WaxWorks
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Tuesday, February 24, 2004
How Far Right is the Far Right?
Well, as expected, Bush has endorsed a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Putting aside the merits of putting an amendment in support of discrimination in the Constitution, I think people need to take a close look at the language in the proposed amendment.
The amendment that Bush now says he supports, introduced by Rep. Musgrave (R-CO), states that:
Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
What are "the legal incidents thereof" that gay couples would be denied? Well, things like the ability to be with a partner and make decisions during a medical emergency, the ability to keep a house that has been shared for many years when one partner dies, and access to health insurance.
This language also suggests that civil unions, designed to provide "the legal incidents" without the label of "marriage" would also be banned as well. The President suggested today that state legislatures should be left to define "legal arrangements other than marriage," suggesting that such an amendment would do nothing to stop states from allowing civil unions for same-sex couples, when just the opposite conclusion appears plain from the text of the amendment. (Andrew Sullivan apparently has the same take on this issue.)
Once again, the President is taking an extreme position to appease the far right and trying to make it look more moderate to appeal to the majority of Americans. We'll see if the media lets him get away with it.
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