bush troubled by gay marriage

[shamanstar]

44 minutes ago
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040218/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_gay_marriage_2

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday he was "troubled" by gay weddings in San Francisco and by legal decisions in Massachusetts that could clear the way for same-sex marriage. But he declined to say whether he is any closer to backing a constitutional ban on such vows.



"I have watched carefully what's happening in San Francisco, where licenses were being issued, even though the law states otherwise," Bush said. "I have consistently stated that I'll support law to protect marriage between a man and a woman. Obviously these events are influencing my decision."

"I strongly believe marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman," Bush said during an Oval Office session with Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "I am troubled by activist judges who are defining marriage."


"People need to be involved in this decision," Bush said. "Marriage ought to be defined by the people not by the courts. And I'm watching it carefully."

[shamanstar]

1. does he know what he is saying?

this is the really funny part... "People need to be involved in this decision," Bush said. "Marriage ought to be defined by the people not by the courts. And I'm watching it carefully."

but hes going to go ahead and have the courts decide what the definition of marriage is. people will have no say.

[MsUnderstood]

2. get a new line

"I am troubled by activist judges who are defining marriage."

How many times since the state of the union has he said activist judges?

Oh and isn't it the people of San francisco deciding that gay marriage is okay? 85% of the 4400 people getting married a from San Franciso (based on news clip I heard on radio).

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

19. Is an activist

someone who disagrees with Bush? I was unfamiliar with that definition.

[Hamlette]

34. People need to be involved in the decision of who is president

instead of the question being decided by activist judges. Should have counted the votes.

[belle]

3. The fact that he's not throwing raw red meat to the fundies right now is

mildly encouraging. not because I have any faith in the Shrub himself, of course; but it gives you an idea of where the zeitgeist is. They're treading a little more carefully. That's good.

[The Stranger]

25. As soon as the election is over, his tone will change.

He'll be talking "family values" and condemning anything that is not "Christian." Right now he has to appear moderate.

[reprobate]

29. As soon as the election is over he'll be too busy packing.

You seem to be assuming that he will win. Right now it sure looks the other way. Most repugs I talk to are NOT voting for Captain Codpiece again.

When the election is over he'll have about six weeks to clear out of the people's White House. AFAIC, he can say whatever he wants in that period and nobody will care. He will be, like the UN, irrelevant.

[aquart]

4. If George is agin it, I'm for it.

Rule of thumb.

[terrya]

5. Too bad he's not giving the same amount of attention to the fact that

3 million plus jobs have been lost in this country since he was elevated to the Presidency in 2000. And that people are scared of losing their jobs or having them outsourced to places like India and China.

Oh, well. He's got his real priorities, I guess.

Terry

[shamanstar]

7. priorities

dont forget the important issue of steriods in baseball.

[Skip Intro]

6. "activist judges"

scotty just used this one in the press briefing

guess it tested as stirring fellings of fear in focus groups

[Cocoa]

8. he must have seen how joyful the couples were

very troubling indeed...

[shamanstar]

10. more troubling than..

a man and a hooker getting married on a drunken whim even though the man is already married... or cousins getting married... or underfunded schools... or unjust war. "but this one takes the cake!"

[saltpoint]

9. I just sent this letter to the White House:

Mr. President:

Your remarks on gay marriage today have just been aired here in Indiana.

Not surprisingly, you oppose it, an obvious and shameless pandering to the Far Right. It reinforces the impression people all over the world have of you as a mindless, shoot-from-the-hip pseudo-cowboy, a vacuous puppet of other people's sick agendas.

In close national U.S. elections, there are more temperate and tolerant independent voters than there are lockstep Fundamentalist morons. Your pollsters ought to have updated you on this. Dole lost Georgia in '96 by almost the exact number of registered gay and lesbian voters in that state.

Ask your pal Karl Rove if this is not true.

You might call Governor Perry of Texas up and ask him for his input on this issue.

When a president panders to hateful idiots, tolerant, independent voters have a right to express their disapproval. I predict you will not be re-elected, and rightly so. Your presidency has been historically polarizing.

