As gay rights become increasingly important in the upcoming presidential election, same-sex marriage has surged to the top of the list of controversial issues.
UW-Madison political science Professor Donald Feree says President George Bush believes it is important to preserve marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, so much so that he is seeking to amend the Constitution. He added Bush also believes the title of any legal relationship permitted to couples should be left up to their state to decide, as long as their relationship does not retain the title \marriage.""
Democratic candidates Sens. John Edwards, D-N.C., and John Kerry, D-Mass., have slightly different stances on gay rights. According to UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Franklin, both Edwards and Kerry oppose same-sex marriage like Bush, but have fundamental differences from the President as well as each other.
Franklin said Edwards opposes civil unions for homosexuals, but also opposes an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage. Edwards has repeatedly said his position has always been for the states to decide and define their legal relationships.
Franklin said Kerry favors civil unions and has said homosexuals should be assured equal protection and the same benefits that all families deserve. Kerry also said if there is ever an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage, that same amendment should guarantee homosexual civil unions all the benefits and rights of heterosexual marriage.
Critics of both Democratic candidates question whether or not civil unions can protect the same broad ranges of rights that marriage protects. Critics also ask how any candidate can ban same-sex marriage and simultaneously legalize civil unions that contain the exact same benefits, but not title the civil union as a ""marriage.""
""Gay marriage is being used as a unifying force for the conservatives to take the minds of the citizens of this country off major issues,"" said Pabitra Benjamin, a member of Queer Student Alliance and a UW-Madison senior.
She added gay people are being cheated out of rights and candidates are toying with homosexuals' lives as if they are some kind of game.
Currently most states have passed defense of marriage acts that define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. However, according to Franklin, these laws do not necessarily prevent gay people from writing contracts with each other.
""This is just the dawn of the gay rights movement, so no winning candidate is going to do anything,"" Franklin said.
