A BATTLE JOINED: National Review editorial

...We are sure that the president, like most people, does not wish to dwell on the subject of same-sex marriage. Yet he will have to talk about it more. If he does not, the press and the Democrats will be able to tell their side of the story--Bush as panderer to bigots--unrebutted. Other Republicans will also have to learn to discuss the issue with at least the same amount of knowledge, confidence, and ease that they bring to medical malpractice reform. Reporters flummoxed Scott McClellan, Bush's press secretary, by asking whether the president considered gay couples a bigger threat to marriage than no-fault divorce. It should not have been a tough question. The answer he should have given? "The president believes that the divorce rate is too high. But we have the divorce laws we have because of a democratic process. This situation is different: We have the courts imposing a radical change that the public opposes. It is that difference that justifies an amendment."

It would also be wise for the president to prevail upon legislators to change the wording of the proposed marriage amendment. ...

...Supporters of the amendment claim that if Congress balks, they will be able to elect new congressmen to pass it. But this strategy, even assuming that it proved successful, would take time. During that time, we can expect the courts to keep changing the marriage laws. Massachusetts was the start. Indiana could well be next.

We are therefore pleased to learn that Sen. Orrin Hatch is introducing his own constitutional amendment. His version reads as follows: "Civil marriage shall be defined in each state by the legislature or the citizens thereof. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to require that marriage or its benefits be extended to any union other than that of a man and a woman." This amendment would not only clearly allow civil unions to be enacted by legislatures; it would even allow legislatures to enact full-fledged same-sex marriage. But it would bar federal or state courts from imposing either.

more
posted by Eve at 8:46 AM VOTE

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home