Politics

Bush Hints He May Accept Homosexual Civil Unions

Bush Hints He May Accept Homosexual Civil Unions,
He's already accepts them working in the White House
WASHINGTON - United States President George W. Bush has suggested his administration could be receptive to the concept of homosexual civil unions, in an apparent policy shift which failed to earn plaudits from gay activists and drew fire from conservatives. 'The position of this administration is that, you know, whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make so long as it's embraced by the state,' the President said in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday when asked to clarify his position on gay marriage and civil unions. Civil unions pioneered in the US by the north-eastern state of Vermont in 2000 grant their members many of the basic property and inheritance rights enjoyed by married couples without defining these arrangements as marriages.

Rate of new AIDS cases highest in D.C.
WASHINGTON - It's not a distinction that the nation's capital cares to trumpet, but Washington has the highest incidence of new AIDS cases of any big city in the country. It's gotten so bad, the city is planning to install free condom dispensers in the government buildings the public frequents most often, such as the motor vehicle bureau and public housing offices. Bars and hair salons also will participate.

Bush's Marriage Tack May Rile His Base
Christians lured into Red Herring 'marriage'
debate to avoid 'sodomy is a crime' issue
A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll conducted Monday and Tuesday underscored the perils of Bush's approach. It indicated the intensity of feeling among those who oppose same-sex unions. In the poll, Americans opposed recognizing same-sex marriage by more than a 2-1 ratio. That is a slightly higher level of opposition than earlier this year. Analysts say there has been some backlash to recent court decisions regarding gays and lesbians. The top Massachusetts court last month in effect recognized a right for same-sex couples to marry. The divide on the issue is wider among those who feel strongly about their position. By more than a 3-to-1 ratio, strong opponents outweighed strong supporters.

Bush Plays Both Sides in Debate Over Marriage
Washington -- President Bush took another carefully calibrated step toward endorsing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage Tuesday night, but his elliptical comments left such ample room for interpretation that some described them as "Clintonian."

Ronald Reagan's son decries Hinckley ruling
WASHINGTON - Former President Reagan's son Michael, denouncing as ``an outrage'' a judge's decision to allow John Hinckley Jr. unsupervised visits with his parents, questioned Thursday whether the Hinckleys would be able to prevent their son from harming himself or others. The former president's family has reacted with dismay to U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman's decision Wednesday that the man who tried to assassinate Reagan may have six visits with his parents in the Washington area without staff from the mental hospital where he has lived for more than two decades. ``They're saying, 'He's fine, he's on his meds,''' Michael Reagan said. ``He gets off his meds, does that mean everybody has to duck?''

U.N. Says Yellowsone No Longer "In Danger"
The World Heritage Committee has decided to remove its "in danger" designation from Yellowstone National Park. In a lengthy report, the committee "Urges the State Party (the United States) to continue to report on Yellowstone's snowmobile phase-out and other efforts to ensure that winter travel facilities respect the protection of the Park, its visitors, and its wildlife," and "invites" the United States "to provide to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004, existing recovery plans setting out targets and indicators for the 6 remaining long-term management issues (mining activities outside the park, threats to bison, threats to cutthroat trout, water quality issues, road impacts, visitor use impacts)."

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An Upside-Down Constitution
For those seeking clarity of thought in the service of constitutional interpretation, the opinions of Antonin Scalia are always the first stop. That those opinions so often come in the form of dissents also tells us how wrong-headed most decisions of the Rehnquist court have been. Scalia’s latest dissection came in opposition to the majority decision and its patently absurd reasoning in McConnell vs. Federal Election Commission. The most important element in his dissent is that which is most obvious—that the restrictions on political speech contained in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, otherwise known as the McCain-Feingold finance reform law, are prima facie violations of the First Amendment.

US Court Grants Guantanamo Rights
Detainees being held by the US military at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba should have access to lawyers and the US court system, a federal appeals court has ruled. The court said their detention was contrary to US ideals. It did not accept that the US Government had "unchecked authority". The ruling relates to the case of a Libyan national captured in Afghanistan and currently being held at Guantanamo. About 660 people are currently being held as "enemy combatants" at the base.

Sharon Comes Under Heavy Fire for Separation Plan
JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon drew fire from all sides including the United States on Friday over his threat to sever Israelis from Palestinians within months if peace talks fail.

Jury to Decide if Malvo Should Die
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The jury that convicted teenage sniper Lee Boyd Malvo of capital murder for his role in last year's killing spree must also decide whether he should die for his crimes.

Posted by Editor at December 19, 2003 09:16 AM