Oct 10, 2003  |  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.”

‘Smart strategy’
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.

Organizations co-sponsoring ‘Marriage Protection Week’ 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 ... COMMENTS email       password 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.

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