The Family Research Council (FRC) is leading a group of the usual suspects in a crusade to 'save' traditional marriage from the clutches of homosexuals. Their latest PR offensive, 'Marriage Protection Week,' Oct. 12-18 was unveiled at an Oct. 2 news conference.
FRC president Tony Perkins spoke contemptuously of activists judges, a 'black plague,' about to impose the fiat of gay marriage upon an American public that opposes the idea.
He unveiled a 'Marriage Protection Pledge,' a certificate they are asking elected officials to sign, endorsing a traditional definition of marriage. It is a kind of 'lite' version of what the group really wants—support for the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.
Perkins touted a presidential proclamation on the same week.
But the words of that proclamation were rather thin gruel for the fear mongers. It restated Bush's belief that 'Marriage is a union between a man and a woman,' a statement agreed to by all of the leading Democratic candidates for president.
And it pledged to support government and non-government efforts to 'promote healthy marriages and a better quality of life for children'; boilerplate rhetoric that is standard for every public official.
The proclamation did not mention the FMA, or carry veiled references to any of the religious right's other pet projects. And it closed with a commitment to 'continue our work to create a compassionate, welcoming society, where all people are treated with dignity and respect.'
The White House did the least it could to mollify the social conservatives while at the same time making sure to define the proclamation in its own terms and stay above the fray of a cultural war over gay marriage.
That balancing act wasn't enough for most gay groups.
'It is reprehensible for a president who claims to be compassionate to pander to a coalition of extremist groups by joining their assault on gay families,' asserted Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign. However, she was 'pleased' that the President did not endorse the FMA.
'We are shocked, appalled, and immensely saddened that President Bush has sanctioned the so-called 'Marriage Protection Week' with an official proclamation,' said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.' He described it as 'a bald campaign to demonize and defame gay people and our families, shamefully mixing religion and politics.'
'President Bush has just endorsed an organized agenda of bigotry, discrimination, exclusion and intolerance,' said Joan Garry, executive director of GLAAD. She called upon the media to press the Bush administration on 'their association with professional homophobes.'
The gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) has declared that same mid-October period 'Marriage Equality Week,' dedicated to the recognition of same-sex marriage. It will seek to counter the fundamentalists with their own educational activities.
Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund announced plans to honor and participate in the week with a range of activities focused on same-sex couples' commitment to protecting their families and strengthening the institution of marriage.
'While the groups who started 'Marriage Protection Week' disagree with us about providing critical protections for lesbian and gay families, this is a week for celebrating and honoring couples who want to build strong families and a strong society,' said Michael Adams, Director of Education and Public Affairs at Lambda Legal, which represents seven couples suing for full marriage rights in New Jersey. 'We want to protect and strengthen marriage, too—by making it equally available to all families who want to protect themselves and their children.'
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays urged the President to remember the millions of American families with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender members. 'The support of any effort to hurt the legal and emotional well-being of these families through this so-called marriage protection effort is a direct assault on the very family values these extremist groups assert they uphold,' PFLAG stated. Instead, PFLAG 'wholeheartedly supports Marriage Equality Week.'
The mainstream press largely ignored the FRC news conference. Even the conservative Washington Times offered only a perfunctory article. It was surprisingly balanced, with quotes from HRC, MCC, and conservative former Rep. Bob Barr who has been vocal in his opposition to the FMA.
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