NATIONAL

Bush backs ‘Marriage Protection Week’
President proclaims unions should be between 1 man, 1 woman

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.”

‘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.

“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.”

‘Marginalizing’ gays and lesbians
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.

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.”

MCC launches ‘Equality Week’
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 Protection Week, 2003
By the President of the United States of America | A 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

national | local | world | arts | classifieds | real estate | about us

© 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication | Privacy Policy