    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
    [July 10, 2004]
    [Pages 1286-1287]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    July 10, 2004

        Good morning. The United States Senate this past week began an
    important discussion about the meaning of marriage. Senators are
    considering a constitutional amendment to protect the most fundamental
    institution of civilization and to prevent it from being fundamentally
    redefined.
        This difficult debate was forced upon our country by a few activist
    judges and local officials, who have taken it on themselves to change
    the meaning of marriage. In Massachusetts, four judges on the State's
    highest court have ordered the issuance of marriage licenses to
    applicants of the same gender. In San Francisco, city officials issued
    thousands of marriage licenses to people of the same gender, contrary to
    the California Family Code. Lawsuits in several States including New
    Jersey, Florida, Nebraska, and Oregon are also attempting to overturn
    the traditional definition of marriage by court order.
        In 1996, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Defense of Marriage Act,
    and President Clinton signed it into law. That legislation defines
    marriage, for purposes of Federal law, as a union between a man and a
    woman and declares that no State is required to accept another State's
    definition of marriage. Yet an activist court that strikes down
    traditional marriage would have little problem striking down the Defense
    of Marriage Act. Overreaching judges could declare that all marriages
    recognized in Massachusetts or San Francisco be recognized as marriages
    everywhere else.
        When judges insist on imposing their arbitrary will on the people,
    the only alternative left to the people is an amendment to the
    Constitution--the only law a court cannot overturn. A constitutional
    amendment should never be undertaken lightly. Yet to defend marriage,
    our Nation has no other choice.
        A great deal is at stake in this matter. The union of a man and
    woman in marriage is the most enduring and important human institution,
    and the law can teach respect or disrespect for that institution. If our
    laws teach that marriage is the sacred commitment of a man and a woman,
    the basis of an orderly society, and the defining promise of a life,
    that strengthens the institution of marriage. If courts create their own
    arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract and cut
    marriage off from its cultural, religious, and natural roots, then the
    meaning of marriage is lost and the institution is weakened.
        The Massachusetts court, for example, has called marriage ``an
    evolving paradigm.'' That sends a message to the next generation that
    marriage has no enduring meaning and that ages of moral teaching and
    human experience have nothing to teach us about this institution. For
    ages, in every culture, human beings have understood that traditional
    marriage is critical to the well-being of families. And because families
    pass along values and shape character, traditional marriage is also
    critical to the health of society. Our policies should aim to strengthen
    families, not undermine them. And changing the definition of traditional
    marriage will undermine the family structure.
        On an issue of this great significance, opinions are strong and
    emotions run deep. All of us have a duty to conduct this discussion with
    civility and decency toward one another. All people deserve to have
    their voices heard. And that is exactly the purpose behind the
    constitutional amendment process. American democracy, not court orders,
    should decide the future of marriage in America.
        The process has now begun in the Congress. I urge Members of the
    House and Senate to pass and send to the States for ratification an
    amendment that defines

    [[Page 1287]]

    marriage in the United States as a union of a man and woman as husband
    and wife.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on July 9 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 10. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    July 9 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of
    the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this
    address.