Bush Supports the FMA

This morning President Bush announced that he would support amending the Constitution to include a definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. According to the President marriage cannot be “severed from its cultural, religious, and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society.”

What utter and complete nonsense, what does one thing have to do with the other? Nothing whatever. The claim is that same-sex marriage will weaken the institution of marriage and by extension endanger the “welfare of children and the stability of society.” This seems a lot like arguments against letting little black children go to school with little white children. Oh my god, the stability (read status quo) of society is at stake here people. The gays are going to overrun your family and steal your children and maybe even your pet dog.

As impetus for this move the President cites rulings by “activist judges” in Massachusetts who are seeking to “redefine marriage”. Just as in the 60s it is “activist judges” in state and federal courts that are forced to remedy the injustices in the laws. But these justices are neither activist nor out of control. They are doing their duty to uphold constitutional guarantees of equal treatment under the law and the interference of religion in lawmaking.

The Federal Marriage Amendment is mean spirited and ideologically anathema. True republicans, of which the President was never one, would never support an amendment that so clearly oversteps the logical boundaries of government authority or need. This is a blatant move to shore up support with religious and moral conservatives for the next election. The president is well aware that this amendment is not likely at all the be ratified even if it gets out of Congress. And it looks increasing like it won’t even make it that far.