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Bush Declares an Unending War on America's Gay Communities The Republican Party Finally Comes Out of Its Anti-Gay Closet White House Occupant Calls for Changes in the U.S. Constitution |
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Bush's support for changing the United States Constitution was criticized by veteran gay activist Bob Kunst as a sinister Republican ploy by "fascists who want to get their fat cat feet in the door to overturn other parts of the Constitution that are standing in the way of their complete seizure of power." To mark the second day of his overtly partisan 2004 campaign to return himself to the presidency, Bush told the U.S. media: "An amendment to the constitution is never to be undertaken lightly. The amendment process is addressed in any serious matter of national concern, and the preservation of marriage rises to this level of national importance… "Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass and to send to the states for ratification an amendment to our constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of a man and woman, as husband and wife." Critical Commentary Swiftly Follows Bush's Announcement: Responses to Bush's statement from political activists, civil liberties groups and from pundits, comedians and the U.S. citizenry were swift and sure.
"The truth is, this is a ploy to appease the right wing of his party and change the subject from his dismal record on job-creation and foreign policy." Syndicated gay news reporter Rex Wockner said: "The war has begun. Bush wants to amend the Constitution. For only the 17th time in the history of our nation (beyond the original 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights). To permanently ban same-sex marriage. To permanently and fundamentally make gays and lesbians second-class citizens. "Our fight now is in Congress and in the 50 state legislatures. All 535 members of Congress and then every state representative and every state senator in every state will vote on this. A constitutional amendment has to pass Congress with a two-thirds vote and be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. "There is no middle ground. Each one of these elected officials is either for us or against us. If they vote with us 82 percent of the time but oppose full equal rights, they are against us. "Our task -- and our legacy to generations of gays and lesbians that will come after us -- is to get these 535 Congressmembers and these thousands of state legislators to vote against making us permanent second-class citizens. "Any other gay cause you've ever been involved in in the United States pales next to this one. The president declared war on us today." Syndicated gay news reporter Rex Wockner said: “The war has begun. Bush wants to amend the Constitution. For only the 17th time in the history of our nation (beyond the original 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights). To permanently ban same-sex marriage. To permanently and fundamentally make gays and lesbians second-class citizens. “Our fight now is in Congress and in the 50 state legislatures. All 535 members of Congress and then every state representative and every state senator in every state will vote on this. A constitutional amendment has to pass Congress with a two-thirds vote and be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. “There is no middle ground. Each one of these elected officials is either for us or against us. If they vote with us 82 percent of the time but oppose full equal rights, they are against us. “Our task -- and our legacy to generations of gays and lesbians that will come after us -- is to get these 535 Congressmembers and these thousands of state legislators to vote against making us permanent second-class citizens. “Any other gay cause you've ever been involved in in the United States pales next to this one. The president declared war on us today.”
"President Bush's justification for this amendment changes by the hour. First it was activist judges, now it's activist local officials. One would have thought that President Bush would have learned his lesson about making one justification in the State of the Union and another a few short weeks later." Aravosis says DearMary.com and DontAmend.com, it's parent organization, will now ramp up actions to oppose this amendment. "President Bush declared war on the gay community, today the gay community declares war on President Bush…As a result of the president's public support for codifying bigotry in the U.S. Constitution, DearMary.com will ramp up its efforts and bring this battle to the president and vice president's doorstep. Dick Cheney's willingness to support discrimination against his own lesbian daughter Mary will be a topic of discussion in every American home for the next nine months. You can count on it." "We urge all GLBT Americans and their friends and family to visit DearMary.com and donate to our nationwide ad campaign," Aravosis said, referring to the Web site's intention to run newspaper and magazine ads questioning Vice President Cheney's hypocrisy on this issue. "We must all join together now and fight back, hard." Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said: "Today the President of the United States, solely for political gain, called upon Congress to amend the United States Constitution to enshrine our second-class citizenship in the nation's most revered document. This is a despicable new low. "This is nothing more than a transparent election year ploy to use our lives and families to drive a wedge into the electorate and divert attention away from the critical issues that face our country. "In the face of this, the president's exhortation that this debate be conducted 'without bitterness or anger' is an insult to our families, our dignity and to our contributions as citizens to the life of this nation. We consider today's announcement a declaration of war on gay America. "Marriage equality for same-sex couples harms no one. As the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has said, 'the history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal.' Yet, the President calls for just that: separate and forever unequal rights for gay Americans. "Over the past 200 years our nation has resolved and reached consensus on social justice issues through a process involving its courts, national discourse, and legislation. The freedom to marry for same sex couples should be resolved the same way. Bowing to the religious and political zealots who comprise his base, however, the President now seeks to subvert these democratic processes and shut down the national dialogue about same-sex marriage. "We call upon members of Congress as well as candidates seeking the Democratic party's nomination for president to strongly oppose amending the United States Constitution and to call the President's support for the amendment for what it is: anti-gay, partisan, divisive and distinctly un-American. We call upon all Americans, our families and friends to rally and defeat this attack." On the lighter side, Jon Stewart on the Comedy Channel's Daily Show introduced Stephen Colbert as his "Senior Moral Authority" who, like George W. Bush, is supportive of a Constitutional Amendment to protect the institution of marriage. Colbert told Stewart: "The only reason my wife and I got married in the first place because it was something gays couldn't do. Our wedding was conceived entirely as a giant homosexual taunt. But now…now the vows I made to my wife seem as shallow and empty as the vows I made to my three previous wives… "My wife and I have been through a bit of a rough patch lately. Over the last few months I've forgotten our anniversary, her birthday and, on several occasions, her name. Now I ask you, Jon, is this because of some magic pattern of emotional neglect just dropped down from the sky to ruin my marriage? Isn't there a simpler answer: that hundreds of gays were granted judicial permission to seek equal contributory benefits? Connect the dots, man! " |
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George W. Bush announces his support for a Constitutional amendment against same-sex marriages 
Sen. Edward Kennedy 
John Aravosis