Cambridge, England, Feb 26, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A Catholic Harvard University law professor says all U.S. citizens should welcome President George W. Bush’s endorsement of a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, based on the implications of same-sex marriage.
In an article on same-sex marriage released Feb. 25, Mary Ann Glendon argues that same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue, but a movement for special preference. She states that it will impair children’s rights and jeopardize religious freedom. Furthermore, the decision to legalize same-sex marriage belongs to the people, not to the courts, and should be made according to the democratic process, she says. Such an important decision should only be made after full public debate, she says.
“What same-sex marriage advocates have tried to present as a civil rights issue is really a bid for special preferences of the type our society gives to married couples for the very good reason that most of them are raising or have raised children,” says Glendon.
“There is a real problem of distributive justice,” said the former Vatican representative to the Summit on Women at Beijing.