LEWISTON – Kyle Davis considers himself a faithful Christian. He has been taught that the Bible denounces same-sex marriages.

But the 17-year-old also recognizes that times have changed, and he believes it is absurd that President Bush may consider a Constitutional amendment to specifically define marriage solely as the union between a man and a woman. “What happens at home should stay at home,” Davis said Thursday. “It shouldn’t be meddled in by the president.”

Davis was reacting to Bush’s announcement Wednesday that White House lawyers are seeking to write a law that would deny gay men and lesbians the right to marry.

The Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 already defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman and denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

A constitutional amendment, as proposed by some in the GOP, would expand on the existing law and give it more weight.

‘Leave it alone’

Davis is not alone in thinking that such an amendment is unnecessary.

Several local people interviewed Wednesday said they disagree with the president’s reasons for considering a change to the Constitution.

Some disagree because they believe homosexuals should be allowed to get married. Others simply believe that changing the Constitution is unwarranted.

“I think the Constitution has been changed too many times already. I think they should leave it alone,” said a 79-year-old Auburn man who didn’t want to be identified. “I don’t care one way or another if people of the same sex get married, and I don’t think it is up to the president to decide.”

Craig Vanier, 35, of Turner, agreed.

“It’s probably not a good idea to change the Constitution. It’s going to the extreme,” he said.

The Bible

For Heidi Brown, 39, of Minot, it is not a question about whether gay marriages are right or wrong. It is about individual rights.

“It’s their life,” Brown said. “This is supposed to be a free country.”

Of the 10 people interviewed, only three said they would support a change in the Constitution to deny gay marriages.

Friends Thelma Nickerson, 80, and Cleo C. Sopka, 74, believe that the Constitution should mirror the Bible.

“There are passages in the Bible that direct that (the issue of same-sex marriages),” Nickerson said.

“Gay rights have gotten way out of hand,” Sopka added. “I support the president.”

The president’s push for the law comes a month after the Supreme Court voted to strike down a Texas law banning sex between gay adults.

Since then, conservatives have been pushing for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between two people of the opposite sex.

‘Sinners’

Both the Maine Legislature and Congress have passed “defense of marriage acts” limiting marriage to a union between one man and one woman.

The president has previously said marriage should be limited to two people of the opposite sex. However, Wednesday marked the first time that he explicitly backed writing such a restriction into law.

According to wire reports, when a reporter at the news conference asked the president about whether he thinks homosexuality is immoral, Bush paraphrased the Bible and said, “I am mindful that we’re all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor’s eye when they got a log in their own.”

That particular comment bugged Jane Burr, a Rhode Island resident with a summer home in Wayne.

“He’s too religiously involved,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s just not broad-minded on a lot of issues.”

For Elaine Collins of Auburn it seems contradictory to amend the Constitution, a document built on the idea that everyone is created equal.

“Everyone should be able to do what they want,” she said.

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