Kerry expects to walk fine line on gay ‘marriage’

Sen. John Kerry yesterday accused President Bush of playing politics by backing a constitutional amendment defining marriage, but Republicans are plotting to make the Massachusetts Democrat walk his own fine line over the next nine months.

Mr. Kerry, who is campaigning in the Midwest and trying to focus on job losses, couldn’t avoid questions yesterday about his and Mr. Bush’s positions on what has become the defining cultural issue of the 2004 presidential campaign.

On CBS’ “Early Show” program yesterday morning, Mr. Kerry said he, like Mr. Bush, opposes same-sex couples trying to “marry,” but said he also opposes trying to enshrine that in the Constitution.

“I share the same opposition, but I think it’s absolutely wrong to ask for a federal constitutional amendment, when for 200 years the states have always had the right to take care of this,” he said. “They have the ability even today. They will take care of it. And I think he’s doing this as a political wedge-driving strategy and not because it’s necessary.”

But Republicans already are trying to force Mr. Kerry to be more definitive.

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said yesterday Mr. Kerry “has had a number of positions on this” and said he will have to prove that he really does believe marriage is between a man and a woman.

“If you do believe that, how would you enforce that, because when you vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, what that policy is, that policy is that if the Massachusetts court rules to recognize it, then every state must recognize it,” Mr. Gillespie said.

Mr. Kerry was one of 14 senators who voted against the 1996 bill, which codifies that marriage, for federal purposes, is between a man and a woman and also says no state must recognize a same-sex “marriage” from another state.

Mr. Bush and other backers of a constitutional amendment say an amendment is required because courts might overturn the 1996 law as unconstitutional.

Either way, political analysts said as long as the issue percolates, it will pose problems for Mr. Kerry.

“The gay community is increasingly pivotal to Democrats in sheer financial numbers as well as to turnout numbers — this is a base of his support he doesn’t want to alienate,” said Morris Reid, a communications strategist who served in the Commerce Department under President Clinton. “However, there is that swing voter that might be the prize for this election. [Mr. Kerry] doesn’t want to go too far that he might turn that voter off.”

Mr. Reid said he doesn’t think Mr. Kerry can straddle the line for nine months and needs to hope that the issue disappears from the front pages of newspapers.

“He has to be very precise in what he’s saying, and he has to get this out of the news cycle,” Mr. Reid said. “This is not a win-win for him. It’s almost a lose-lose for him, if it goes the wrong way.”

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