February 26, 2004, 3:23 p.m.
State’s Rights
The question of the day.

By Robert Moran

The Democrat presidential wannabes debate tonight. Given all that has happened with respect to the gay-marriage issue, we can expect at least one softball question on the subject with minimal follow-up.

But, if the debate moderators want to do their jobs, they should consider pursuing the Democrat's newfound support for state's rights in their attempts to dodge the subject of same-sex marriage.

John Kerry's position, at this point in time, appears to be that while he does not support gay marriage, he is against any constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Furthermore, he believes this is an issue that should be left to the states.

For example, Kerry stated: "The difference in my stance is that I would not choose, as he (President Bush) is, to tamper with the Constitution for political purposes. I share the same opposition, but I think it's absolutely wrong to ask for a constitutional amendment when for 200 years the states have always had the right to take care of this..."

Throwing aside for the time being that Kerry voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, an act that gave states more leeway in this matter, it's clear that Kerry's current position on this issue is to use state's rights as a dodge.

But, there's a very big problem with that dodge. Kerry's newfound state's-rights position is at odds with his pro-infanticide position (note to coastal liberals: you call this "pro-choice" at your cocktail parties). After all, if states should have the freedom to define marriage, why shouldn't they also have the freedom to define when life begins?

Here is how any decent questioning on this issue would proceed:

Question #1: Mr. Kerry, you have gone on record as saying that the definition of marriage should be handled at the state level. Are there any other issues you think this state's rights position should apply to?

Question #2: As you are probably aware, the state of South Dakota is now very close to passing a law that would essentially ban abortion within its borders. Does your support of state's rights apply to this issue as well? If not, why not?

Question #3: If you support state's rights, Mr. Kerry, shouldn't states be as free to represent their citizens' beliefs on abortion as they are on gay marriage? If not, why not?

— Robert Moran is a vice president at Republican polling firm Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates. He is an NRO contributor.

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