
President Bush is facing criticism from gay activists for signing a proclamation to honor ‘Marriage Protection Week,’ while refusing to sign a proclamation to honor Gay Pride Month. (Photo by AP)
Experts say N.C., Indiana results spell end of Clinton campaign
Va. woman, husband fought to overturn ban on interracial unions
Constitutional ban, high court ruling both in the works
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JOE CREA
Friday, October 10, 2003
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
USA Radio Network
World Magazine
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“Reagan was against the religious right on abortion and gay issues but
appeared to be with them on school prayer,” Rauch said. “He would
talk about school prayer, call for it and the ACLU would say that he was an
extremist. Basically, he did enough to convince them that he was on their side
but in the end didn’t do squat.”
But Dave Noble, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, a gay
partisan group, said that the president, by signing such a proclamation, has
endorsed a lobbying campaign of the “far-right extremist groups whose
agenda is to make gay marriage” the No. 1 political issue of the 2004
elections.
“Karl Rove constantly notes that 4 million of the 19 million evangelical
Christians stayed home on election day and Rove is eager to get this voting
bloc to the polls next November to prevent another tight presidential race,” Noble
said. “The strategy is not to win by a broad agenda but by trying to
get out the vote of the many far right Christians.”
Rauch disagreed with Noble’s assessment, saying that Rove is “playing
it smart” by having the White House seem tolerant and compassionate while
recognizing the GOP’s conservative base.
“It’s important to note what the constitutional amendment says,
which is a ban on same-sex marriage,” Rauch said. “Such an endorsement
from the president would start a cultural war and if I’m Karl Rove, starting
a cultural war is not a good thing. When it begins to look like a campaign
of intolerance, then it could get messy for the White House [because] they
could lose a lot of voters in the center.”
Noble also strongly criticized Bush for failing to issue a proclamation for
the past three years proclaiming June, “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.”
“Bush says he doesn’t want to politicize gay people, but he’s
doing just that when he signed this proclamation that seeks to marginalize
gays and lesbians,” Noble said.
“It is reprehensible for a president who claims to be compassionate
to pander to a coalition of extremist groups by joining their assault on gay
families,” said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights
Campaign, in a release.
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| Activists are speculating on how President Bush’s
top political adviser, Karl Rove, will use the same-sex
marriage issue in the 2004 campaign. (AP photo) |
Mark Mead, political director for the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay partisan
group, noted that Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Lieberman and John Kerry
have said that marriage is the union of a man and woman. Mead emphasized that
what is missing from the proclamation is any mention of the federal marriage
amendment.
“The FMA is a road to disaster for the GOP and will come back to bite
us if people pursue it,” Mead said. “Look at the [election] results
in California’s governor’s race. A culture war will not win votes.”
The Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), a worldwide fellowship of Christian
churches with a special outreach to gay people of faith, is launching a “Marriage
Equality Week,” designed to counteract “Marriage Protection Week.” Roman
Cardenas, associate director of communications for MCC, said that the goal
of “Marriage Equality Week” is to inform every MCC congregation
of all the issues surrounding the same-sex marriage debate. The organization
is also providing each congregation with resource kits designed to help them
contact their respective lawmakers and other officials in their communities.
The Federal Marriage Amendment, which is bottled up in a U.S. House of Representatives
committee, currently has 90 co-sponsors.
Text of President Bush’s proclamation
Marriage is a sacred institution, and its protection is essential to the continued
strength of our society. Marriage Protection Week provides an opportunity to
focus our efforts on preserving the sanctity of marriage and on building strong
and healthy marriages in America.
Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and my Administration is working
to support the institution of marriage by helping couples build successful
marriages and be good parents.
To encourage marriage and promote the well being of children, I have proposed
a healthy marriage initiative to help couples develop the skills and knowledge
to form and sustain healthy marriages. Research has shown that, on average,
children raised in households headed by married parents fare better than children
who grow up in other family structures. Through education and counseling programs,
faith-based, community, and government organizations promote healthy marriages
and a better quality of life for children. By supporting responsible child-rearing
and strong families, my Administration is seeking to ensure that every child
can grow up in a safe and loving home.
We are also working to make sure that the Federal Government does not penalize
marriage. My tax relief package eliminated the marriage penalty. And as part
of the welfare reform package I have proposed, we will do away with the rules
that have made it more difficult for married couples to move out of poverty.
We must support the institution of marriage and help parents build stronger
families. And we must continue our work to create a compassionate, welcoming
society, where all people are treated with dignity and respect.
During Marriage Protection Week, I call on all Americans to join me in expressing
support for the institution of marriage with all its benefits to our people,
our culture, and our society.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim the week of October 12 through October 18,
2003, as Marriage Protection Week. I call upon the people of the United States
to observe this week with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of October,
in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.
- GEORGE W. BUSH
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