Gannon may be gone but Les is our new target. Lobbing up more softballs for our friend Scotty.
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
12:30 P.M. EDT
Q Scott, the Republican-majority Texas House of Representatives on Monday voted 101 to 29 to allow voters in November to decide whether the state constitution should ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. And my first question, the President supports this Texas Republican vote, doesn't he?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Les, the President believes that we need to protect the sanctity of marriage. This is something that he believes goes to one of the enduring values of this country. The President believes marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. And as you are aware, he's called for a constitutional amendment to address the issue that we're seeing because of activist judges or local officials trying to redefine the institution of marriage. And the constitutional process, we believe, gives states all a way to have their say, have their voice in that debate.
Q New York Democrat Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, with 12 co-sponsors, has introduced HR501, which would restore the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which was vetoed by President Reagan and which I seem to recall was described by Edward R. Murrow as "equal time for Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot." And my question, the President does not support this, does he?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, but I'm not quite familiar with HR501 as a number. The Fairness Doctrine of --
Q The Fairness Doctrine, which you know applies only to electronic media,
not to The Washington Post and The New York Times and other such Democrat-dominated papers --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me take a look at the specific legislation. I think the President kind of expressed some of his views recently at the newspaper editors convention that was here.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050427-1.html