Bush renews call for same-sex marriage ban, Kerry also against same-sex marriage

[truthteller]

At least Kerry is straight forward on one issue

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As same-sex couples began exchanging wedding vows in Massachusetts, President Bush on Monday reiterated his call for a U.S. constitutional amendment banning such marriages.

"The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate," the president said in a written statement.

"I called on the Congress to 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 a woman as husband and wife. The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today."

Bush, a Republican, first publicly endorsed amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages on February 24, in part because of the new Massachusetts law allowing gay and lesbian couples to get married in the state.

At that time, Bush said he was acting because of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision granting marriage rights to same-sex couples, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to begin giving marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

But the California Supreme Court ordered a halt to the issuance of the marriage licenses while cases about same-sex marriage make their way through the state courts.

Banning same-sex marriage is a top political agenda item for conservatives in the Republican Party. However, while many public opinion polls show Americans oppose gay marriage, they are less enthusiastic about amending the Constitution.

Some conservative Republicans have also expressed reluctance about changing the Constitution, and there is little consensus about specific language for any such amendment. It is unclear when the issue will be brought up on Capitol Hill.

Amending the Constitution requires two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress and three-quarters of the states for ratification.

Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has said he opposes same-sex marriages, but that he also opposes changing the Constitution for any such ban.

"My position is clear and you've heard it many times in the course of this campaign," the four-term senator from Massachusetts said Friday. "I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I support extending rights to people that are non-discriminatory, that afford rights under the equal protection clause of the Constitution -- meaning civil union or other rights so that you have non-discriminatory status -- but I believe marriage is between a man and a woman."



http://us.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/17/bush.gay/index.html

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Pat Buchanan and Bill O'Reilly for the White House

 

[Marco]

Bush says that "all Americans have the right to be heard in this debate"

in the next paragraph "...The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today."

So all Americans need to be heard but please pass the amendment quick so we can't hear everybody?

WTF was that?

I guess all people that agree with the president can be heard.....

 

[Oceans11]

Hes a religious ass.

Let them get on with their lives.

I wonder when those books with mummy bear, mummy bear2 and baby bear are hitting the kids bookshops.
First editions could be worth a few bob in years to come.
Thore endorsed by the Republican party will be particularly sought after by collectors.

--------------------------------

First gay couples wed in US state


There were emotive scenes as gay couples applied for certificates
Two lesbians were among the first same-sex couples to wed under a new law in the US state of Massachusetts.
In the coming days, hundreds of couples are set to follow the example of Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey of Malden, who have been together for 18 years.

The issue has divided opinion and politicians across the US.

President George W Bush repeated his call to Congress to amend the US Constitution defining marriage "as a union of a man and a woman".

"The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges," Mr Bush said.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt by conservative groups to stop same-sex marriages from becoming legal in the state.


It was really important to us to just be married

Tanya McCloskey


In pictures: US gay weddings
There were jubilant scenes in the city of Cambridge, which began issuing licences to gay and lesbian couples from midnight (0400GMT on Monday).

Gay and lesbian couples queued for marriage licences outside the city hall - which opened as the law came into force.

Newly-wed Tanya McCloskey said: "It was really important to us to just be married... Part of it is, we don't know what the Legislature is going to do."

She and partner Marcia Kadish worked at breakneck pace to fill out paperwork, get a waiver from the usual three-day waiting period, then return to city hall - where they got their marriage licence and exchanged vows.

Political divisions

Other towns and cities across the state were also prepared to wed large numbers of same-sex couples as the law came into force.

The Supreme Court ruling upheld a decision by the state's highest court.

It said that denying marriage licences to same-sex couples violated anti-discrimination laws.


Sealing their union: David and Robert

The Massachusetts ruling has fuelled heated debate across the country - and the controversy has been particularly intense in an election year.

In a statement, President Bush said he had called on the Congress "to 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 a woman as husband and wife".

"The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today."

His rival John Kerry - who is a Massachusetts senator - is also opposed to same-sex marriages, but favours a more limited form of legal recognition.

Thousands of same-sex couples were married in San Francisco earlier this year, but the marriages were not recognized by the state of California.

A mayor in New York state is being prosecuted after performing gay marriages in February.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3719905.stm

 

[barman]

Even though Bush knows there's no chance in hell that Americans would amend the U.S. Constitution for this purpose, hey at least it's something to talk about besides the increasing number of U.S body bags he's produced.

 

[Marco]

barman.....I would agree with you on the thought that there's no way in hell that Americans would amend the Constitution for this purpose.....

...only problem is it's what our ruling body, headed by King Bush II, votes on ,and thier vote counts.

You can add this issue to the list of other non-issues the govt argues about and spends our tax money haggling over:

Is a flag on fire or not? Not an issue.
Is a prayer being said in school? Not an issue.
Who's getting married? Guess what, not an issue.

 

[truthteller]

The liberal fuking judges in Mass. found a loophole in the law which never stated that marriage is between a man and a woman.

One of the judges who voted against it, is a lesbian, stated that the will of the people is not been heard and that's why she couldn't vote for this.

 

[barman]

And that just busts your poor (so-called) conservative nuts don't it?

Oh, Marco I don't disagree that our lawmakers have plenty of experience discussing sillyass issues, and this is indeed one of them.

But it takes a 2/3 vote in Congress to even get the process started, and currently not even half have said they would sign on to such a sillyass (yeah, again, but it's the only word that applies) idea for amending the U.S. Constitution.

 

[truthteller]

I hope these faggot loving judges rule in the same favour when bisexuals file a similiar lawsuit.

This shit will spread across the country. Over 5000 years, the bed rock of society gone down the drain.

