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President Bush Proposes Constitutional Amendment Banning Same- Sex Marriage; Fake Uniforms for Iraqi Insurgents; Military Misconduct in Haditha? The War Tapes

Aired June 05, 2006 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the institution of marriage meets the Constitution of the United States. Maybe.
Senators are coming back from their Memorial Day recess to a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. President Bush weighed in just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marriage is the most fundamental institution of civilization. And it should not be redefined by activist judges.

(APPLAUSE)

You are here because you strongly support a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman. And I am proud to stand with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, so, is the campaign against same-sex marriage borne of heartfelt beliefs or political posturing? It depends on whom you're asking.

Our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, has been doing just that.

Dana, what are you hearing?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the answer to that question is obviously both, Kyra. No question about it.

Now, on the one hand, you just heard a lengthy statement from the president, something that is going to be echoed here in the United States Senate, as they open actually as we speak the debate over this issues, which we should see for about two and a half days. Republican senators, mostly, simply say that they -- what they have seen over the past two years, for example, since many states voted overwhelmingly to ban same-sex marriages in their states, that as you just heard the president say, so-called activist judges have overturned the will of the people.

So that's why they say they have to keep plugging along here in the Senate, even though the reality is there is no way the Senate will reach the two-thirds super majority needed to amend the Constitution. It just simply is not going to happen.

And senators so far this morning, and talking to even one of the proponents of this, Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, at a press conference this morning, when asked that question a number of time, so, you know, if you're not going to get this, why bother, he says it's about momentum. That they do believe this time in the vote probably on Wednesday they'll probably get about 52 senators, for the first time an actual majority.

And they say that they're just going to keep plugging along, and they believe one day they are going to get the 67 votes needed to amend the Constitution. But it could be a long time coming -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So how much is the November election figuring into all of this?

BASH: I don't think anybody can say with a straight face that it's not factoring into this. Senator -- the majority leader, Bill Frist, put this issue, a ban -- a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, on the Senate agenda as SR1, meaning the very first thing on the agenda when the Senate first -- this particular Senate came into session. But he's not bringing it up for a vote until now, five months before Election Day.

Now, they argue that there were other very important things on the agenda, but some look at this and say, look, it's craft (ph) and its political, that they realize that they need more than anything else, especially in an off-year election, to galvanize, to gin up the conservative voters, who especially right now, Kyra, are very, very upset with the leaders here in Washington. Not just because they believe that they have simply ignored the social conservative issues like gay marriage, but also other issues, like immigration.

They are very unhappy that leaders here from the president to the Senate majority leader, for example, have supported things that they call amnesty. That they are very upset about what they call high spending, deficit spending. That's something that core conservatives simply do not think Republicans should be -- should be governing over.

So this is certainly one of the issues that they are going to be trying to appeal to conservatives on. We also expect a vote on flag burning. And even this coming week, later in the week, there's going to be a vote to make permanent the estate tax cut. So all of those things are geared to one thing pretty much and one thing only, and that is the conservative voter this election year -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dana. We'll be with you monitoring the debate. Thanks so much.

BASH: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And we want to hear from you, of course. Do you even care about the gay marriage amendment? Send us an e-mail at LIVEFROM@CNN.com. Tell us if you think the issue is a distraction for more pressing business.

I'm going to read some more of your e-mails straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

At first glance it looked like police commandos carrying out a raid. Fifty people were taken off the streets of Baghdad this morning. But even though the raiders had police uniforms and at least 13 vehicles with police markings, they weren't police.

It took more than an hour for the mass abductions to unfold. Neither the victims nor the bogus commandos have been heard from since.

It's a uniform problem, Iraqi insurgents masquerading as police or soldiers as they carry out attacks.

CNN's Arwa Damon found out that all it takes is just a little cash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This man is one of the lucky ones, rescued from the back of one of these pickup trucks. U.S. and Iraqi troops responded to a citizen's phone call reporting suspicious activity by people they thought were members of the Iraqi army.

LT. COL. TOM FISHER, U.S. ARMY: They were reporting that there were men in Iraqi army uniforms who were in the process of entering their village. And they were calling to see if these were legitimate army commissions.

DAMON: They were not. Instead, insurgents wearing Iraqi uniforms were conducting an operation of their own.

