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Senate Debating Proposed Constitutional Amendment on Banning Gay Marriage; Iraq Abductions; The War Tapes

Aired June 05, 2006 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. This is the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY on this Monday morning.
We top the hour with an emotional issue getting a lot of attention today in Washington. The Senate is starting debate on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. President Bush supports the ban. He's getting ready to tell Americans why. There are a lot of questions about the politics behind today's push for the ban.

To the White House now and CNN's Ed Henry.

Ed, what about the timing of this push?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly a lot of questions aimed at the White House about whether or not this is an attempt by the White House to maybe get back on their feet, reach out to conservatives. The president obviously has been plummeting in the polls.

White House spokesman Tony Snow, a few moments ago with reporters, once again insisted politics is not motivating the president on this. Snow basically charging that the media's over- hyping this, spending too much attention, paying too much attention, really trying to downplay the meeting the president is having this afternoon with conservative activists. After that meeting, of course, the president will make a public statement, once again reiterating that he supports this constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. But what's interesting is, some of the president's fellow conservatives are the ones who are really saying it's the president who raised expectations on this issue, who maybe hyped it up back in the 2004 campaign.

Conservatives feel that they helped elect the president, particularly on the issue of gay marriage. They now expect him to be out front on this issue. They charge he's been relatively silent on it.

Again, Tony Snow, though, insists it's not politics, it's the fact that courts are getting involved here. The president feels it's finally time for Congress to speak with one voice on this issue. And they're getting support from other conservative activists like Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage. He was on Capitol Hill earlier this morning. He's coming over to the White House for this meeting with the president.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DANIELS, PRESIDENT, ALLIANCE FOR MARRIAGE: The debate over marriage has been and continues to be forced on us by the courts. They are driving the politics of this debate. And the future of marriage in America has become a race between these court cases and the Marriage Protection Amendment. This is a great nation, but we cannot go forward as a people if our laws do not send a positive message to children about marriage, family and their own future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: But Democrats like Joe Biden say they do not believe that marriage is in crisis in this country. They point to the Defense of Marriage Act which they believe is already working, passed by Congress, signed into law several years ago. And Democrats like Biden charge this is really just a diversion from the bad news out of Iraq, the White House trying to change the subject, and that this is really all about trying to rev up conservative voters heading into the crucial midterm elections -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry, live at the White House.

Thank you.

Well, of course all the action taking place on Capitol Hill.

Our Dana Bash right now takes a look at the action in the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Gay rights activists are gearing up to blanket Capitol Hill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does anyone need any help?

BASH: And urge senators to vote against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

JOE SOLMONESE, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: I think what we're really talking about this week is a conversation, both from the White House and in the leadership in the Senate, about writing discrimination into the Constitution. And that couldn't be more out of step with where the American people are right now.

BASH: But for social conservatives, prohibiting same-sex marriage is a top priority. These ads are targeting senators in more than a dozen states.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homosexual activists don't care if children are deprived of a mom or dad. Only a constitutional amendment can protect marriage from attack.

BASH: In 2004, President Bush and Republican congressional leaders talked up a federal ban on gay marriage to galvanize social conservatives in key swing states.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society.

BASH: Since then, the president has been virtually silent.

And veteran activists, like Richard Vigurie, say it's just one reason the Republican rank and file are unhappy with their leadership in Washington.

RICHARD VIGURIE, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: They just feel they've been betrayed. They feel abandoned by the president, by his aides in the White House, by the Republican leaders in the House and the Senate. I've never seen conservatives so frustrated, disappointed and many of them, quite frankly, angry.

BASH: That's exactly why conservative organizers say Congress must debate issues like the gay marriage ban if Republicans want disillusioned conservatives to vote this November.

PETER SPRIGG, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: We don't have an interest in re-electing a Republican Congress if they're not willing to fight for pro-family issues.

