Amending the Constitution

President Bush will apparently be making some sort of address today calling for an amendment to the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Of course, the President has no role in amending the Constitution- that is accomplished by 2/3 of the Congress and 2/3 of the states. His stepping in at this point is simply politics as we move towards mid-term elections.

That's hardly stunning. Politics in Washington? No news there.

What bothers me is that apparently supporters are calling the amendment the "marriage protection amendment."

I didn't know my marriage was being threatened. In fact, it's not. Whatever you may think about gay marriage, the notion that banning that sort of marriage is protecting heterosexual marriage is silly. My marriage was sanctified by God in a service performed by the Episcopal priest of my youth, and sustained by or mutual love. I don't need Washington's protection on this one. Choosing such a name for the amendment is crass and silly.

Marriage in this nation does not need protection from homosexuals. Married people apparently need protection from themselves. 50% of US marriages don't end in divorce because of homosexuality in the US. They end because of infidelity, dishonesty, abuse, and lack of consideration of the needs of spouses. Certainly the one-half of all marriages that end in divorce don't end so that the divorced parties can enter a gay union.

The sanctity of my marriage is not in the least bit threatened if some states choose to allow same-sex marriage. Let's encourage our legislators to deal with the real moral/ethical issues of our day- the war in Iraq, the killing of Iraqi civilians, a President who feels entitled to order warantless wiretapping, the rampant corruption in Congress by members of both parties (by the way, isn't it interesting that Congress gives the President a pass on warantless wiretapping, but is up in arms when a court ordered search of a Congressman's office is conducted as a part of a bribery investigation??).

This proposed amendment, which will fail in the Senate, is merely a diversion, and it comes at a time when we cannot afford diversions.

GP