President Bush Denouced for 'Religion-Based' Comments

              File, Russell H. 
From: 
Sent: 
To: 
Subject: 
chancellor@LlBERTY.EDU 
Thursday, July 31, 2003 3:20 PM 
CHANCELLORS-MOTD-L@MORTA.LIBERTY.EDU 
President Bush Denounced For 'Religion-Based' Comments 
Falwell Confidential 
Date: July 31, 2003 
FROM: Jerry Falwell 
PRESIDENT BUSH DENOUNCED FOR 'RELIGION-BASED' COMMENTS 
On Wednesday, President Bush took a bold stance in voicing his backing of traditional marriage 
in America. 
The president said, "I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to 
welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country. On the other hand, that does not 
mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that's 
really where the issue is headed here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage. I 
believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I 
think we ought to codify that one way or the other. And we've got lawyers looking at the best 
way to do that." 
Following that statement, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a national 
homosexual-rights organization, called into question President Bush's "invocation of personal 
religious beliefs" in his comments opposing marriage for same-sex couples. 
What this means is that GLAAD officials believe that personal religious beliefs should have no 
place in the public arena. They know that by eliminating religious ethics they can make further 
social inroads. Never mind that these moral guidelines have preserved the nation's moral 
heritage since its inception. 
This reproach of traditional religious values has brought us to a turning point. Conservative 
people of faith - those who embrace the Judeo-Christian doctrines of the Bible - are considered 
illegitimate in the important social/political debate on homosexual marriage (and other key 
issues, for that matter) solely because our beliefs are founded in historic sacred teachings. 
Listen to the comments of John Sonego, GLAAD's director of communications: "It is equally 
important that the media carefully scrutinize and hold up for debate President Bush's invocation 
of religion as the fundamental rationale for his policy of excluding same-sex couples and families 
from the protections of marriage. By saying he has charged government attorneys to explore 
ways to 'codify' the 'sanctity of marriage/ and through numerous biblical references in his 
discussion about this issue, the president is clearly signaling his conviction that his personal 
religious beliefs should be the basis for governing law. In a country where the separation of 
church and state is a founding principle, this mix of personal beliefs and his administration's 
public policy needs to be examined critically by the media." 
I find this statement quite alarming because Mr. Sonego is essentially calling on the nation's 
mainstream media to publicly censure President Bush for daring to invoke his sincerely held 
1