Condoleezza Rice
urges respect in same-sex marriage debate

In a newspaper interview Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged respect and sensitivity in the debate over same-sex marriage. When asked her own views on the subject, however, she ducked the question. "This is an issue that can be debated and can be discussed in our country with respect for every human being," Rice told the News & Record of Greensboro, N.C. "When we get into difficult debates about social policy, we get into difficult debates that touch people's lives. The only thing that I ask is that Americans do it with a kind of sensitivity that real individuals and real human beings are involved here." In a major defeat for President Bush and other Republicans who hope the issue will rally GOP voters for the November elections, the Senate rejected by a wide margin last week a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Asked for her opinion on the amendment, Rice told the paper, "This is not my area of expertise or, frankly, my area of concentration at this point." (Sirius OutQ News)