In a column for the conservative magazine, The Weekly
Standard, Executive Editor Fred Barnes broke the news that President
Bush has decided to bow to the weeks of demands from the right-wing
extremist groups and hold a press conference in the Rose Garden of the
White House to reiterate his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
According to Barnes, the Rose Garden press conference is scheduled for
Monday, June 5, a day before the Senate is expected to vote down the
Constitutional amendment.
"It's a national disgrace that President Bush has yet again bowed to the
far-right extremists. Instead of addressing the real challenges facing
American families — from record high gas prices, bankrupting health
care costs and an endless and costly war in Iraq — the President will
further divide this country and put the far-right extremist's interests
ahead of the American people's well-being," said Human Rights Campaign
President Joe Solmonese.
In his article this weekend, Barnes wrote, "As for Bush, he will appear
on June 5 in the Rose Garden before a gathering of amendment supporters
and, a White House official says, 'strongly support' the amendment. The
president has rarely mentioned the amendment in the past. The choice of
the Rose Garden as a venue means he is raising the marriage amendment to
a higher level on his agenda, his wife's advice notwithstanding."
This news comes after weeks of intense pressure by leading right-wing
extremists groups calling on President Bush to immediately speak out on
the Federal Marriage Amendment. These groups attacked the White House
over the fact that the only voices speaking out on the Amendment were
First Lady Laura Bush and Mary Cheney's comments against using the
Federal Marriage Amendment's push for political purposes.
Solmonese continued, "Rose Garden addresses have historically been
reserved for occasions of unity and justice. Unfortunately, President
Bush will break with history and use the Rose Garden as a backdrop to
promote discrimination against a group of Americans. The President
should stop playing politics with our Constitution and use his speech as
an opportunity to lay out an agenda to fix what's really wrong in
America."
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