Tony Perkins, Family Research Council
"The President was right on target when he said activist courts have left the American people no other recourse. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling was the starting gun for the marathon to protect the historical and traditional definition of marriage. And that action led others in San Francisco and New Mexico to believe they could simply ignore the law and rewrite the definition of marriage. The President was right to say enough is enough.
"We look forward to working along side the President to see this amendment swiftly move through both houses of Congress. Just as the President used the weight of his office to secure drug benefits for seniors and tax cuts for families, we fully expect him to use his influence to preserve the institution of marriage for the future of our country."
Richard Land
"I'm delighted and pleased, but not surprised, that President Bush has announced his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment," stated Richard Land. "He has made it clear that he believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman and he has now properly concluded that we have "reached the last resort" in preserving the sanctity of marriage. The only way the American people can make their voice heard on this issue is to avail themselves of the mechanism provided by the Founding Fathers, namely amending the United States Constitution.
"Nearly seventy percent of Americans do not want same-sex marriages legalized in America," said Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "The only way to keep activist judges from manipulating the court system and the Constitution's Full Faith & Credit Clause to force same-sex marriage on a population overwhelmingly opposed to it, is to trump their authority with the ultimate legal authority in this society, the United States Constitution.
Donald Wildmon, American Family Association
"Amending the Constitution is something not to be taken lightly, nor does it come easily. The president understands renegade judges and mayors are taking the law into their own hands, against the will of the people," he said.
James C. Dobson, Focus on the Family
"President Bush's endorsement of a federal marriage amendment today is the lynchpin in efforts to protect marriage in our country," Dobson said. "The president clearly understands that families formed through the union of one man and one woman are best for America and America's children. His comments should signal to Congress and the states that only an amendment to the U.S. Constitution can adequately address the inevitable showdown between the courts and the will of the American people as expressed through their elected representatives.
"The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's tyrannical Goodridge ruling and the recent issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco and New Mexico has confirmed what we have long known - marriage as it as been understood throughout human history is under attack in this country. We applaud President Bush's unequivocal support of a federal marriage amendment as the only solution to this constitutional crisis."
Gary Bauer
"President Bush today provided the clear and strong leadership we have come to expect during his presidency. His endorsement today of a constitutional marriage protection amendment to ensure that marriage in the United States remains the joining of only one man and one woman sends an important signal to the out-of-control judges and the cultural radicals who are trying to remake America. Massive majorities of the American people reject same-sex marriage. President Bush today has made it clear he will stand with them in this national debate."
Anthony D. Romero, ACLU
"President Bush's endorsement of this mean-spirited amendment shows that he is neither compassionate nor concerned with the rights of all Americans," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "Gays and lesbians are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends. They serve as firefighters, police, doctors and professional athletes. They laugh at the same jokes and worry about car payments and credit card debt. Amending the constitution to deny them the same rights we all take for granted just isn't very American."
Human Rights Campaign
"To use the Constitution to discriminate against our families is un-American, shameful and divisive," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. "Constitutional amendments have historically served to expand liberty and equality - such as giving women the right to vote. This amendment would be the first to reinstate discrimination in our Constitution. There is no doubt in my mind that the American people will see this as an ugly and discriminatory game of politics. Americans remember the president's promise to be a uniter, not a divider. Today, the president has broken that promise."
"The President explained that if the existing Defense of Marriage Act were to be found constitutional, it would still allow a state to enact its own marriage laws. The president wants to prevent states from making their own policy - this is hardly conservative and, in fact, quite radical," added Jacques.
"The President said he wanted to proceed with kindness, good will and decency - make no mistake, that is not possible. It is neither kind nor decent to discriminate against Americans and deny them critical rights," said Jacques. "Instead of pulling the country together to fight terrorism and meet our common challenges, the President is now working to divide the country with a long and bitter political fight over the Constitution."
William G. Sinkford, Unitarian Universalist Association
"Amending the United States constitution to deny same-gender couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage would be to enshrine discrimination into the document that provides the foundation for our democracy. While the constitution has been amended many times in the past, it has never been altered with the express intent to deny equal protection to an entire class of citizens, and now is no time to start. Instead, successive generations of Americans have found new ways to honor the spirit of the Constitution by extending its promise to an ever-widening circle of American citizens. The document that granted freedom and full citizenship to African Americans and gave women the right to vote must not be used as a weapon with which to attack the families of our country's gay and lesbian citizens."