Posing as a member of Iraq's security forces is easier than you would think. Just head to Baghdad's so-called thieves (ph) market, and as long as you have $23, you can walk into the market dressed as a civilian and walk out dressed like a member of Iraq's security force. The tailors here once made uniforms for Saddam Hussein's regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've been making uniforms for 45 years. This street is only for uniform makers. We never make uniforms for anyone except for officers and those people who have special IDs.

DAMON: But the IDs are as easy to make as the uniforms themselves. These days, the tailors, who declined to give their names, find themselves caught in the middle, targeted by both insurgents and the Iraqi government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now they want us to close our shops. It means that we will lose our jobs. Are they going to offer us other jobs?

DAMON: Finding these men jobs can be added to the long to-do list for Iraq's new government. Security is its priority.

(on camera): The government has promised it will issue new hard- to-copy uniforms in June. One small step to fulfilling the much larger promise of a secure Iraq.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the war is Iraq is raging and the war in Afghanistan is flaring, and now Vietnam is back on the radar. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, he's in Hanoi today meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart and the prime minister. Out of the talks, a commitment from Vietnam to do more to help the U.S. recover the remains of Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. More than 1,300 U.S. troops are still unaccounted for.

Now back to Iraq and U.S. troops suspected the killing Iraqi civilians on purpose. Americans have been cleared in one case, but other investigations continue.

Our Brian Todd is at the Pentagon.

Brian, what do you know?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we know that another investigation into the killing of an Iraqi civilian on April 26th of this year is almost to the point where charges are going to be filed. We know that seven Marines and one Navy corpsman are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton in connection with that incident. A source close to the investigation tells us that likely murder charges will be filed in the next few days.

This incident took place, as we said, April 26th, in the town of Hamandiyah, just west of Baghdad. One person was killed, and as we said, seven Marines and one Navy corpsman held in connection with that. Four other Marines are confined to base at Camp Pendleton.

A source close to the investigation says that murder charges are likely to be filed against "somewhere around seven Marines." So we do know that a charge is very likely to come from that incident very soon.

If the Marines in this case are charged, it would be the first time that Marines based at Camp Pendleton, California, have been charged with killing an Iraqi civilian, which is a war crime under the Geneva Convention -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Brian, again we heard over the weekend calls from Democratic senator Joe Biden for Rumsfeld's resignation. Any type of reaction from the Pentagon?

TODD: We did speak to a senior defense official a short time -- a short time ago this afternoon, and his quote was, "It would be unfortunate if politics entered into this discussion." That was about it. They are not giving much on the question of the secretary's status. As we know, Secretary Rumsfeld has offered his resignation twice to President Bush sometime around the Abu Ghraib scandal or there -- just thereafter. And the president has turned that down.

So no indication now that Secretary Rumsfeld will resign or offer that resignation. And you have defense officials here essentially saying keep politics out of it.

PHILLIPS: Brian, what about these Marines involved in the Haditha investigation? Any word on any possible charges?

TODD: No word yet on that, Kyra. The investigation not quite complete.

A lot of the questioning has been done, a lot of the investigation has been completed, but the final stages of it will not be complete for several weeks. And then it won't be until after that that we actually find out something about charges in the Marines -- for the Marines involved in this case.

All of those Marines are currently back at Camp Pendleton. Again, the same camp involved in Hamandiyah case.

So Marines there awaiting word on their fate. Some of them have hired attorneys, some have hired both defense and civilian attorneys. So they are there. None charged, none being held, but they are there awaiting their fate.

PHILLIPS: Brian Todd from the Pentagon.

Thanks, Brian.

TODD: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom now. Betty Nguyen working details on the Duke lacrosse team.

What's new with them, Betty?

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Kyra, we want to take you live now to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the president of Duke University is speaking about the future of the lacrosse team. As you know, three of the players have been indicted in raping -- the allegations of raping a woman at an off-campus party. Well, we should hear today whether or not Duke is going to reinstate that lacrosse team after it was canceled following those allegations.

Let's take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

RICHARD BRODHEAD, DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: ... life issues are dealt with in a coordinated and integrated fashion. In addition to these steps, I'll also be proposing modifications in the university's athletics council, the committee charged by the trustees and the faculty with oversight of athletics at Duke.

Finally, I turn to the subject of lacrosse. I have decided to permit the resumption of men's lacrosse. Assistant coach Kevin Casits (ph) will serve as interim coach, while Joe Aleva (ph) conducts a search for a permanent coach.

