Candidate Profile: George W. Bush

President Bush's proposed a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage in such a way as to ban same-sex marriage.

Leaving it to the states would most likely ultimately lead to a Loving vs. Virginia type conflict, a conflict which most likely would be resolved in favor of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians as analyzed by Richard Harrold, which is probably why Bush is pushing for a more permanent solution. 

A search of the Bush official campaign site for the words "gay" and "homosexual" return the following results:

GAY

Bush-Cheney '04 Announces Arkansas Campaign Leadership 
[ Governor Win Rockefeller, Congressman John Boozman, Senator Gilbert Baker, Former First Lady Gay White and Bob Trevino will be Co-Chairs... President Bush has had the courage to tackle tough issues important to Arkansas, and proposed common sense policies to address them,” said Former First Lady Gay White...] 
http://www.georgewbush.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=2119 

The President's Tax Relief Fuels Economic Expansion 
[" (Chicago Tribune, Oneal, 10/31/03) "This quarter makes a case for a year ahead of above-potential growth," says Bob Gay, an economist at Commerzbank Securities in New York......] 
http://www.georgewbush.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=2084 

(emphasis added.)

Well, I guess thatis better than "homosexual" for which there were no results at all.

What He Has Said:

ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Q: What is your position on gay marriage?

BUSH: I’m not for gay marriage. I think marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. I appreciated the way the administration signed the Defense of Marriage Act. I presume the vice president supported it.

GORE: I agree with that, and I did support that law. But I think that we should find a way to allow some kind of civic unions. And I basically agree with Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman, and I think the three of us have one view and the governor has another view.

BUSH: I’m not sure what kind of view he’s ascribing to me. One day he says he agrees with me, then he says he doesn’t. I will be a tolerant person. I’ve been a tolerant person all my life. I just happen to believe strongly that marriage is between a man and a woman. I don’t really think it’s any of my concern how you conduct your sex life. That’s a private matter. I support equal rights but not special rights for people.

MORE ON MARRIAGE

Q: So if you have gays working for you, that’s fine and you don’t have a problem-you’d appoint gays in the Cabinet and so forth.
A: Well, I’m not going to ask what their sexual orientation is. I’m going to put conservative people in the cabinet. It’s none of my business what somebody’s [orientation is]. Now, when somebody makes it my business, like on gay marriage, I’m going to stand up and say I don’t support gay marriage. I support marriage between men and women.
Q: So therefore if a state were voting on gay marriage, you would suggest to that state not to approve it.
A: The state can do what they want to do. Don’t try to trap me in this state’s issue.

ON GAY ADOPTION    

Bush admitted that, growing up in Texas, he had not been as open to elements of America’s diverse culture. He had a narrow set of friends and a firm set of traditions. But he was surprised and dismayed to hear that people saw him as intolerant. “What have I said that sent that signal?“ he asked repeatedly.

He assured us he would hire gays who both were qualified and shared his political views. When one of us talked about his lesbian sister and her partner adopting children, he acknowledged his often-stated belief that gays should not adopt.

Though Bush was attentive--and does show a willingness to hear all sides--I don’t think we changed his positions. He still opposes gay marriage and opposes classifying crimes against gays as hate crimes.

GAYS IN BOY SCOUTS

Bush disagrees with the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that said the Boy Scouts of America must accept gays in their organization. “I believe the Boy Scouts is a private organization and they should be able to set the standards that they choose to set,” Bush said

MORE ON MARRIAGE

"The union of a man and a woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith," Bush said.

"Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society."

What He Has Done:

JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

Bush Judicial Nominee Called Gays "Queers"
Bush's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, Claude A. Allen, is on record as having referred derisively to gay people as "queers." At the time of the incident, Allen was press secretary for the re-election campaign of former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), one of the staunchest foes of gay rights in Congress. According to the Houston Voice, Allen, who is also a supporter of abstinence-only sex education, is Bush's eighth judicial nominee with known anti-gay views.
Source: The Houston Voice, "Bush Pick for Appeals Court Called Gays 'Queers'," Lou Chibbaro, Jr., May 2, 2003 
(compiled by: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/appointments/)

Bush Names Extremist Who Called AIDS "Gay Plague" to AIDS Panel
George W. Bush nominated Jerry Thacker, an extreme, right-wing evangelical Christian who has called AIDS the "gay plague," to the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV and AIDS. Although Thacker withdrew his name from consideration on Jan. 23, shortly after his deplorable comments came to light, many questions remain about his nomination. Thacker—who attended Bob Jones University, which until recently banned interracial dating—has also called homosexuality a "deathstyle."
Source: Washington Post, "AIDS Panel Choice Wrote of a 'Gay Plague'," Ceci Connolly, Jan. 24, 2003
(compiled by: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/appointments/)

Additional Information:

Between the Lines
An amusing, and sadly probably more true than not, about the unspoken language behind George W. Bush's 2004 State of the Union Speech.

On "Special Rights"

Bush: said he favored "equal" rights for gays and lesbians, but not "special" rights.

Fact: "Bush has supported a Texas law that allows the state to take adopted children from gay and lesbian couples to place the kids with straight couples." Salon, 10/12/00. "Bush supports hate crime protections for other minorities! So Bush doesn't believe that gays should have the same 'special' rights in this regard as blacks, Jews, Wiccans and others. Employment discrimination? Again, Bush supports those rights for other Americans, but not gays. Military service? Bush again supports the right to military service for all qualified people--as long as they don't tell anyone they're gay. Marriage? How on earth is that a special right when every heterosexual in America already has it? But again, Bush thinks it should be out-of-bounds for gays. What else is there? The right to privacy? Nuh-huh. Bush supports a gays-only sodomy law in his own state that criminalizes consensual sex in private between two homosexuals." New Republic, 10/13/00

Contribute to G/L Issues

to help with our expenses