Thank you for your consideration, such as it is.

[Bronco69]

15. Excellent letter!

I wouldn't be getting on any small planes anytime soon though, and you might want to keep checking your rearview mirror. :-)

[saltpoint]

18. :)

thanks for the post, Bronco69.

Good wishes to you.

[lebkuchen]

16. How much longer one will feel comfortable writing a negative letter to WH?

Everytime I look at Bush, I see fascism (and I can't express the depth of my gratitude for not having to live in the U.S. at this time. Life is too short).

I appreciate your efforts, but I get the feeling that if Bush gets handed another four years, the opposition is going to be effectively silenced, with scapegoats rounded up in short order.

What a fucked-up country the U.S. has become.

[saltpoint]

17. Hi, lebkuchen.

Thanks for your post.

I am a bit fearful of what's happened to our country, too. The attitude that this administration has is not inspiring confidence anyplace.

I don't think Republicans like Olympia Snowe or John Chafee would ever do what the Bush White House is doing. It's just this particular bunch I'm worried about.

But last night Ben Chandler won in Kentucky, and Gavin Newsom is giving Bush fits over gay marriages in SF. I feel a lot of lift, too.

Thank you for your response. All good steps to you.

[yellowcanine]

11. I am troubled by the the thought of 4 more years of Bush

What a jerk. What was troubling about the picture of the elderly lesbian couple on the front page of the Washington Post who finally were able to get married after being together more than 50 years? Someone should link that picture and send it to him and ask, "Want about this is troubling?"

[pagerbear]

12. I guess gay men and lesbians aren't people.

[shamanstar]

14. and straight people

who think that it is ridiculous that we still have such intolerance.
the only ones who count as people in his book are the ones who agree with him.
i wrote this-

I am just writing to inform you that you have said yet another statement that completely contradicts itself. Some people are ignorant, but a majority are not. I am afraid that majority will be electing you out of the white house this year.

"People need to be involved in this decision," Bush said. "Marriage ought to be defined by the people not by the courts. And I'm watching it carefully."

But you will be making the courts define married. The people do want to define marriage. I am afraid that this issue is long overdue, and in 20 years, most of the country is going to be ashamed to ever have living somewhere that it was illegal for two people to get married for love while it was legal for a hooker and an unfaithful husband to get hitched on a drunken whim.

I am writing to express my deep distaste for your stance on this issue on behalf of myself and countless other people, straight and gay alike. I only wish you knew what true god given love is like. If it wasnt ok to fall in love with a woman, God wouldnt make it happen to me. God is love- please stop using his name to preach hatred.

Sincerely,

[catzies]

36. whoops never mind

On rereading I get it now.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. I don't see his problem with it

being that his dad married a professional George Washington look alike.

[HiRez]

20. Good Job Bush

I totally agree...

[DakotaDemocrat]

21. I am troubled too.

I am troubled by the sheer audicty of this administration to do whatever it wants, regardless of how it effects Americans.

I am troubled that the media gives this Administration a free ride.

I am troubled by the Administration giving up millions of jobs and calling good for the American economy.

I am troubled that they showcase to the entire world "We will create 2.6 million jobs this year..." and now come out saying, "it might produce some".

I am troubled that the Press Secretary said "The President isn't an accountant" when questioned about the huge discreptency between today's statement and the previous statement about jobs.

I am troubled that this Administration does not free rights for all people.

I am troubled that our country is now looked at with scorn and contempt by others across the world.

I am troubled that the FCC can conduct a lightning quick investigation and that the Justice Department hasn';t done much with the Plame investigation.

I am troubled that people want to keep Bush because "he's such a nice guy"



I am troubled that I can continue this mantra for the next 45 minutes without having to stop.

[scarface2004]

22. i m troubled by bush!!!

what a @#$%&$%& @#$#%$&%$!!!

[mac2]

27. Many nights, I've been troubled over Bunny Pants Bush

[Laughing Mirror]

23. Bush was discussing gay marriage with President of Tunisia?

How very strange.

[havocmom]

24. is he worried some toy boys might wed and not be available?

Why is it anybody's business who gets married?

