US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he was troubled San Francisco was issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians "even though the law states otherwise" and moved closer to endorsing a constitutional ban sought by many of his conservative backers.
Same-sex marriage has become a hot-button issue in this presidential election year, with opponents saying it would destroy the institution of marriage. Bush's stance could help him energize his conservative base before the November vote.
"I'm troubled by what I've seen," Bush told reporters in his first public comments on the flood of City Hall weddings that have made San Francisco the focus of the gay marriage movement.
"I have consistently stated that I'll support [a] law to protect marriage between a man and a woman. And, obviously, these events are influencing my decision," Bush said during a picture-taking session with the president of Tunisia and after meeting with Catholic leaders at the White House.
Congressional backers of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage expect Bush to embrace their legislation soon.
"The time for that leadership is now," the conservative Weekly Standard said in a column.
Amending the Constitution is a difficult task. It can take years to win the support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, two-thirds of the Senate and ratification by three-quarters of the states.
However, Democrats expect conservatives to push the gay marriage issue intensely in an election year in which jobs, health care and the economy are on voters' minds.
Recent polls show the issue could be a winner for Bush, who has long courted Christian conservatives as a key element of his political base.
According to a recent Zogby International poll, 51 percent of voters want a constitutional amendment passed that recognizes marriage only as union between a man and a woman. More than 60 percent of daily and weekly church-goers support a constitutional amendment.
Bush has yet to formally embrace a constitutional amendment in public, although he has made statements stepping closer to an endorsement, and the president's congressional allies say he is poised to make it formal.
"If necessary, he [Bush] would be prepared to look to the constitutional process because that would be the only alternative available if activist judges continue to redefine marriage," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Bush made his comments one day after a California judge gave the city of San Francisco a green light to keep on issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians until late March at least. Conservative family groups had asked two courts to halt the flood of City Hall weddings.
"I strongly believe that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. I am troubled by activist judges who are defining marriage," Bush said.
"People need to be involved with this decision. Marriage ought to be defined by the people, not by the courts. And watching it carefully," he added.
The White House is also paying close attention to Massachusetts, where legislators are debating what to do after a state court ruling that gay couples have the right to wed.
Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry, a Massachusetts native himself, says he favors civil unions for gays but not the court's marriage ruling. He also says his position is the same as that of Bush's Vice President, Dick Cheney, one of whose daughters is openly gay.
McClellan said Cheney "very much knows the president's views ... They discuss important issues like that."
"The president has always said it's important to treat all people with dignity and respect. But this is an issue of principle. This is an issue that he feels very strongly about," McClellan added.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia