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Kerry Says He Could Support Constitutional Amendment by Rex Wockner, 365Gay.com February 10, 2004 Leading Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry is not necessarily opposed to a federal constitutional amendment to permanently ban same-sex marriage, he told National Public Radio's All Things Considered, today. Kerry was asked, "Would you support a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a heterosexual union?" He replied: "Well, it depends entirely on the language of whether it permits civil union and partnership or not. I'm for civil union. I'm for partnership rights. "I think what ought to condition this debate is not the term marriage as much as the rights that people are afforded," Kerry continued. "Obviously under the Constitution of the United States you need equal protection under the law. And I think equal protection means the rights that go with it. I think the word marriage kind of gets in the way of the whole debate, to be honest with you, because marriage to many people is obviously what is sanctified by a church. It's sacramental. Or by a synagogue or by a mosque or by whatever religious connotation it has. Clearly there's a separation of church and state here. ... Marriage is a separate institution. I think marriage is under the church, between a man and a woman, and I think there's a separate meaning to it." Kerry said this holds true even for civil marriages that are not conducted in a house of worship. "Even for those that aren't, there's still two meanings," he said. "I mean, the state picked up the concept [of marriage] afterwards. It's a latecomer to the state." Despite his positions, Kerry was one of only 14 senators who voted against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] that passed Congress and was signed into law by Bill Clinton. DOMA states: "No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship. ... In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." Kerry told NPR: "I opposed it [DOMA] because I thought it was gaybashing on the floor of the United States Senate. It was one of those examples of ideological Republicans trying to drive wedges into the electorate of America, and I objected to the Senate being used for that, even as I still said at the time, 'I don't personally support [gay] marriage as we understand it within the context of religion.'" Kerry therefore also opposes the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that mandated legalization of full same-sex marriage by May 17, and specifically rejected the notion of civil unions. "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal," the court said. Responding to that Feb. 4 ruling, Kerry said: "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. I believe the right answer is civil unions. I oppose gay marriage and disagree with the Massachusetts court's decision." |
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