Edwards-Cheney Vice Presidential debate: on Civil Rights

Dick Cheney: Gay marriage should be an issue for the states

A: That's a separate question from the issue of whether or not government should sanction or approve or give some sort of authorization, if you will, to these relationships Traditionally, that's been an issue for the states. States have regulated marriage, if you will. That would be my preference. In effect, what's happened is that in recent months, especially in Massachusetts, but also in California, but in Massachusetts we had the Massachusetts Supreme Court direct the legislature of Massachusetts to modify their constitution to allow gay marriage. Bush felt that it was important to make it clear that that's the wrong way to go, as far as he's concerned.

John Edwards: Allow gay couples to visit each other in the hospital

A: We both believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But we also believe that gay and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples, those who have been in long-term relationships, deserve to be treated respectfully, they deserve to have benefits. For example, a gay couple now has a very difficult time, one, visiting the other when they're in the hospital, or, for example, if, heaven forbid, one of them were to pass away, they have trouble even arranging the funeral.

I mean, those are not the kind of things that Kerry and I believe in. But we do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Bush is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that is completely unnecessary. Under the law of this country for the last 200 years, no state has been required to recognize another state's marriage. North Carolina would not be required to recognize a marriage from Massachusetts.