|
|
| |
| Sat, Nov. 22, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| | Support for gay marriage ban slipping, GOP group told
Thursday, May 27, 2004 By Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau FAYETTEVILLE - Support of a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriages is strong but ebbing, the Washington County Republican Women were told Wednesday. Supporters of an amendment that would define marriage as a union of one man and one woman already have more than enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot in November, said John Thomas, vice president of the Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee. They also are confident the measure will pass in November, he said. However, Thomas said he and other amendment organizers have been surprised by the vocal opposition witnessed during their canvassing efforts. That does not bode well for traditional family values issues in the future, he told the GOP women at a lunch meeting at the Fayetteville Clarion Inn. "We're losing the war of ideas on this issue," Thomas said. "Public opinion is swinging against us rapidly." He said petition canvassers have been called "hateful" and "homophobic" during the petition drive. Also, in at least four cases, petition workers were asked to leave churches that were being used as polling places during the May primary elections. "I know what you're thinking, but this is not just liberal, crazy Pulaski County" in central Arkansas, Thomas told the group. One canvasser was told to leave a Baptist Church in Rogers, he said. Arkansas needs to show its support now to help ensure passage of a similar federal amendment, Thomas said. If a federal amendment is not passed, any Arkansas marriage amendment could be more vulnerable to a federal court challenge. Eric Reece, executive director of the anti-amendment Arkansas Equality Network, said "great" when told of Thomas' remarks. "The amendment is discrimination and bigotry, and many fair-minded people do not want to see discrimination and bigotry written into the Arkansas Constitution," Reece said. Thomas said allegations of discrimination and prejudice are wrong. The amendment is designed to protect the institution of marriage and families. "Very few gays want to get married or adopt children," he said. Thomas may be interested in the political trends shown by petitioners being asked to leave churches, but Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, said she was more interested in the legal issues. "I would like to hear from more people who witnessed collection of signatures at polling places, which violates Arkansas statutes" if the canvassing was done too close to polling places, she said. "He's right," Sklar said of Thomas' claim that current trends are against a ban on gay marriage. "I think that it is un-American to amend the constitution, whether state or federal, to limit a person's rights," Sklar said. Thomas said that supporters of polygamy "are in line" to demand the right to marry more than one person if marriage is not defined as a union of one man and one woman. Sklar said anyone lining up on the issue of having more than one spouse is waiting in vain. "That's a closed issue," Sklar said. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in the 19th century "that the government has an interest in the number of people in any one marriage," Sklar said. Any legal change to allow polygamy would immediately be found unconstitutional under the court's precedent, she said. U.S. Rep. Stevan Pearce, R-N.M., also spoke to the Republican women and said that any attempt to go forward with a U.S. Constitutional Amendment defining marriage will probably not show results this year. Republican and Democratic members of Congress apparently would rather see any such amendment move come from the public rather than in Congress, he said. Thomas' comments were consistent with other conservative leaders on the same-sex marriage issue. "Our side is basically asleep right now," Matt Daniels, founder of the Alliance for Marriage, told the New York Times in an interview earlier this month. The alliance helped draft the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the pro-amendment Traditional Values Coalition, told the Times: "I don't see any traction. The calls aren't coming in and I am not sure why." |
