President George Bush’s comments on a constitutional amendment protecting marriage during his Jan. 20 State of the Union speech left conservatives divided.
Near the close of his address, the president said the United States must “value the institution of marriage.” The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act “declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states,” Bush said. “Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives.
“On an issue of such great consequence, the people’s voice must be heard,” Bush said. “If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.”
Those comments were good but did not go far enough in combating the drive to legalize homosexual “marriage,” said Richard Land, president of Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
“I am disappointed, as I know many other social conservatives are, that the president did not take the final step and come out foursquare in support of a federal marriage amendment that would enshrine marriage in the United States as only between a man and a woman,” Land said. “He made the case for the necessity of an amendment, and I am puzzled as to why he didn’t then — having diagnosed the problem — prescribe the only remedy, a federal marriage amendment.”
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, also desired more from Bush.
“The families of America have consistently supported the president on both his foreign and domestic policies. They have stood with him in his efforts of homeland security, and now they want the president to focus on the security of the American home by protecting the institution of marriage,” Perkins said.
Still, other pro-family leaders applauded Bush’s comments.
“The president made a strong plea for the sanctity of marriage, directly confronting judicial activism — the first time I’ve heard a president do that,” Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson said in a “Breakpoint” commentary. “Make no mistake: The battle over marriage is shaping up as the Armageddon of the culture war. And the president is taking the lead, courageously saying the people will have to resort to the constitutional process. He’s right.”
Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson said he was “immensely encouraged by President Bush’s unequivocal support for the sanctity of marriage. I applaud President Bush’s recognition of the grave danger facing our nation — and his courage to stand firm in support of a constitutional solution to judicial tyranny.”
Bush asked Americans to be respectful “as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization.”
“The outcome of this debate is important — and so is the way we conduct it,” Bush said. “The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God’s sight.”
Before the State of the Union address, Bush had affirmed marriage as only between a man and a woman and said he would support an amendment if necessary.
Some opponents of same-sex “marriage” had called on the president to endorse an amendment during his Jan. 20 address before Congress and a national television audience.
The amendment now proposed in Congress is the Federal Marriage Amendment, House Joint Resolution 56 and Senate Joint Resolution 26. (BP)
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