Some conservatives shocked at Bush support for civil unions
WASHINGTON Some conservatives are shocked at President Bush's tolerance for civil unions that would grant gays and lesbians most or all the rights available to married couples. In an interview aired by A-B-C, the president said, "I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do."
Bush supports a constitutional amendment that would prevent courts from imposing gay marriage on unwilling electorates. But Bush told A-B-C that lawmakers should be able to approve civil unions.
Robert Knight of the Culture and Family Institute says civil unions are "counterfeits" of marriage that "hurt the real thing."
But Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage, which drafted the proposed constitutional amendment, says his group considers Bush's position the "fairest way" to resolve the issue.
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