Bush backs ban on gay marriage
US president George Bush urged Congress yesterday to back a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
It is thought the move could boost his support among conservatives ahead of the presidential election in November.
Mr Bush’s pledge to end the “redefinition” of marriage caused outrage in San Francisco, where thousands of gay and lesbian marriage licenses have been issued, and in Massachusetts, where gay couples have the right to enter wedlock.
Speaking in the White House Roosevelt Room, Mr Bush said: “If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America.
“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 civilisation.
“Their action has created confusion on an issue that requires clarity.”
Mr Bush acknowledged the issue raised thorny ethical dilemmas for his own staff, not least Dick Cheney, the vice-president, whose daughter, Mary, is gay and works for her father’s re-election campaign.
As a softener, Mr Bush said he would allow states to make their own “legal arrangements” for gay couples, which may entail more rights and further protection under the law.
Amending the US Constitution is a lengthy process and could take several years. For an amendment to pass, it needs the support of two-thirds of the 435-member House of Representatives, two-thirds of the 100-strong Senate, before ratification by three quarters of the 50 states.
Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom said the decision to allow gay marriage was an expression of “humanity”.
Mr Newsom said: “I would encourage the governor and the president of the United States, who obviously have some concerns about what we are doing here in San Francisco, to take the time and see how this process is enveloped and to see the humanity expressed.”
