dont look at the war, look at this straw person the president is creating in attacks on gays...


Bush promotes marriage plan in Ohio

CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) -- President Bush raised money for the Republican Party and promoted his agenda of compassionate conservatism Monday as he and his Democratic rival focus on a key state in their battle for the White House.

On his 18th presidential trip to Ohio, Bush promoted his $1.5 billion proposal to offer premarital counseling to parents on welfare.

"I think one of the smartest things we can do is to encourage families" by spending money on grants to states, faith-based organizations and community-based groups that "teach people what it means to be in a successful marriage," Bush told supporters at an alcohol and drug addiction services center.


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Clerics oppose push to define marriage
By Morgan Jarema
The Grand Rapids Press


A group of West Michigan clergy is speaking out against a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would block efforts to legalize gay marriage, calling it "immoral."

About 75 faith leaders from nearly a dozen denominations endorsed a statement to be read at a press conference today, that calls the proposed amendment "unequal, unfair and unjust."

The statement contends the amendment, which could appear on the November ballot, would use the constitution to discriminate against same-sex couples and would eliminate domestic partnership benefits granted by some municipalities and state universities.

This morning's press conference at downtown's Press Club was organized by Concerned Clergy of West Michigan, a group of more than 60 ministers and assistant ministers from churches in Kent and Ottawa counties who support better understanding of gay issues. Not all who signed the statement are part of that group.


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Romney Testifies About National Gay Marriage Ban
Governor Appears Before Senate Judiciary Committee


WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose state is the only one to recognize gay marriages, urged U.S. Senators on Tuesday to pass a national constitutional ban on same-sex weddings.

Testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled, "Preserving Traditional Marriage: A View from the States," the Republican governor said marriage is about children, not just adults.

"Are we ready to usher in a society indifferent about having fathers and mothers? Will our children be indifferent about having a mother and a father?" he said.

"Same sex marriage doesn't hurt my marriage, or yours. The sky's not going to fall. But it may affect the development of children and thereby future society as a whole. Until we understand the implications for human development of a different definition of marriage, I believe we should preserve that which has endured over thousands of years," Romney said.

The Senate is preparing to vote on the gay marriage ban next month -- just two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Boston. The move is seen as an attempt to put pressure on Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator who opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions.

Romney, a staunch gay marriage opponent, has had to grapple with his state's first-in-the-nation Supreme Judicial Court ruling giving gays the right to wed. He said the decision violated a basic principle of democracy -- that the people, not the courts -- should decide such fundamental issues.