Gays bash 'oblivious' Bush
2004-01-22 10:35
Los Angeles - US gays were left fuming at President George W Bush after he suggested in his State of the Union address that he may seek a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.
DontAmend.com, a Los Angeles-based activist group that supports the right to gay marriage, said Bush's comments during his speech on Tuesday were unfair and insulting to the very constitution he signalled he might change.
Bush warned that if "activist judges" moved to legalise gay marriage, then: "The only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process."
"For the president to denounce them as 'activist' judges because they pushed for equality is a contemptible way of undermining the court," said DontAmend.com co-chairman Robin Tyler, adding that the comments showed "just how oblivious this president is on civil rights issues."
"For him to say that the rights of a majority can only be protected by denying rights to a minority is an insult to the very constitution he is threatening to change," Tyler said.
Bush's comments appeared more conservative than earlier statements on the sensitive and socially divisive subject, as he entered a key presidential election year under pressure from conservative groups.
Reverend Troy Perry, a longtime activist for same-sex marriage, said he was "most disturbed by the profound contradictions in the president's speech."
"President Bush called on the American people to respect differences in our culture, but failed to respect the differences found in our LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) communities.
"The right way to defend marriage is to assure it is an equal right for all people, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons. History will show that President Bush took steps backward at a time society was moving forward," Perry said.
DontAmend.com www.dontamend.com is a national grassroots coalition of activists dedicated to preventing a proposed constitutional amendment that would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.
- AFP