The Politics Of Gay Marriage

By David Paul Kuhn
CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer

In excluding civil unions as a compromise, the court paved the way for Massachusetts to be the first state in the country to allow same-sex marriages. Almost immediately, the presidential candidates responded, hinting that this could be a major issue in the coming campaign.

President George W. Bush strongly opposes gay marriage, though he has said in the past that state legislatures should be left to decide the issue of civil unions. White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday that the administration was reviewing the Massachusetts decision, possibly considering backing a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Speaking to reporters, McClellan said that the White House is "firmly committed to protecting and defending" marriage.

In mid-December, Mr. Bush said, "If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that."
Yet in January's State of the Union address, he was deliberately vague. "Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage," the president said.

"The Republicans would like to suggest that the Democrats favor gay marriage," said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. "Most don't. Most Democrats favor civil unions, as most Americans do."

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry opposes gay marriage, yet he is also against a constitutional amendment that would ban it.

"Kerry is under the gun because he has to say he agrees with or opposes the Supreme Court ruling. If he opposes it he is in the same position as President Bush and if he supports it he risks alienating a chunk of his liberal base," said Republican pollster Glen Bolger. "The folks who fund his campaign out of Hollywood and other areas are not going to be happy about this issue."

In a statement issued following the ruling, the Democratic frontrunner reiterated his opposition to gay marriage and support for civil unions.

"I believe and have fought for the principle that we should protect the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian couples, from inheritance to health benefits," Kerry said.

Conservatives want a constitutional amendment to insure that no state will have to recognize Massachusetts' same-sex marriages, which will become law in mid-May. Under the constitutional provision of "full faith and credit," states are mandated to recognize the laws of other states in the union.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, supported by President Bush, attempts to exempt states from this legal obligation to respect marriages of same-sex couples in other states. The act also defines a spouse as only a person of the opposite sex, who is a husband or a wife. But it is a far cry from a constitutional amendment in both law and social consequence.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Col., who sponsors the current marriage amendment in the Senate, argues that the new Massachusetts ruling will only reinvigorate his effort to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

"I would encourage President Bush to support this amendment," Allard said. "I think it is strongly supported by the American people and I think it would help him in his reelection because it is so very popular."

The leading Democratic presidential candidates – Sen. Kerry, Sen. John Edwards, former Gen. Wesley Clark and former Gov. Howard Dean – all support civil unions. Dean signed the nation's first civil union law and as of July 1, 2000, a same-sex couple from any state may apply to Vermont town clerks for a civil union license.

"The majority of people solidly believe there should not be gay marriage," said social scientist Tom Smith of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. "The issue of the appropriateness or the morality of homosexuality is a polarizing issue."

"Even abortion is only polarizing among the activists but when it comes to homosexuality," Smith continued, "about 60 percent of Americans think that homosexuality is wrong and about 30 percent think it is not wrong at all."

A CBS News/New York Times poll done in December found that 61 percent of respondents said they were against gay marriage (up from 55 percent in July), while 34 percent said they favor gay marriage (down from 40 percent).

The reason for the increase in opposition to gay marriage correlates to the first Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in November, which ruled that barring same-sex couples from the benefits of civil marriage was unconstitutional. The 4-3 ruling gave the state legislature 180 days to come up with a solution, after which the legislature asked the court if civil unions satisfy the decision; today's ruling affirmed that they did not.

The issue came to court as the result of a lawsuit filed in 2001 by seven gay couples who sued the Massachusetts Department of Public Health after being refused marriage licenses.

"I'm very, very pleased. This is a big step closer to the day when I will be a spouse," said Ellen Wade, an attorney who was one the original litigants in the case.

"This is a very personal issue for me and all of the thousands of gay households but it is also inescapably a political issue and I think there will be struggles ahead all over the country and this will be part of the presidential debates to come."

By David Paul Kuhn