HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOE CREA COMMENTS
President Bush outraged gay activists this week by issuing a proclamation declaring
Oct. 12-18, “Marriage Protection Week” and reiterating his position
that “marriage is a union between a man and a woman.”
The proclamation coincides with a series of events next week organized by
24 religious groups to mark the start of a yearlong campaign to keep same-sex
marriage in the spotlight through the 2004 elections, conservative groups said.
In his proclamation, the president said that protecting marriage is “essential
to the continued strength of our society.” He added that the country “must
continue our work to create a compassionate, welcoming society, where all people
are treated with dignity and respect.” He did not specifically reference
a proposed federal constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a
union between a man and a woman.
“Marriage Protection Week” backers include conservative groups
like the Family Research Council based in Washington, D.C., and Focus on the
Family in Colorado Springs, Colo. They are lobbying Congress to get elected
officials to sign pledges declaring their support for opposite-sex marriages
only. The coalition plans to “blanket the airwaves, church media and
public venues with messages about the importance of traditional marriage.”
Other groups supporting “Marriage Protection Week” include the
American Family Association in Tupelo, Miss., the Free Congress Foundation
in Washington, D.C., and the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant
denomination in the nation.
“Every once in a while, a great nation has to deal with a great issue,” Gary
Bauer, president of American Values, a politically conservative group opposed
to homosexuality and one of the marriage week sponsors, told the Washington
Times. “We think it’s time for the country to deal with the issue
of homosexuality and the fundamental question of what is a marriage. Millions
of people understand that it’s not bigotry to believe that marriage is
between a man and a woman, and it’s not right-wing to think that children
need a mother and a father, not two mothers and two fathers.”
The Family Research Council, where Bauer previously was president, unveiled
plans for “Marriage Protection Week,” at a press conference last
week. FRC president Tony Perkins said that courts “are treating marriage
as if it were a Mr. Potato Head where individual preferences govern its makeup,” and
urged all religious groups to stand up for traditional marriage.
“[Gay marriage] is not happening because the American people want it,” Perkins
said. “It is not happening because state legislators are voting for it.
It is happening because of the black plague … un-elected judges in black
robes are not only ruling against the wishes of the American people, they are
overturning laws passed by the elected representatives of the people.”
Jonathan Rauch, a gay writer for National Journal and a writer in residence
at the Brookings Institution, said that there is not a controversial statement
in the presidential proclamation that hasn’t been uttered by Republicans
and Democrats. He called the proclamation “a smart strategy” and
said that the White House has managed to successfully convince the right that
the Bush administration is defending marriage.
“He’s managed to persuade the religious right that he’s
done something about gay marriage while saying nothing committal about the
actual debate, which is the constitutional amendment,” said Rauch, who
has written a book on same-sex marriage due out next spring. “It’s
another three-point basket right through the net. If I were Gary Bauer, I would
be very unhappy with this proclamation. I would want more. ‘You’re
giving me 10 words and a bunch of boilerplates from your 2000 campaign and
subsequent press releases?’”
Rauch added that the White House’s proclamation reminded him of the
way President Reagan used to placate the religious right.
American Association of Christian Schools
American Cause
American Family Association
Americans United for Life
American Values
Bott Broadcasting
Christian Coalition
Citizens for Community Values
Concerned Women for America
Coral Ridge Ministries
Eagle Forum
Empower America
Faith2Action
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Free Congress Foundation
Home School Legal Defense Association
INSP Broadcasting
National Religious Broadcasters
National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families
Prison Fellowship
Religious Freedom Coalition
SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Smalley Relationship Center
Traditional Values Coalition
Truth in Love Outreach
University of the Family ...
|
 |
|
|
|
Please review and follow Washington Blade’s current Comment
and Discussion Policy. Guidelines updated as of August 22nd, 2009. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|  |
|