The Queer Librarian: News, Information, Resources

Channel NewsAsia, June 18, 2008

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush still believes marriage is between a man and a woman, and remains in favour of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex weddings, the White House said on Tuesday.

But the president does not intend to campaign for such an amendment, spokesman Tony Fratto said as thousands of gay couples lined up in California to be among the first to get licenses to wed under new state laws.


"You know the president's views on this, that a marriage is between a man and a woman, and we've been very clear on that," Fratto said.

But he added California was dealing with the issue. "They're going to have a referendum, and we're certainly monitoring" it, Fratto said.

Bush called in February 2004 for a constitutional amendment a few weeks after the state of Massachusetts allowed gay marriages.

California's Supreme Court last month overturned the state ban on same-sex marriage although opponents have succeeding in adding a proposition to November 4 election ballot papers calling for gay weddings to be banned once more.

Analysts estimate that around 51,000 of the 102,000 same-sex couples living in California will wed over the next three years, with a further 67,500 couples from outside the state expected to marry during the same period.

The first tidal wave of marriages on Tuesday came after joyous scenes in Los Angeles and San Francisco on Monday, where two campaigning lesbian couples wed moments after gay marriages became legal in California at 5:01 pm. - AFP/de

Source: AFP. Permission required for reproduction.