[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 6 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Pages 191-192]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on 
Same-Sex Marriage

February 4, 2004

    Today's ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is deeply 
troubling. Marriage is a sacred institution between a

[[Page 192]]

man and a woman. If activist judges insist on redefining marriage by 
court order, the only alternative will be the constitutional process. We 
must do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage.