Pro-Family Groups Question Bush's Commitment to Defense of Marriage
by Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
December 19, 2003
(AgapePress) - Some pro-family activists are questioning just how serious President George W. Bush is when it comes to defending traditional marriage. Concerns were raised after the president addressed the issue this week in an interview with ABC News. (See Earlier Article)
In the interview, President Bush stated he would support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman, but he also said his administration would support any legal unions which individual states establish. Tony Perkins of Family Research Council is not pleased with that position.
Perkins says his group is encouraged that Bush has come to the point of realizing that a Federal Marriage Amendment is necessary to protect marriage as a union between a man and a woman. However, FRC's president says he is "a little troubled" that Bush has "basically shown indifference toward civil unions, which is basically counterfeit marriages, saying that the states can create whatever they want."
Perkins agrees with Bush that the states should decide the issue, but he believes the president could use his influence more in defending traditional marriage. "I would hope that he would use his moral leadership to discourage states from ... creating counterfeit marriages, which ultimately affect the health of the culture," Perkins says.
A number of pro-family organizations have repeatedly voiced unease about the Bush White House and its apparent history of bowing to pressure from the powerful homosexual lobby. Still, some members of the coalition seeking to defend traditional marriage saw Bush's recent comments as a positive step in a difficult battle.
According to Family News in Focus, Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage and one who played a key role in introducing the marriage amendment in Congress, was pleased with Bush's statements. Daniels says he thinks Bush has "come down solidly on a position that is both viable politically and also reflects the deeply held beliefs of most Americans."
And Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family, also welcomed Bush's comments as "an encouraging sign," but qualified his response with a note of trepidation.
"I am concerned that the president might be giving up too much ground on the civil-unions issue," Minnery says, noting that he and other coalition members "understand that it may be impossible to pass a constitutional amendment that eradicates civil unions, but we're going to try ... for the very strongest language that will pass."
The Federal Marriage Amendment has been introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Pro-family forces are continuing to ask individuals to contact their senators and congressional representatives and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of the legislation.