I have received a great deal of advice on this issue. Sometimes I think I know the view of every person in America about this issue. Let me share the thinking that has led me to the decision -- the decision made over this weekend that I'm announcing today.

When I announced the indefinite suspension of the men's lacrosse season on April 5th, you'll remember where we were at that point. Suspicions swirled around potentially virtually every member of the team. I say this because all but one of them, you will recall, were required to submit to DNA testing. And at that moment we had no concept of what the dimensions of the emerging legal case might eventually be.

After the district attorney announced his indictment of a third player in the middle of the month of May, however, he exonerated the other 44 team members of criminal charges. This is, of course, a very significant change.

On the other hand, I've also had to weigh the findings of the Coleman Committee (ph), the group that was charged with assessing the team's conduct before March 13th. While their report did not validate the worst charges against the team, it did establish a pattern of irresponsible behavior, much of it aggravated by drink. And I have remained concerned about the March 13th party itself, an event that even setting aside the disputed criminal matters clearly involved highly inappropriate and unacceptable behavior by members of this team as their captains long ago acknowledged.

I told the team when I met with them early in the month of May that if and when Duke was to resume the play of lacrosse, we simply could not return to the status quo as of March 12th as the basis for going forward.

As I wrestled with this issue, I decided that Duke could only resume men's lacrosse if we made a clear statement of the conduct we expect of the players going forward, if the players actively accepted responsibility for living up to these expectations, and if we had a strong oversight mechanism to monitor the situation. These conditions have now been met to my satisfaction.

Late last Friday afternoon, I received a mission statement -- it's actually called a team standard, standard of conduct that the players themselves have written and pledged to uphold. The new communications and oversight structures that I described a minute ago will give us the means to monitor the team's future conduct and respond promptly as needed.

I am, I know, taking something of a risk in reinstating men's lacrosse. The reinstatement is inevitably probationary. If we begin to see patterns of irresponsible individual or team behaviors familiar from the past, the athletics director and I will have no choice but to revisit this decision, and we won't hesitate to do so.

On the other hand, if we did not allow these players the chance to take responsibility for creating a new history for their sports at Duke, we would be denying another fundamental value, namely...

NGUYEN: And you've been listening to the president of Duke University, Richard Brodhead. He has, as you just heard there, Kyra, said he is going to reinstate the lacrosse team, and they will resume play next season.

This comes amid a lot of thinking on the part of the president as he had to weigh this decision very heavily in light of the fact that three of the lacrosse team players are under indictment for allegations that they raped a woman at an off-campus party. Now, those trials are yet to come, but as of now the president of Duke University says the lacrosse team is back business and it will begin play next season -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Betty. Thanks so much.

Straight ahead, new orders on the border. We're going to visit the site where the first National guard troops are arriving to help in the fight against illegal immigration.

More LIVE FROM coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to our Kareen Wynter. She's on the border with the National Guard troops right now. As you know, we've been telling you the Utah National Guard has headed to Arizona.

Kareen, what do we know? Have you seen any sign of the troops? Are they there and already working with the active members?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Would you believe six hours, Kyra, they've been out here. It's in the 90s now. So it's already been a long day for them on their very first assignment out here.

They got here on Saturday from Utah. This is part of a two-week deployment. You can see behind me one soldier taking a break here. Again, the temperatures out here very, very intense.

What you're looking down there as well, Kyra, some of the work, some of the men in action. They're trying to create a road here. They're improving the system for Border Patrol agents who travel this stretch every day. And they want to increase the response time, for example, if someone is caught hopping that fence in the background there. They'll also be working on improving lighting in the area -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what do you think? Is -- will they be there long enough to make a difference? I mean, they're only on about a two-week rotation, right?

WYNTER: Very quick, in and out. We asked the commander here, and he said, well, what they're really doing is picking up on some of the work, the groundwork laid by troops. This is the first time National Guard troops have been called here to the area.

This is a first in terms of President Bush's new operation, his vision here to boost border security. But he's saying that they can accomplish a lot in two weeks. If nothing else, they will be alleviating some of the responsibility for Border Patrol agents, who will be able to focus more on securing these borders and less on operation or electrical work on a day-to-day basis -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Kareen, how exactly does this work from a command perspective? You have got the governors of each state that are supposed to be in chare of their troops, yet these are men and women from Utah coming in with the Arizona troops. So who is telling them about rules of engagement and what they can and can't do?

WYNTER: You ready for this? It's a little bit complex.

The way it was broken down to us is that on the administrative end, that these troops are in the control and command of Utah's governor. But when it comes to direct operations, they actually report to the Arizona National Guard. When it comes specifically to the men who are out here every day for the next two weeks doing this field operation, the soldiers in particular, they, of course, Kyra, will be reporting to their commander.

PHILLIPS: So, Kareen, exactly -- tell me exactly where you are and kind of set the scene for just the machinery behind you and who's out there now. And tell us what's happening at this moment.

WYNTER: Well, first of all, I want to show you what we're standing on here. This is very, very tedious for the troops that are out here.

This is sand, and it shows you how compact this is. Well, what they want to do is lift some of this debris here away.

They're not going to make it completely grounded in terms of concrete, but they will make it a little bit easy, again, to maneuver, to increase the response time for border agents. If we pan to the left, you can see off into the distance one of the troops, and they've been on these caterpillars for the last six hours out here. They're working 12-hour shifts between now and the next two weeks. They're starting very early in the morning and ending as early as possible, of course, because of the intense temperature, Kyra, that can reach up to 120 degrees at times.

PHILLIPS: And is this actually where there's going to be the beginning of a fence?

WYNTER: Yes, behind me you can see right there, that fence is intact, but about a mile down the road we saw a lot of guardsmen driving in here not really repairing, but just extending on the previous work that I mentioned from troops that, again, have been building this over the last several years. And so they're not going to be able to make a dent in this problem over the next two weeks, but, again, the guys who come in after that and after that -- remember, this is a one-year deployment. There will be a lot of troops coming in as part of this rotation. Expect to see a big difference here, according to the commanders here on the ground.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Kareen Wynter, thank you so much.

Well, the next hour of LIVE FROM I'll speak with the man leading the National Guard's efforts on the border there in Arizona, Major General David Raticek (ph).

Well, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

If you haven't already made your vacation reservations, better watch out. Hotel prices climbing. Susan Lisovicz tells us why straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as the Senate continues to tackle the gay marriage ban, we are following that debate as it's taking place. We also want to hear from you. Do you even care about gay marriage and the amendment?

Send us an e-mail at LIVEFROM@CNN.com if you think it's a distraction from more pressing business. I'll read more of your e- mails on LIVE FROM.

Meanwhile, we got three in just a minute ago. This one coming from Monte.

"President Bush trying to regain some popularity from his evangelical base. It's very sad to see this going on. Instead of bringing our country together, the Republicans seem to be doing their best to rip our country apart."

John writes, "Why do these people feel they have the right to designate a new meaning to a word? Marriage was first defined as a religious term, and has been clearly defined as between a man and a woman in any religion I have studied. Possibly we can redefine Earth as a star?"

And Joe writes, "Absolutely I care about the marriage amendment. For too long we have allowed activist judges and minority groups to make decisions for the majority of the states. It's absolutely necessary to take a federal stance in defining marriage."

And coming up at the end of the hour, we're going to talk with Chrissy Gephardt, daughter, as you know, from political leader Dick Gephardt. She's going to talk about what she thinks about this ban as an activist, a gay activist.

And also joining her will be Steve Uhost (ph). He's a conservative gay Jewish talk show host for a station in California. We're going to talk to him. It should be an interesting conversation having those two together. Well, if you're going on vacation or on a business trip this year, you may have to dig a little deeper in your wallet to foot the hotel bill.

Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange with all those details.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Coming up next hour, a new contact lens brand has some athletes seeing red, quite literally. Stay tuned to LIVE FROM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: It's an important issue for our country to debate and to resolve, and the best way to resolve this issue is through a constitutional amendment, which I strongly support.

REVEREND ROBERT HARDIES, ALL SOULS CHURCH: Let's be honest with ourselves. There isn't anyone here who is naive enough to believe that the introduction of this legislation, now in two consecutive election cycles, is anything but a politically motivated effort to win votes by demonizing a class of citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's a crusade for some and afront to others. Should the federal government, the U.S. constitution, decide who can and can't be married? Here to talk about it and probably debate it in Washington, Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of former Congressman and former Presidential Candidate Dick Gephardt. And from San Diego, radio talk show host, Steve Yuhas, both openly gay and quite vocal on the issue. Great to have you both.

CHRISSY GEPHART, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: Great, thank you.

STEVE YUHAS, KOGO TALK SHOW HOST: Nice to be here.

PHILLIPS: Steve, let's start with you. You're in big support of don't ask don't tell. Why?

YUHAS: Well, I don't know about don't ask don't tell. That's a military issue. But, I'm in support of a don't ask and don't tell if we want to talk about that, because it seems to be the logical, right way to go. People don't need in the military to talks about their sexuality. It's nothing that I've every encountered or anyone else did.

PHILLIPS: I was reading it on your web site. It said you support don't ask don't tell. You don't support gay marriage. You seem to take quite the opposite approach from someone very vocal about being gay and wanting rights.

YUHAS: The rights is the wrong way to approach it. A lot of people approach gay marriage the same way they approach racial segregation, and I reject the notion that race and sexuality are the same. If you do reject that necessity to be there, that they are the same, then you have to side against gay marriage. A lot of people do that. I myself do it for traditional, religious, and historical purposes. A lot of people who find themselves teetering on the brink, I think, find it for the same reasons.

PHILLIPS: Chrissy, what do you think?

GEPHART: Well, I think that your sexual orientation, like your race, is not something that you choose. We are born the way we are and I think it's a similar issue. So I do see that race and your gender identity and your sexual orientation are something you don't have a control over.

PHILLIPS: Chrissy, how did you first tell your family?

GEPHART: Well, I took them out to dinner one night, and I told them that I was gay and that I was, you know, I had befriended a woman who I had started dating. My parents were great about it. They supported me. They were there for me, and they still are today.

PHILLIPS: Did you worry about the fact that your father was in politics? This is obviously a hot topic for debate, a big political issue. Were you concerned about his career, his reputation? Was that addressed?

GEPHART: Absolutely. Anytime you come out with something like this that's controversial, it is a big risk, and it is something that I feared would hurt his career. But, in the end I thought that, you know, family is most important, and I have to be who I am. And I never thought that my parents would ever abandon me or that they would ever leave my side. And they haven't.

PHILLIPS: We're looking at pictures of you and your father, but also of your commitment ceremony. That was just recently, correct, with Amy?

GEPHART: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Congratulations.

GEPHART: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: You see these pictures. It was a huge deal for you, a very special moment in your life. Do you wish it would have been legalized marriage?

GEPHART: Absolutely. I wish that I had the same rights and benefits that heterosexual couples have. While for Amy and I, we wanted the symbolic ceremony, we would have also appreciated having the rights and the responsibilities and the privileges that come with marriage. But, unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until the law comes around. I don't know. We live in Washington, D.C., and we'll have to see when that happens.

PHILLIPS: Steve, you've been in a long term relationship, right?

YUHAS: Yes, I have.

PHILLIPS: And, do you want the same rights and benefits as a married couple?

YUHAS: Again, we get into this debate about what is a right and what is a benefit. The things that come from marriage are not rights. They are privileges. Society has a right to decide who can marry, just like it has a right to decide who can drive. And I take issue with the fact that sexuality and race are the same. You can look at a black person or a Latino and know that that person is black or Latino.

You cannot similarly look at someone and say, that person is gay, therefore, I'm going to discriminate against them. You can't do that. They're not the same.

PHILLIPS: So it doesn't matter to you if you and your boyfriend, let's say you decided not to work. Your boyfriend is working. It would be okay if you couldn't have the same type of insurance or some of the other benefits that come with being a married couple?

YUHAS: I don't know how many different ways I can say the same thing. Of course, if I choose to work at a company that provides domestic partnerships, my issue with regard to gay marriage is one of the taking over of states' rights for the Federal Government. One state deciding for another state what is and is not marriage. Society has a role in determining what marriage is, and every opportunity that has been put to the voters and put forward to the people, they've decided that gay marriage is not something that they want to sign onto today.

Unfortunately, activist judges, typically on the left are going to at some point decide that gay marriage is unconstitutional. There's going to be a judge that does it. It's going to become a federal question. The debate that's taking place now is a debate that's going to either take place preemptively, or it's going to take place after a judge decides that gay marriage is unconstitutional, or protecting marriage as an institution is constitutional. So it's just a matter of timing that is at issue.

PHILLIPS: Chrissy, can you connect with any part of Steve's point?

GEPHART: Well, I absolutely can in terms of not agreeing with him. Unconstitutional? I thought the constitution was to provide for the liberty and justice for all Americans. Never have we used the constitution to discriminate against an entire group of people, and in this case we're actually, President Bush and the administration, is attempting to write an entire class of people out of our constitution. It's unprecedented. s

And the other point is that traditionally the federal government should not be intervening in issues such as this, social policy issues. And particularly this administration, they say that it should be left up to the states, that they should not intervene in issues such as this. But unfortunately, they're doing quite of contrary.

YUHAS: First of all, the president doesn't have a role in the constitutional amendment process. So this is -- the idea that the administration is doing anything with regard to this amendment is hyperbole. And it's anecdotal. The president supports the amendment.

It's up to the Congress to pass it. It's not going to pass muster in the Senate. We know that. Every time the states, however -- the states have a right to have a constitutional convention about gay marriage, and they should be allowed to set the law. I'm all for states having the control.

The problem is, when the founding fathers quite rightly gave the greatest power to the legislative branch of our government -- and unfortunately those who are without political skills or political knowledge of how this country was founded believe that the judiciary is, in fact, the strongest branch. That's not how it is. That's not how it was written.

And every time people have an opportunity to speak on the issue, again, society draws the line at one man and one woman. And I'd be curious to know where gays would draw the line. Would it be -- or gay activists that are in favor of this? Would it be at one man and one man? Would it be at two men? If it's a question of just simply people that love each other should be allowed to marry, then why is that line an allowable line? Where is the line?

PHILLIPS: Chrissy, final thought.

GEPHART: Well, you know, the whole thing of where do you draw the line, I mean, we're talking about two people who love each other. Whether it's two women or two men, this whole thing about, you know, is it going to be three women or three men?

YUHAS: I'm wondering why, though.

GEPHART: Those are scare tactics. You know, we're not talking about that. We're talking about real people here and we're talking about real families. And an amendment like...

YUHAS: We haven't talked about it, though. We never talk about it.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Chrissy, finish.

GEPHART: But the Federal Marriage Amendment -- well, actually, if it were to pass, which it's not going to -- but even the state constitutional amendments that are going to be coming up on the ballot in November, they hurt real people and real families. There are a lot of gay families that have children, and what we've seen is that the constitutional amendments that passed in the 2004 election have actually taken away domestic partner benefits from couples. And this hurts not only the couples, but it hurts the children that they have. This is about real people and real families, and that's what we need to focus on.

PHILLIPS: We're going to have to leave it there. Chrissy Gephart...

GEPHART: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Steve Yuhas. I appreciate both of you today.

YUHAS: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Thanks so much.

GEPHART: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, up next, U.S. troops in Iraq taking aim with a different kind of weapon: a camera. A view of the war from the frontlines, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: By now you know about imbeds, reporters who travel with military units in Iraq, getting closer to the war than they'd ever be able to get on their own. But now a group of soldiers is shooting the war themselves for a new documentary called "The War Tapes." You'll meet three of them in this report from CNN's John Roberts for "ANDERSON COOPER 360." And you should know, some of the language is pretty graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They deployed on March 16th, 2004.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Iraq gentlemen. Only one year to go.

ROBERTS: One year in Iraq. For Lebanese-born sergeant Zack Bazzi, it's just part of the job.

SGT. ZACK BAZZI, "THE WAR TAPES": The average soldier is just somebody like you, you know I'm just a guy like them. I got the call. Yes, it sucks.

Did I really want to go? Probably not. But they're doing it. What else can you ask for from a man?

ROBERTS: And for 24-year-old Sergeant Steven Pink, it may be just the challenge he was looking for.

SGT. STEPHEN PINK, "THE WAR TAPES": It was the time of my life when I needed to kind of test myself and make sure that I could accomplish something.

ROBERTS: After September 11th, Specialist Michael Moriarty, a father of two young children, felt compelled to serve in Iraq. SPEC. MICHAEL MORIARTY, "THE WAR TAPES": That was like somebody hitting my house to me. I called the recruiter, and I said, "Will you slot me into a unit only if they go into Iraq."

ROBERTS: They were sent to the Sunni triangle, prime targets in an insurgent hot bed.

Twenty dead, 20 or 30 wounded Iraqis.

Blood. When you walk, you hear the pieces of skin.

ROBERTS: Soldiers in Iraq have their own language. Punctuated with acronyms, RPGs, rocket-propelled grenades, IEDs, improvised explosive devices.

