Gay Marriage Amedment

[XTC]

Bush calls for gay-marriage amendment
President reassures religious conservatives at Baptist meeting

Mark Humphrey / AP
President Bush addresses the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting via satellite on Tuesday, praising membersfor their strong family values.
By Alex Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 2:01 p.m. ET June 21, 2005NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Alex Johnson
Reporter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

â?¢ Click for profile

Reviving a major plank of his re-election campaign, President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Tuesday.

The presidentâ??s address to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention â?? the fourth year in a row he has spoken to the conservative evangelical gathering â?? was crafted to rally the social religious conservatives who make up a crucial part of Bushâ??s governing coalition. He restated his commitment to issues dear to conservativesâ?? hearts, notably his opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion and research on human embryonic stem cells â?? a stance he calls the â??culture of life.â?�

â??We will continue to build a culture of life in America, and America will be better off for it,â?� Bush said by satellite hookup from the White House.

advertisement

Bushâ??s remarks were similar to those he made last year, when he said he would work to uphold marriage as he sought to solidify his religious conservative base ahead of the November election. He thanked the 11,077 â??messengersâ?� who made the trek to Nashville this year for defending â??the values that carry a moral society, for ... defending the family and the sacred institution of marriage.â?�

But the message has extra resonance this year. The presidentâ??s ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research is being challenged in Congress, even by some in his own Republican Party, and the likelihood of Chief Justice William Rehnquistâ??s imminent retirement promises a free-swinging ideological battle in the Senate.

Carefully worded appeal
In a nod to polling data that suggest Americans strongly support embryonic stem cell research, Bush sought to focus the debate on theoretical pitfalls should such science be perfected. Not once did he use the words â??stem cellâ?� or â??embryos.â?�

Instead, the president cast his position as standing in the way of â??cloningâ?� â?? which some scientists say could be a realistic result of the research â?? and â??the creation of life only to destroy it.â?�

The Southern Baptist Convention strongly condemns homosexuality, and the presidentâ??s remarks were greeted with sustained applause. Gay rights activists were organizing a rally for Wednesday morning at the Nashville Public Library to protest the convention's preaching on gays and lesbians.

Bushâ??s speech was also in keeping with the tone of urgency suffusing the conference, where the Rev. Bobby Welch, president of the convention, has challenged church leaders to renew their commitment to social engagement and evangelism, which Welch said was a critical test of the churchâ??s credibility.

Bush echoed that call, sounding themes in a recent declaration by the National Association of Evangelicals urging more attention to poverty, homelessness and economic disruption.

â??We must help the poor, the sick and those who hurt,â?� he said.

Although a sizable minority of evangelical Christians â?? estimated at 20 percent to 40 percent â?? say they are politically moderate or Democratic, the SBC has been led by socially conservative leaders since they engineered a takeover of the nationâ??s largest non-Catholic denomination in 1979. At one point during a floor debate Tuesday, Welch had to remind messengers to remain civil.

Related stories
More stories by Alex Johnson




Schools resolution unlikely
The conservativesâ?? primary issues have been gay and lesbian rights and what they see as moral decay in the public schools, a topic that has again created controversy at the conventionâ??s annual gathering.

But the convention was unlikely to consider resolutions calling on Southern Baptists to withdraw their children from public schools. The conventionâ??s resolutions committee was considering two non-binding resolutions urging parents to investigate whether their local school promoted homosexuality and to pull their children out of classes if it did, but the panel killed a similar resolution last year, and Welch told MSNBC.com last week that he thought Christians should remain in public schools to promote change from within.

Even so, there was a strong sense that â??the modern educational system in America is a mess,â?� as the Rev. Jerry Vines of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., a leading social conservative figure in Southern Baptist circles, said in an address at the conventionâ??s Pastors Conference.

â??In modern education in America, we have dethroned God, and we have deified man,â?� Vines said. â??You cannot satisfy the human soul with mere education.â?�

© 2005 MSNBC Interactive

It won't happen. And if it does pass, it will be repealed by the courts when the America finally wakes up and realizes we shouldnt have politics mix with religion

Ridiculous...
Way to make the relgious-right suck your cock even more Georgie.
__________________

XTC Reviewed by XTC on 06-22-2005. Gay Marriage Amedment Bush calls for gay-marriage amendment President reassures religious conservatives at Baptist meeting Mark Humphrey / AP President Bush addresses the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting via satellite on Tuesday, praising membersfor their strong family values. By Alex Johnson Reporter MSNBC Updated: 2:01 p.m. ET June 21, 2005NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Rating: 5

[Button Basher]

Ridiculous...
Way to make the relgious-right suck your cock even more Georgie.

You quite literally took the words right out of my mouth there .
This is starting to get to me. Why is he imposing his Christian views on the rest of America? Religion and politics don't fucking mix, everyone loses when you've got some jesus-freak running the show. Have the individual's needs been replaced by the governments eager spreading of the fairy tale ideology that is Christianity? I swear religion will be the death of this world.

[Fengzi]

I love how the ban on gay marraige is always based on how it would corrupt "traditional family values" . So what are good "traditional family values" anyway. Racist KKK bastards can get married and raise little racist kkk bastards. Is that good family values? "Well shiiit, most of them is good Christian boys "(said with a Southern accent) What about convicted felons, murderers, rapists, child molesters. They can get married, even while they're still in jail. I'm sure they'll impart good values to their children.

Maybe its just me but I'd rather have a gay couple move in next door than a KKK couple anyday.

[nicholasstanko]

How true. That makes perfect sense. Man I wish someone would ask goerge that during a live debate he couldnt back out of.

[XTC]

Fourteenth amendment:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Am I wrong?

I'm sure that some rich homosexual will sue, and overturn the amendment, if it does pass. My guess, he will come from Louisiana. I have stayed at a mansion, for Madi Gras, which I think, is over-rated,owned by two gay men, very nice cool dudes, also very wealthy.

[amsterdam]

you guys are blind.not many people in this country are for gay marriage.very few.it couldnt even pass in Oregon in '04?

i could care less if gay people get married,but i know a losing battle when i see one.states need to stop imagining that documents written 200 years ago mysteriously call for gay marriage,they sure as hell dont.it isnt going to happen.

they should put abortion and gay marriage to a national vote like the elections,sadly i think both would lose,abortion would be close but i think it would still fail.

[nicholasstanko]

You quite literally took the words right out of my mouth there .
This is starting to get to me. Why is he imposing his Christian views on the rest of America? Religion and politics don't fucking mix, everyone loses when you've got some jesus-freak running the show. Have the individual's needs been replaced by the governments eager spreading of the fairy tale ideology that is Christianity? I swear religion will be the death of this world.

Hey Button Basher. You're gay arent you? If you're not then my bad. I thought you said in an earlier post you were.

Shit... it doesnt even matter since we're all anonymous anyway. Just curious if your views reflect the lifestyle you live.

[amsterdam]

what the hell is a "gay lifestyle"?

do you mean having sex with men?

[nicholasstanko]

what the hell is a "gay lifestyle"?

do you mean having sex with men?

Well to put it bluntly, yes...and no. To have a gay lifestyle (to me at least) means that you're homosexual and willing to accept that fact even if only to yourself. It's just an after-effect that most homosexuals have sex with each other.

[amsterdam]

sounds fair to me.