The following letter was sent to President George W. Bush:
December 19, 2003
VIA FACSIMILE
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the American TFP I would like to thank you for all that you and your administration have done to defend the family and the sanctity of marriage.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision in Lawrence v. Texas and the November 18 decision by Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, numerous pro-family organizations have launched an all-out effort to block the homosexual agenda and uphold traditional marriage. The American TFP is proud to be part of this combined effort.
In your ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer on Tuesday, I was pleased to hear you state that, “if necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that…” This was heartily encouraging for the overwhelming majority of Americans, since they cherish the ageless norm of traditional marriage.
With due respect, I would like to point out, however, that you seem to have left a door open for “civil unions,” when you continued, saying, “whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they’re allowed to make, as long as it’s embraced by the state or start at the state level.”
Your indication that this is the administration’s position leaves me deeply concerned, since “civil unions,” “domestic partnerships,” or any other euphemistic label used in lieu of same-sex “marriage,” may leave the word marriage temporarily untouched, but guts the institution, and with it the family, the bedrock of society.
As a practicing Catholic and heading a Catholic-inspired organization, I respectfully bring to your consideration the enclosed copy of a July 31, 2003 document issued by the Holy See titled Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons.
This Vatican document was not addressed only to Catholics, but to “all persons committed to promoting and defending the common good of society” (Considerations, no. 1). Its reasoning is based on natural law, which binds all men, everywhere, and throughout history, since this law is inscribed in human nature itself.
The Vatican document points out that the homosexual movement takes advantage of legal tolerance to promote its ideology and place people at risk, particularly youth. It warns “that the approval or legalization of evil is something far different from the toleration of evil” (Considerations, no. 5).
Even where homosexual unions have been legalized, “clear and emphatic opposition is a duty.” The document insists that “any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws” and even any “material cooperation on the level of their application” must be avoided. “In this area, everyone can exercise the right to conscientious objection” (Considerations, no. 5).
I respectfully submit that you dispel any confusion by affirming your vigorous opposition to civil unions and domestic partnerships, thus presenting to the nation an authentically integral defense of the sacred institutions of marriage and the family.
I appreciate the heavy burden that has befallen you after the barbarous September 11, 2001 attack on America and value your leadership in this difficult period of our history. The trials we are crossing as a nation, however, will only be compounded if, instead of giving our hand to God, we turn away from Him, abandoning that natural law He inscribed in the hearts of all men (Romans 2:14-15).
We should not fear the political fallout from disaffected homosexual activists. Rather, we should fear the loss of God’s blessings on America.
May God bless and help you in carrying out your difficult responsibilities.
Respectfully yours,
Raymond E. Drake
President