CONSERVATIVE JUDGE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST FEDERAL GAY MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

LEADING CONSERVATIVE JUDGE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST FEDERAL GAY MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

Conservative 4th Circuit Federal Appeals Court Judge Harvie Wilkinson, who was long-rumored to be on President Bush's short-list for possible Supreme Court candidates, writes today in the Washington Post, "The chief casualty in the struggle over same-sex marriage has been the American constitutional tradition." Arguing against congressional passage of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, Wilkinson said, "The Framers meant our Constitution to establish a structure of government and to provide individuals certain inalienable rights against the state. They certainly did not envision our Constitution as a place to restrict rights or enact public policies, as the Federal Marriage Amendment does." Rejecting arguments propounded by many conservatives that sanctioning gay marriage would destroy families, Wilkinson responded, "It is not wrong for gay citizens to wish to share fully in the life of this country, to partake of its most basic and sacred institution, and to experience the intimacy, bonding and devotion to another that only an institution such as marriage can bring. To embrace this view one need not believe that sexual infidelities will disappear but only that many gay couples will make good on their vows and lead fuller, richer and more productive lives as a result."