securing America, a healthier America, so we’ll continiue to -įRIST: Let me tell you, right now there’s no prioritization there. I mentioned supporting our troops overseas, making sure we pass that supplemental bill, making sure we tighten down our borders. Are gay marriage and flag burning the most important issues the Senate can be addressing in June of 2006?įRIST: Let me tell you what the agenda is real quick. I have to tell you, I talked to a Republican senator this week who said he may vote for both of them but said they’re both pandering. And yet you’re going to bring two constitutional amendments to the Senate floor in the next few weeks, one to ban same-sex marriage, another to ban flag-burning, both reportedly in the papers to mobilize your conservative base. HOST: You talk about a lot of issues that affect people’s lives. Looks like the “heart and soul of the American people” have different priorities, Sen. poll, behind eight other issues, including terrorism (89 percent), the war in Iraq (89 precent), the economy (88 percent), and health care costs (88 percent). On gay marriage, only 40 percent of the American public ranked it as an extremely or very important issue in a Feb. Right now, Cuba, China, and Iran are the only other countries to ban flag desecration and the issue doesn’t even show up on recent polls as an important priority for the American public. Flag-burning incidents declined rapidly after 9/11 and haven’t shown any signs of rebounding. It is under attack today.īut as the Fox News host points out, these moves are nothing more than pandering to the right-wing base. It may not be important here in Washington where people say, well, it’s political posturing and all, but it’s important to the heart and soul of the American people. … Why marriage today? Marriage is for our society that union between a man and a woman, is the cornerstone of our society. HOST: …Are gay marriage and flag burning the most important issues the Senate can be addressing in June of 2006?įRIST:…When you look at that flag and you tell me that right now people in this country are saying it’s okay to desecrate that flag and to burn it and to not pay respect to it, is that important to our values as a people when we’ve got 130,000 people fighting for our freedom and liberty today? That is important.
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So sometimes there’s an interplay of the public and the inside that kind of a fashion.Today on Fox News Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) tried to argue that banning flag-burning and same-sex marriage are two of the nation’s most pressing priorities, which is why he put them on the Senate agenda for June: And sometimes when people realize that that’s where most religions stand, especially if you’re an LGBTQ individual, you might be more willing then to walk into a house of worship of your own denomination, because you saw them on that list, and you realize they do care, and they’re putting their name on the line. And that message is where media comes in, where unified letters come in that say ‘No, as religious leaders, we might say, you’re entitled to your opinion, but we differ strongly, and we’re going to be on record as saying religion stands with the LGBTQ community.’Īnd those things do have an impact on public opinion.
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And if there’s one church in Chicago that’s burning a gay flag, or there are 150 religious institutions that are embracing the LGBTQ community, and to say, well it’s clear where Chicago co-religionists stand for the LGBTQ community, and it’s unfortunate that someone’s an outlier.