BASH (on camera): No one expects this measure to get the two- thirds majority needed to change the Constitution, but the federal ban is expected to get more than 50 votes this time. That's more than when the Senate voted two years ago. And supporters say that's important because it shows their point of view is gaining momentum.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And in just a few minutes, gay marriage, is it a civil rights issue? Two very different views on a divisive topic ahead on CNN.

And stay with President Bush -- you'll want to stay with CNN. President Bush will be speaking and making remarks, 1:45 p.m. Eastern, from the Rose Garden on same-sex marriage. You'll see it live here on CNN.

A daring raid in central Baghdad today. Gunmen dressed as Iraqi police commandos pulled it off. Now the real police are searching for dozens of kidnapped victims.

Our John Vause is in Baghdad with the latest on that.

John, hello.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

This all happened in broad daylight in downtown Baghdad, a well- planned kidnapping. Some witnesses say it took about an hour to carry out. According to the interior ministry here, gunmen dressed as Iraqi commandos, driving more than a dozen vehicles -- some had no license plates, but many others had been painted to look like police cars -- kidnapped at least 50 people from three different transportation companies. They're all relatively close together in downtown Baghdad. Because all of these -- sorry, Daryn, someone was just talking to me downstairs.

All of this happened in broad daylight. As I said, they rounded up 50 people, some were, in fact, passengers on a bus heading off to Jordan or off to Syria.

Now, there were some conflicting accounts that this may have in fact been some kind of official raid carried out by the interior ministry, but we have had word from the prime minister's office that there was no such operation under way. And this does appear to be like a mass kidnapping of the most brazen kind -- Daryn.

KAGAN: What about what's happening in the south, the crackdown in Basra? There still seems to be a lot of violence there as well.

VAUSE: Well, over the weekend, we had a lot of sectarian violence all over the country, but in particular in Basra. It started on Saturday with a suicide bombing in a marketplace. Thirty-three people at least killed there, more than a hundred people were wounded.

The following day there was a shootout at a Sunni mosque. Apparently, Iraqi police were looking for insurgents inside the mosque. They shot it out as they went in. Nine people killed there. They made a number of arrests.

Sunni leaders actually say that the Iraqi police shot dead up to 16 people. So there has been a lot of sectarian violence.

Even today there were some reports that we have yet to confirm that a number of people were killed. Students were again killed in some kind of shooting as they made their way to class. So there's been a lot of violence, especially over the last couple of days -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John Vause, live from Baghdad.

John, thank you.

Well, they may not have the skills of a professional cameraman, but they are trained to shoot. They're American soldiers armed with video cameras, and their focus is on the front lines.

Our John Roberts takes a look at the war tapes. This is a report that first aired on "AC 360." Before we show it to you, we want to warn you, some of the language is very 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)

KAGAN: "ANDERSON COOPER 360" goes behind the scenes. Watch "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific.

Who can say "I do?" It's a matter of debate in the Senate. And right here on CNN LIVE TODAY two people on different sides of the gay marriage issue weigh in.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A major counterterrorism operation in Canada, and new concerns here in the U.S. Seventeen people are in custody in Canada this morning suspected of plotting to blow up major buildings in the Toronto area. They were arrested over the weekend. Canadian authorities say the group had acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. That is three times the amount used in the Oklahoma City bombing.

And police say the suspects had equipment like this, a cell phone connected to what appeared to be a detonator. The alleged targets were all in Ontario, but still some lawmakers here are concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We've got a longer border with Canada than we do with Mexico. We've got thousands of trucks that come in every day, many of them -- most of them not inspected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WILSON, CANADIAN AMB. TO THE U.S.: People should be concerned, but they should take comfort that their northern neighbor is on top of things and working...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: A U.S. counterterrorism official says that some of the suspects in Canada had communications with suspected terrorists overseas, including some taken into custody last fall in Britain. Well, we're all feeling the pinch of higher gas prices. One area of the country especially affected, the heartland. Farmers' equipment gobbling up hundreds of gallons of fuel every day while prices for crops remain flat.

