The reasons Bush is doing this is simple.
1. In order to have any chance whatsoever at maintaining control of Congress, the Republicans must energize their radical evangelical base, and nothing riles up bible thumpers (save abortion) like gay marriage.
2. This issue, just like the illegal immigration issue brought up not long ago, serves the purpose of redirecting the nation's attention away from the Iraq War. Bush would rather the country was talking about anything but that. These non-issues fit the bill perfectly. People get fired up, and, the GOP hopes, forget about the war.
As far as the issue itself goes, not allowing gays to marry violates at least two constitutional amendments (First and Fourteenth). Personally, I find barring gays from marriage, or anyone from any right for that matter, to be repulsive. If some conservative churches won't allow it, fine, I could care less, but they have no right to impress their will in regards to who can and cannot exercise certain rights on fellow citizens.
|