Gay Congressman Worries About Same-Sex Marriages
POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EST February 18, 2004
UPDATED: 5:54 p.m. EST February 18, 2004
An openly gay congressman says the decision by the city of San Francisco to challenge state law and grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples may not be a good thing.
Barney Frank, of Massachusetts, told The Associated Press that the image of gay couples getting married on TV could influence some in Congress to support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Hundreds of couples have gotten married in the last week after the city decided to challenge state law by issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
Frank said he had hoped Massachusetts' recent court decision upholding the right of same-sex couples to marry would serve as a national model for the legal protection of gay marriage.
Meanwhile, President George W. Bush said he's troubled by what he's seeing on the issue of gay marriage.
He spoke Wednesday about the San Francisco weddings and court decisions in Massachusetts that could clear the way for more of those marriages.
Bush told reporters at the White House that he's been watching carefully the events in San Francisco, where he says licenses were issued in violation of state law.
But he didn't answer directly when asked if he's any closer to endorsing a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. Conservative groups say the White House has assured them Bush would support such a ban.
Bush said only that he'll "support law to protect marriage between a man and a woman." And he said, "Obviously, these events are influencing my decision."
He criticized what he described as "activist judges who are defining marriage." Bush said that's a definition that should come from the people, and not from the courts.
Last week, a constitutional convention ended with no action in Massachusetts after lawmakers failed to agree on language to propose to voters to deal with the situation. Massachusetts' highest court has ruled that the state constitution currently will now allow denying marriage rights to same-sex couples. The state could issue licenses as early as this spring.
The convention is set to resume in March.
Ban Gay Marriages?
Previous Stories:
- February 17, 2004: Judge Gives San Francisco Deadline On Gay Marriages
- February 16, 2004: Gay Couples Marry 10 At A Time In California
- February 15, 2004: Gay Marriage Rush Continues In San Francisco
- February 13, 2004: San Francisco OKs More Same-Sex Marriages
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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