Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage is Unnecessary: Let the States Decide for Themselves

President Bush is calling for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

It's not necessary. Constitutional amendments to restrict personal freedoms of Americans should be opposed, no matter what form they take.

What they should be pushing for is a constitutional amendment that guarantees each state has final say as to whether or not gay "marriage" is permitted within the individual state's borders or not. This is a state matter that the federal government should allow the states to deal with as they please.

Any amendment should make it clear that the state Supreme Court has final jurisdiction and that federal courts have no say. It'll keep future administrations, Congress and activist federal courts from tampering with the definition of marriage as being a union between a man and a woman and forcing other definitions of marriage on those states which stand by the conservative definition of marriage (and have voted that way).

Setting rules for marriage is a reserved power for the states as it isn't mentioned in the Constitution as a federal power. Let's keep it that way.