WASHINGTON, January 21, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – U.S. President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union address in the Congress last night. LifeSite staff in Washington for the March for Life, sat only a few blocks away at a nearby restaurant joyfully taking in the President’s address which touched on issues close to our hearts including faith, family and culture.
The President addressed the plight of children who contract sexually-transmitted diseases promoting the only valid solution to the problem. “We will double federal funding for abstinence programs, so schools can teach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually-transmitted diseases,” announced the President to thunderous applause, both in the Congress and local restaurants and pubs filled with pro-lifers.
Addressing marriage, the President said, “A strong America must also value the institution of marriage.” He stressed the need to “take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization.”
Apart from the terrorists, the President saved his strongest criticism for activist judges. He said, “Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people’s voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.” After the applause died down, he continued, “The outcome of this debate is important—and so is the way we conduct it. The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God’s sight.”
The President also included a statement on his faith-based charities initiative which he described as “unleashing the compassion of America’s religious institutions.” He noted that despite the essential community service work done by religious groups “government has often denied social service grants and contracts to these groups, just because they have a cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall.” Adding, “By executive order, I have opened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-based charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again.”
With files from The White House