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Tuesday, February 24, 2004
And the responses... I'm sure as you know by now... Dubbya has endorsed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. John Kerry's "Official Response" “I believe President Bush is wrong. All Americans should be concerned when a President who is in political trouble tries to tamper with the Constitution of the United States at the start of his reelection campaign. This President can’t talk about jobs. He can’t talk about health care. He can’t talk about a foreign policy, which has driven away allies and weakened the United States, so he is looking for a wedge issue to divide the American people. While I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, for 200 years, this has been a state issue. I oppose this election year effort to amend the Constitution in an area that each state can adequately address, and I will vote against such an amendment if it comes to the Senate floor. I believe the best way to protect gays and lesbians is through civil unions. I believe the issue of marriage should be left to the states, and that the President of the United States should be addressing the central challenges where he has failed – jobs, health care, and our leadership in the world rather than once again seeking to drive a wedge by toying with the United States Constitution for political purposes.” John Edwards' "Official Response" "I oppose gay marriage. I also oppose President Bush's attempt to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Washington has no business playing politics with this issue. Marriage is left to the states today, and should remain with the states. I'm not surprised that the day after he kicked off his campaign, the president is already talking about gay marriage. He can't talk about jobs, because he has no new ideas to create jobs. He can't talk about health care, because he has no new ideas to hold down costs or cover every child. He can't talk about education, because he has no new ideas to help young people pay for the soaring cost of college. If President Bush wants to stand up for marriage, he ought to help millions of married couples who are living paycheck to paycheck. If he wants to stand up for marriage, he should tackle the marriage penalty that punishes poor families when they marry. He should help middle-class families save and invest. But instead of offering new ideas to help the families who are actually married, President Bush wants to play politics with the Constitution. We have had our Constitution for more than 200 years. We amended it to abolish slavery and ensure women could vote. We should not amend it over politics." Log Cabin Republicans [Stop laughing!] "Writing discrimination into the Constitution is wrong. It is not conservative, it is not Republican, and it will not strengthen America. As conservative Republicans, we are outraged that any Republican—particularly the leader of our party and this nation—would support any effort to use our sacred United States Constitution as a way of scoring political points in an election year." * Candidate Bush promised in 2000 to be a “uniter, not a divider.” The effort to write discrimination into our Constitution with an anti-family amendment would divide America. * Candidate Bush ran as a compassionate conservative. There is nothing compassionate about discriminating against part of the American family. And there is nothing conservative about tinkering with our Constitution. * Candidate Bush ran as a governor who supported Federalism and states’ rights. This anti-family amendment runs counter to both those principles. And it runs counter to what Vice-President Cheney said during the 2000 campaign. Instead of allowing each state to decide this issue on its own, the President is pushing a purely political proposal to appease the radical right." Stonewall Democrats National Stonewall Democrats today strongly condemned President Bush for formally endorsing the federal anti-marriage amendment. The amendment would prevent states and the federal government from granting the legal incidents of marriage to same-sex couples. Such legal incidents include hospital visitation rights, child support, health care benefits, inheritance rights, and would prevent all forms of civil marriage and civil unions for such couples. "President Bush fails to understand that our families are more than political red meat that he can throw before his anti-gay base," said Dave Noble, NSD Executive Director. "The President has clearly demonstrated that it is no longer acceptable for our community to merely vote against this man. Each one of us now has the responsibility to actively work to deny him a second term." In past weeks, the Washington Post cited Republican officials who stated that the announcement of the President's support resulted from "his desire to start the general election campaign on a fresh issue, at a time when his credibility has been battered by questions about prewar warnings of unconventional weapons in Iraq, as well as doubts raised by Democrats about his National Guard service." The paper also cited Republican officials as stating that by announcing his support, the President hoped to distinguish himself from the Democratic presidential front-runner, Senator John Kerry. Focus On The Family [Rabidly Anti-Gay] "President Bush’s endorsement of a federal marriage amendment today is the lynchpin in efforts to protect marriage in our country,” founder of Focus On The Family, Dobson said. “The president clearly understands that families formed through the union of one man and one woman are best for America and America’s children. His comments should signal to Congress and the states that only an amendment to the U.S. Constitution can adequately address the inevitable showdown between the courts and the will of the American people as expressed through their elected representatives. “The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s tyrannical Goodridge ruling and the recent issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco and New Mexico has confirmed what we have long known — marriage as it as been understood throughout human history is under attack in this country. We applaud President Bush’s unequivocal support of a federal marriage amendment as the only solution to this constitutional crisis.” | private feedback | |
Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog. Drop me a line!
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