Bush to back constitutional amendment banning gay marriage

From the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle:

Jumping into a volatile election-year debate on same-sex weddings, President Bush today backed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage -- a move he said was needed to stop judges from changing the definition of the "most enduring human institution."

"After more than two centuries of American jurisprudence and millennia of human experience, a few judges and local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civilization," the president said in urging Congress to approve such an amendment. "Their action has created confusion on an issue that requires clarity."

Bush, who has cast himself as a "compassionate conservative," left the door open for civil unions as an alternative to same-sex marriages.

Criticism was immediate for his call for amending the Constitution.

Democrats accused Bush of tinkering with a document that is the bedrock of American democracy to divert election-year attention from his record -- an allegation the White House denied. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who hopes to run against Bush in this year's presidential election, said: "I believe President Bush is wrong."

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Eschaton has a good post on the civil benefits of marriage that are denied to gay and lesbian lifetime relationships--it lets you know just what's on the line here. As for myself, I'm still waiting for a patient social conservative to explain to me exactly how gay matrimony would undermine the overall institution of marriage. I mean, would seeing all those homosexuals in committed relationships inspire me to cheat on my wife? Would gays get the upper hand and somehow manage to outlaw heterosexual marriage? Would the government violate the First Amendment and force churches to provide weddings for gays? Maybe I'm foolish, but I still don't see the threat here.

To be honest, I think this "threat" argument arises from plain, old-fashioned homophobia with a few five dollar words thrown in to make it all sound a bit more intellectual. Actually, this "threat" argument doesn't even rise to the level of intellectuality. It's just right-wing religious fear mongering.

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