This issue is just another diversion to keep folks from focusing on the disasters the malAdministration policies have brought to this nation.

Just say no to being sidetracked. Someone else for presidentis the immediate goal.

[Dulcinea]

28. Couldn't agree more.

Who gets married is no one's business!

I predict that there'll be gay civil unions,if not marriage, throughout the U.S. in the next 10 or 20 years. This train has left the station & it can't be stopped.

I fail to see how 2 men or 2 women getting married affects marriage between a man & a woman. I have a cousin (in his 70s) who's had a same-sex partner for nearly 50 years, & they lived with his mother & took care of her until she died 2 years ago at 102!

How is that detrimental to society, but "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" isn't?

[mac2]

26. Bush troubled by gay marriage?

I don't think Bush ponders much. The gay issue is another distraction for RWers. It's important but we don't talk about the issues..such as why elect this idiot to another term..and why isn't he in jail for robbing our treasury.

You can tell it's election time when religion and sex come to the fore front of the issues. It's the RW way to distract us.

We are talking to the choir. Let's move on.

[Jacobin]

30. Whaaaa? No states rights?

Ooops, sorry, I forgot, only when it's convenient

[xchrom]

31. judges are defining marriage?

just the opposite -- they are widening the definition to include a previously excluded group of folk.
a group folk who have historically been discriminated against.
it's activist -- in the world according to the chimp{para-phrasing here.} -- to keep marriage as the exclusive perogative of straight couples.

[kodi]

32. beware, it delivered how the right is framing the issue to win this one

"I'll support law to protect marriage between a man and a woman"

note, he is not using any words that are negative. he is not saying that he is against anything. all he is saying is that he is a person who will protect rights, even if it is twisted, bastardization of the intent of human rights.

for those of us who support homosexual marriage rights, we are going to have to be aware of how the right is setting this up in people's minds.

for many people, they will see bush as a person who is standing up for rights, not one who is seeking to stop the enfranchisement of some people.

expect bush to dwell on how his side is defending the sanctity of marriage.

to counter this framing of a positive, protecting bush, homosexual marriage rights supporters will have to clarify for people the connection this subject has to personal, economic, and civil rights, and find a way to show that equal rights means rights to marriage for any two people and that the one man/one woman requirement for marriage is sexual discrimination against either of the persons of the same sex trying to marry.

such a law, by definition bases sex as the discriminating factor in its implementation.

but, as in a bizarro world reflection, it demands that the sex of the other party defines your rights in this matter.

there are those who claim that legality of the un-equal military draft responsibilities between the two sexes shows that the constitution allows for the congress making laws regarding sexual matters. but while there is specific mention of the responsibility of congress to raise armies, there is no mention of the requirements of marriage in the same constitution, nor a single word about congress having a responsibility to enact such requirements.

these bastards ought to be held accountable when bush moths off about "activist judges" because it is his side who are th radicals by wanting to enshrine a constitutional power never mentioned in the document.

honestly, we had better do a better job convincing the masses. bush's side is gathering its strength and i do not want rely on the courts on this with the make-up of the scotus

[emanymton]

37. EQUAL Rights Means Equal, Must Be The Starting Point

Focus this issue for everyone as an equal rights issue! Seize the issue and set the agenda.

The people already spoke when they accepted the Constitution of the US. Before this can go forward, the 14th amendment will have to be appealed.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

33. The problem I see with gay marriage.

Is that it makes a mockery out of a sacred institution made even holier by Dennis Rodman, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minneli, Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, Michael Jackson and tons of others who have shown us the way.

[readmylips]

35. Gee, You forgot the boosh brother....

the married brother that somehow, out of the blue sky, hookers land of his bed when he visits Japan.

I guess, little man boosh will not be invited to Mary Cheney's wedding, unless Mary marries Jenna (another hooker).

[Dr Fate]

38. Why- do these couples hold the key to the mysterious "WMDs"???

For the life of me- I cant see why it is such a big concern to so many people. Why cant people just LIVE THIER LIVES and leave others to thiers???

[BruinAlum]

39. Bush is troubled, period.