Dan Lothian with part one of "Paying the Price in the Heartland," a series this week from "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The weather may be a farmer's best friend and worst enemy, but fuel is also proving to be a two-edged sword for farmers like Randy Kreager.

RANDY KREAGER, FARMER: The residue from last year's corn crop.

LOTHIAN: From tending to his fields, to caring for the cattle, Kreager is feeling the pressure.

RANDY KREAGER: We're just having to try to trim our costs of production down even further than we have already done in the past.

LOTHIAN: In order to raise corn and soybeans, Kreager needs lots of diesel to run his big machines. But the price per gallon, he says, has jumped by a dollar since last year.

RANDY KREAGER: Typically when we're harvesting corn we are running a combine, a tractor with a grain cart to catch the corn off the combine and then we run two semis to haul the grain from the field to the elevator. It wouldn't be uncommon at all in a situation like that if we were running a full day of corn to probably burn up about 300 gallons of diesel fuel.

LOTHIAN: That's roughly $800 a day, yet the price he gets for his crops has not gone up significantly.

RANDY KREAGER: An old saying that I've heard is that we are price takers not price makers. And that's referring to farmers.

LOTHIAN: So you have to take the pay.

RANDY KREAGER: Exactly.

LOTHIAN: To make matters worse, he raises cattle on land about 15 miles away, down a winding, dusty road, across a stream, and into the middle of nowhere.

RANDY KREAGER: There's always a tendency to cut corners, particularly with cattle in this example. You may say, well, fuel is so expensive and I'm just going to, instead of checking on them every other day, we're just going to start checking on them once a week or every other week. And, you know, you may get by with that and you may not. If you would end up losing just a couple of calves, well, then your gamble didn't pay off.

LOTHIAN: It's not unusual for Kreager to travel more than 300 miles per week in his pickup. It's hard work and fuel costs are slicing already thin margin. But this third generation farmer is determined to make it work.

RANDY KREAGER: I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't love it.

LOTHIAN: Everyone in his family is having to pay the price. Kreager and his wife Amy have decided only their three-year-old daughter Jordan will attend day care full time this summer.

AMI KREAGER, FARMER'S WIFE: Our oldest is only going to go to day care one day this summer. It's $25 a day for him and it's just saves a little bit.

LOTHIAN: So seven-and-a-half-year-old son Dallas will work on the farm with his dad, learning about crops and cattle and perhaps some of the hurdles that make the job so challenging.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Many towns in the heartland are spread out, so kids' activities or the doctor's office can be miles apart. So think about rising gas prices and what that says to the family budget. Part two of "Paying the Price in the Heartland" tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING" beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

In just a few minutes, a discussion on gay marriage. Is it a civil rights issue? Two very different views, but one thing both sides agree on. A divisive issue ahead on CNN.

Also, Alice and Trixie join Ralph and Norton. The new "Honeymooners"? Not quite. It's a shark's tale coming up on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Want to let you know President Bush will be speaking later today, talking, making a statement on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. You'll see that speech live here at 1:45 p.m. Eastern, live right here on CNN.

We are following today's Senate debate on a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. For some people, this is a civil rights issue.

Joining me from Washington is Joe -- I'll try that again. It is Monday morning for me, Joe. Joe Solmonese, he is president of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign.

Joe, good morning to you. Thanks for being here with us.

JOE SOLMONESE, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: What do you think about this Bush that President Bush is making for the ban on gay marriage?

SOLMONESE: I think it's shameful, and I think it is a dark day in America when the American people tune in to their radios on Saturday to hear the president's radio address and then see him again today, in both instances talk about writing discrimination into this country's Constitution, instead of talking about the things clearly on the minds about all Americans, the segment that you all just did on the impact of raising gas prices in the heartland. That is the thing that the American people would like to see this president and this Congress talking about.

KAGAN: Joe, but when you look at the polls, more than half of the people asked, more than half of Americans asked are not in favor of same-sex marriage. They do not like the idea of marriage going beyond the idea of a man and a woman.

