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MARRIAGE

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Remarks of President Bush on the
Marriage Protection Amendment

CORRECTED AND
ANNOTATED BY MARK
AGRAST, SAM BERGER
AND BRODIE BUTLAND

GWB: Good afternoon and wel-
come to the White House. It is a
pleasure to be with so many fine
community leaders, scholars,
family organizations, religious
leaders, Republicans, Democrats,
independents. (...) You come
from many backgrounds and
faith traditions, ‘yet united in this
common belief: Marriage is the
most fundamental institution of
civilization and it should not be
redefined by activist judges.

FACT: Marriage is not being
redefined by ”activist judges. ”
As a new Cato Institute report
by Professor Dale Carpenter
notes, ”The ’threat’ from courts
is more imagined than real.”
Only one state has adopted
same-sex marriage as a result
of a court decision; 45 states
have barred same-sex marriage
by various means. The question
isn't whether ”activist judges "
should redefine marriage, but
whether the states should have
the opportunity to settle this
matter in their own fashion,
without federal interference.

GWB: You are here because you
strongly support a constitutional
amendment that defines mar-
riage as the union of a man and a
woman. And I am proud to stand
with you.

FACT: Clearly this is not a
representative group. Recent
polling shows that the country
is closely divided over whether
to support a constitutional
amendment against same-sex
marriage In fact, a June 4 ABC
News poll found that only 42%
of the public supports such an
amendment.

GWB: This week, the Senate be-
gins debate on the Marriage Pro-
tection Amendment. And I call on
the Congress to pass this amend-
ment, send it to the states for
ratification, so we can take this
issue out of the hands of over-
reaching judges and put it back
where it belongs: in the hands of
the American people.

FACT: A constitutional
amendment would not put
power back "in the hands of

the.American people;” it would
all but permanently remove

the issue from the democratic
process by preventing states
from allowing same-sex
marriage if they choose to do
so. As conservative scholar
Bruce Fein states, ”[The

After 20 hours

of debate on

the proposed
constitutional
amendment
banning same-sex
marriage, U.S.
Senators on June
7th defeated the
measure 49 for

to 48 against — 11
Votes short of the '.
required 60 Votes,
required to push
the legislation
forward.

Federal Marriage Amendment]
precludes legislative bodies
from recognizing same-sex
unions irrespective of majority
sentiments.”

GWB: America is a free society
which limits the role of govem-
ment in the lives of our citizens.
In this country, people are free to
choose how they live their lives.

FACT: People should be free to
choose how they live their lives,
including choosing whom they
wish to marry. As Vice President
Dick Cheney said in opposing

a federal constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex
marriage, "Freedom means
freedom for everybody. ”

GWB: In‘ 1996, Congress ap-
proved the Defense of Marriage
Act by large bipartisan majorities
in both the House and the Senate,
and President Clinton signed it
into law.

FACT: That's why the Marriage
Protection Amendment

is superfluous. Former
representative Bob Barr, the
author of the Defense of
Marriage Act, strongly opposes
the amendment as unnecessary
and an affront to federalism.

GWB: This national question re-
quires a national solution.

FACT: Marriage has never been
a ”national question.” it has
always been governed by state
law, and should remain so.

GWB: A constitutional amend-
ment Would not take this issue
away from the states, as some
have argued. It would take the
issue away from the courts, and
put it directly before the Ameri-
can people.

FACT: A constitutional
amendment would override
state decisions, whether they
are made by courts, legislatures,
or popular referenda, and it
would be virtually impossible to

’ reconsider.

GWB: As this debate goes for-
ward, every American deserves
to be treated with tolerance and
respect and dignity.

FACT: No American is treated
with respect and dignity by
this amendment, which not
only demeans gay and lesbian
citizens but shows contempt
for the ability of the people
to rightly decide this issue

for themselves through the
democratic process.

GWB: All people deserve to have
their voices heard, and a consti-
tutional amendment will ensure
that they are heard.

FACT: A constitutional
amendment will silence the

voices of millions of Americans '

today and those of generations
to come.

   

Mark Agrast isga Senior Fe'l—
low, Sam Berger is a Research
Assistant, and Brodie Butland
is a Legal Intern, all at the
Center for American Progress.

The above is an edited ver-
sion. FMI contact Center for
American Progress at media@
americanprogress.org