Yahoo! News - Bush Says He Could Back Gay Marriage Ban
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said Tuesday that he could support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Bush has condemned the ruling before, citing his support for a federal definition of marriage as a solely man-woman union. But though he has said he would support whatever is "legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage," he and his advisers have shied away from specifically endorsing a constitutional amendment asserting that definition.

But on Tuesday, the president said he endorsed a constitutional amendment "which would honor marriage between a man and a woman." At the same time, however, he also seemed to leave the door open to different arrangements in different states.