SOLMONESE: But the compelling thing to remember, Daryn, is that in the last two years, public opinion towards marriage has moved 13 points in this country. And if you talk to people under the age of 40, they wonder why you're even asking the question. And the other side knows that as well.

KAGAN: Another thing they resent, people who are against same- sex marriage, is how this issue has made progress through the courts. When they go to the ballot box, people overwhelmingly vote against same-sex marriage, but the progress seems to be made by judges. And people call that judicial activism. So if that really is how people feel, then go to the polls and have people vote on it.

SOLMONESE: You hear this conversation about judicial activism, activist judges. Interestingly enough, when they rule the way the other side would like them to, they're not activist judges. When they rule in the other way, they call them activist judges. Activist judges is just code for we've got to find another way to talk about discrimination in this country.

KAGAN: Are you scared? Do you think something is going to happen this round?

SOLMONESE: I'm confident that we will be successful tomorrow, but I'm also confident that come November, the American people are going to send a message loud and clear to this president and to the Republican leadership in the Senate that they couldn't be more out of step with the priorities of the American people.

KAGAN: You do. So you think that this is actually going to backfire?

SOLMONESE: Oh, unquestionably.

KAGAN: And what's the next step for your organization?

SOLMONESE: We continue to move forward in states all across the country, working towards equality. As I said, the American people are moving in this direction every day. A 13 point increase towards marriage equality just since 2004. So we're confident about the results tomorrow and we're confident moving forward.

KAGAN: Joe Solomonese. Thank you, Joe, for your time.

SOLMONESE: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's go to New York for the other side of this discussion. Niger Innis is a spokesman for the Congress on Racial Equality. He is also on the board of the Alliance for Marriage.

And Niger, let me say good morning to you.

NIGER INNIS, CONGRESS ON RACIAL EQUALITY: Good morning, Daryn. Good to be with you.

KAGAN: Let me ask you this -- all across America there are families that are making choices for their families that are very different than I'm sure you're making for yours. They might have a different religion, they might spank or not spank, they might take a vacation someplace you don't want to take. It doesn't affect how you have your family. So why do you care who somebody partners with?

INNIS: That's exactly right. And the fact of the matter is, this amendment will not have any impact on those individuals that choose a particular lifestyle. And I'm glad you put it the way it should properly be put.

This is not an amendment to ban gay marriage. This is not an amendment to ban polygamy or polyandry or a variety of different relations that may exist between consenting adults. This is -- this amendment is about defining marriage the way that this civilization has known for hundreds of years and other civilizations have known for hundreds of years as one man and one woman.

KAGAN: But hasn't the -- Niger, hasn't the definition of marriage changed even in just the last 100 years? There was a time you and I couldn't get married in certain states in the South because we would be from different races. That has changed.

INNIS: That's exactly right. And some changes were for the affirmative and positive. Race and religion, to a great extent, are social constructions. But to say that a marriage between one man and one woman is fundamentally different than between one man and five women or between two men, there is a fundamental difference between those relationships.

Now, what this amendment deals with, though, again, though, is defining marriage as this civilization as the overwhelming majority. It's more than 51 percent. In some polls it's up to 80 percent. Overwhelming majority, including those under 40 years old -- I mean, I'm under 40 years old -- that believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and it's the preferred way to raise children.

Having said that, this amendment would say that the states can decide on the question of civil unions and what those civil unions are. So this would not be a ban, per se, on gay marriage or on polygamy or any other type of relations that individuals want to get into, but it does say loud and clear that, along with the American people, along with hundreds of years of tradition, that marriage should be -- should remain defined as one man and one woman.

KAGAN: All right. You know what, Niger? I'm going to have to cut you short there. I think you made your point -- only because we have breaking news.

Niger Innis, thank you very much...

INNIS: OK, Daryn. Thank you.

KAGAN: ... for presenting the other side of the argument.

And thank to you Joe Solomonese as well.

President Bush, once again, speaking at 1:45 p.m. Eastern.

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