Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
So, should gays be allowed to get married? Sounds like a pretty straightforward "yes" or "no" answer. You either think it's okay or you don't. But the issue of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage throws a kink in it. Less than 30 times has our Constitution been amended - in more than 200 years. And this debate has raised the question of whether the federal government should even be involved in who can, or can't, get married. There are even some candidates who oppose gay marriage, but also oppose a constitutional amendment for that very reason. Many say leave it up to the individual states, but that raises another question. Does one state opposed to gay marriage have to honor the legal rights of a gay couple married in a state where gay marriage is allowed?
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Candidate Responses
Asked in 2003 whether gay marriage is inevitable, said: "I'm not sure. I think it probably is." In that same interview with Fox News, Biden added, "We're going to go through a process here that is necessary for this nation in terms of how we deal with the rights and recognition of gay unions. And I don't think that gets settled by a constitutional amendment. It makes it more divisive."
Although opposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Biden voted in 1996 in favor of Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriage under federal law.
Would let states decide. Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it. Clinton has come out against gay marriage, but does support civil unions. However, she has said that if New York passed legislation allowing gay marriage, she would not oppose it.
Dodd opposed the constitutional amendment, although he says he supports civil unions and not gay marriage.
In a 2007 interview when asked the difference between the two, Dodd said, "I don't think probably much in people's minds. If you're allowing that, all the protections you have there, you've covered it."
Edwards has said in several interviews he supports civil unions, but not gay marriage. However he opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Edwards said, "Civil Unions? Yes. Partnership benefits? Yes. But it's a jump for me to get to gay marriage. I haven't yet got across that bridge."
Kucinich opposed a law allowing same-sex marriage when he ran for Congress in 1996. His position has changed and he now supports gay marriage and opposes the constitutional amendment banning it.
"And with respect to those who happen to be gay, [filtered word], bisexual, transgendered, these are God's children," he said on CNN's Paula Zahn show in 2007. "They should have the same rights. Our constitution does not provide any - for any differences to be established.
