If Tuesday’s State of the Union address was President
Bush’s kickoff to his reelection campaign, then his bid to
keep the White House includes an anti-civil rights message that
would deter the progress and basic fairness sought by millions of
gay Americans.
The president covered a lot during his speech of almost an hour.
He ““ again ““ argued the case for war against Iraq. He
said provisions of the Patriot Act needed to be renewed, and he
trumpeted the capture of Saddam Hussein. He shared his ideas on
Medicare and said tax cuts would lead to more jobs.
But it was not terrorism, war, civil liberties, the economy or
health care that warranted mention of a possible constitutional
change. It was gay marriage.
Bush all but endorsed a movement to constitutionally ban gay
marriage. Bush blamed “activist” judges for threatening
the institution of marriage, saying if they “insist on
forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative
left to the people would be the constitutional process.”
In order to appeal to the Christian Right, Bush trampled on the
civil rights pursuits of one of the most discriminated-against
groups in the United States today.
Though they work, pay taxes, and serve in the military, gay
Americans are not afforded the right to express their love the same
way all other Americans can ““Â through marriage. The
chance that they will some day earn that right is so threatening
that conservatives like Vice President Dick Cheney and Senate
Leader Bill Frist, R ““ Tenn., support an all-out effort to
keep it from happening. Now Bush’s name can be thrown into
that mix.
Support for the ill-conceived, discriminatory ban does not only
show prejudice against gay Americans ““ it also undermines the
power and authority of the Constitution. The purpose of government
is to protect citizens and provide basic services, not to
prohibit people from living a certain way. Once radical with its
provisions to protect individual freedoms, now the Constitution is
in danger of being used as a weapon against freedom.
Freedom of expression. The right to a fair trial. The right to
vote. The right not to be married? The last one obviously does not
belong.
Now supported by the world’s most powerful person, a ban
on gay marriage would be a terrible misuse of the Constitution
““Â one that could set back civil rights in this country
for decades.