IED! IED! (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

ROBERTS: And they make no effort to hide their contempt for the enemy. Tagging them with the ethnic slur "hajjis."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every war has got its own little term to dehumanize the other side. We had gooks in Vietnam and this war has hajjis, the bad guys or the insurgents. I'm sure they have their own derogatory term towards us.

ROBERTS: Their conversations are surreal, sometimes macabre, recorded on camera and in their journals.

PINK: A debate we had earlier in the day over the consistency and texture of a severed limb was not some far-off grotesque assumption. It was a genuine argument between the guy who swears it resembles hamburger ground up but uncooked. And the guy who believes it looks more like a raw pot roast. There is no argument however, that human intestines are pink pork sausage links. If of course you imagine your butcher's block as the background instead of the screaming then some quietly moaning casualty.

ROBERTS: And after a year in Iraq, there is no need for debate on one particular subject. The idea, that they will never be the same.

PINK: Every once in a while, as we're driving down the road, creeping along on patrol, I have a reoccurring epiphany. This is happening and will have a lasting impact on me for the rest of my life.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: "The War Tapes" debuted this weekend in New York. It will show up later this month in other major cities. Check out the Web site for more information, thewartapes.com. Meantime, look for reporting behind the front lines, weeknights on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

Straight ahead entertainment news with A.J. Hammer of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." How you doing? A.J. HAMMER, HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Good, Kyra. It's nice to see you. The MTV Movie Awards happened over the weekend. Of course, we were there and I will have all the details when LIVE FROM continues.

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PHILLIPS: MTV gives out the coveted Gold Popcorn Awards, get ready for a new version of "American Idol," and the star of a horror classic gets ready for another scary film. A.J. Hammer from "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" here with all the entertainment headlines.

HAMMER: Whenever the MTV Movie Awards happen you are going to get some memorable moments. Over the weekend the show definitely didn't disappoint.

You're looking at a new group called Gnarls Barkley, performing their chart topping hit "Crazy." The duo kept in line with the regular zaniness. They dressed like characters on "Star Wars". Who knew Chewy could hit the skins.

Actress Jessica Alba hosted the MTV Movie Awards. Singer Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson made appearances as well, as did countless other celebrities. The MTV Movie Awards will be airing on Thursday.

And we've seen it succeed in the pop genre but are you ready for a hip-hop version of "American Idol." Master P, the rapper, who has done very well for himself in that business, hopes you're into this kind of show. He's trying to launch an all hip-hop talent show very similar to "American Idol."

Master P is calling it "America's Next Hip-Hop Stars." The entertainer says his show will give rap wanna-bes the opportunity to win a recording contract and $50,000. P will host the show himself, of course, and there will be celebrity judges including Snoop Dogg and rapper Paul Wall. Master P is still deciding whether to launch it on cable, network television or on pay per view.

Actress Mia Farrow is revisiting some very spooky yet familiar territory. The 61 year old actress is starring in the remake of the horror classic "The Omen." Back in '68 she starred in Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby." Farrow will be in this film as the evil nanny, while actors Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles join the cast as well. "The Omen" opens tomorrow, which happens to be, Kyra, as you know, 6/6/06.

I happened to sit down with Mia Farrow a couple hours ago and asked her if she was superstious, maybe believes tomorrow is the end of all days, there are some people out there predicting it. She didn't answer that . She was raised a devout Catholic and very superstitious. She will never open an umbrella inside ever.

PHILLIPS: Our walk under a ladder?

HAMMER: All of it. There's not a single thing she won't observe the proper response to when something happens.

PHILLIPS: We all have something weird like that, right?

HAMMER: Not me.

PHILLIPS: No, you're perfect. You don't worry about those things. I can't believe she's 61. Unbelievable.

HAMMER: I was with her mere hours ago. She looks stunning. Not that you can't look stunning at 61. It surprised me because she really seems to defy her own age.

Let me tell you what's coming up on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" We're talking about women fighting back. Why America's most powerful feminist leaders are furious at a mahor TV network. They're not taking no for an answer. It's a very hot debate and it will be tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." You'll find us at 11 p.m. eastern on CNN Headline Prime. Get ready for 6/6/06.

PHILLIPS: We'll see you tomorrow.

One daughter, two moms. I'm going to speak with a family with a lot at stake in the gay marriage debate. Let's take a look at the big board as we go to break. The Dow way down this afternoon. We'll go live to the New York Stock Exchange in the next hour of LIVE FROM.

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