The worst part of this is 4 judges went against the will of the people.

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Pat Buchanan and Bill O'Reilly for the White House

 

[Marco]

It must make you conservatives absolutely cringe to see people living thier lives outside of the traditional moralist pigeonhole you would try to have them live thier lives by....

Personally, I'm not gay....there are foods, religions, sports, hobbies, and numerous other things in life I dislike and therefore choose not to include in my lifestyle. One mans culture is another mans pornography.

It is the tolerance of diversity and culture that allows people freedom to choose what they feel is right for thier lifestyle....

If or when the time comes when those "faggot loving judges", as you put them....when those judges turn puritanical and the conservatives are living a stricter lifestyle than even they want to live, then maybe you'll appreciate the day when you once had some choice about how you lived your life and the freedoms you lost.

 

[barman]

Yeah, those faggot-loving judges just really put you faggot-hating phobes in your place.

Of course your own marriage (are you even married?) won't be affected negatively by this change unless you allow it.

Are you that weak to let a bunch of homos getting married put the wrench in your own marriage?

If so, is it you, or is it your wife that is the one who gives that power to the gays?

Just wondering why you're so pussied out by this.

 

[PatPatriot]

Kerry was for gay marriage...before he was against it...he has always been for it the fxckin fraud.

The judges said that there was nothing that said same sex could not get married...well fxck I might as well rob a bank and say there was no sign that says stealing is prohibited.
Those judges were up that fat fxckin no account manslaughtering communist cocksucker Ted Kennedys chewed bubble gum looking ass,is the reason this perverse law even came close to passing...the fxckin communist have to go to faggot twisted logic liberal judges,because there scared shitless of the will of the people....Kennedy is the same touchole who made forced bussing in Boston..of course none of his kids had to go to school with people from the democratic plantation bastard factories.

 

[truthteller]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by barman:
Of course your own marriage (are you even married?) won't be affected negatively by this change unless you allow it.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It doesn't affect my marriage personally. But it does affect society as whole. For over 5000 years in most cultures, marriage is seen as the stabilising force, the bedrock of society between a man and a woman. Now to change the definition to accomodate some fringe group is playing with fire.

 

[Seymour]

As I have stated in the past, you guys should feel sorry and have sympathy for people like Patriot and Truthteller because their lives are so pathetic and miserable that they spend night and day worrying about what some fruit cakes are doing with their lives - there's 24 hours and a day and I just don't have one second to worry about what two fags (or 10) are doing if it leaves no impact on me.

 

[PatPatriot]

Hey Seymour I could give a shit less what the fags do...I actually hope they are happy and enjoying themselves.....I do however worry about judges legistlating from the bench and making rules out of whole cloth...without referendum vote from the people and the legistlature....This is how the democrats and the communist have to operate through like minded justices,because it would never,ever pass through the will of the people..thats what scares me....never mind that the constitutional law by definition of marriage is man and woman....changing the constitution definition because of a whim for a new age fad is very dangerous.....Why don;t the judges make a ruling from the bench that a horse will now be called a monkey??....If you get my example it is an Alice in Wonderland ruling.What is up is down,whats down is up. Making rules on a feeling or a whim...It past outrageous to the point of absurd.

 

[kayaman+]

Of course I know that there are intelligent conservatives in the States, but when you have impeachments because of blow jobs and calls to amend the Constitution over homosexuality, it's really hard not to start to believe they're all total morons.

 

[dickman]

Politics is a nasty game and we will see Bush's consequences come November elections when he loses his job.

Clinton wasn't in trouble for a blow job, what occured is that he lied under oath which is ilegal.

 

[kayaman+]

I realize that of course the supposed real reason was the lie, the thing is that he lied in answer to a question that never should have been asked.

 

[dickman]

True enough, but we have to thank cnn, foxnews, abc, nbc and hardcopy for blowing this out of proportion.

 

[barman]

The funniest and most pathetic aspect is watching the phobes just FROTH at the mouth about this court ruling.

TTeller tells us, hey, MY marriage won't be affected, but all the other marriages out there are up a creek.

Wonder what he knows about other people's marriages that makes him think that?

What makes your marriage able to withstand this paradigm shift, while other marriages are less able?

Just admit that everything you fear about this change is all in your mind.

Oh and when the judges up there issue a ruling that A Horse Is A Dog, please send me the press release immediately and I will take back everything I just said.

Until then, you're being just fukking silly.

At least on this topic, your staunch position does not create body bags for my friends and neighbors, so I'll just grin my ass off while you cry your phobic tears.

Pssssssst, in the time it took you to read this post, TWO MORE GAY COUPLES GOT MARRIED IN MASSACHUSETTS!

 

[Marco]

truthteller....when you say that this affects society as whole, and that marriage is seen as a stabilising force, the bedrock of society between a man and a woman....now to change the definition....

this view you have of traditional marriage is some picture of idyllic life that was last lived in the fifties, where in the traditional marriage the man worked and the woman was supposed to stay home barefoot and pregnant and take care of the kids and stay in the kitchen...

things have changed since then....we actually let women work nowdays instead of treating it like a sin....Leave it to Beaver went off the air years ago...

So, how does this change society?

Perhaps the conservatives who, if they were minding thier own business wouldn't have the time to mind somebody elses business?

You conservatives that spend your time worrying about whether a flag is on fire or whether a prayer is being said in school, or this issue about who's getting married....you guys will actually be surprised when the real issues that are being overlooked and put off by our leaders in Washington lead to the downfall of this nation....

...the difference is, I won't be surprised, because I see that no one is taking care of the REAL problems, they just grab onto the latest EMOTIONAL issue....