if you oppose gay marriage anyway. You've expressed your feelings quite clearly about those supposedly authoritarian religious conservatives.
But many are whiners and won't be glad there is action being taken on it. Same will be true if Pres. Bush takes action on ANWR, tax reduction, Social Security, or any other reforms in his next 2 years.
Babies are one-issue people.
I can't blame him for not liking authoritarian religious conservatives, I don't care for them either.
The good things such as this that Bush supports are the things that either don't stand a chance at getting passed or they will get struck down by the courts. After that you will never hear another word about them from GW.
Wow, lots of "so called" Conservatives on this site use every article to attack the President dont they?
Great posting. I especially liked the "wait a minute" parenthetical. I laughed aloud. Sarcasm at its finest.
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