MISSOULA (AP) – Gay rights advocates rallied against President Bush’s call for a constitutional amendment banning marriage for gays and lesbians, saying it is contrary to the ideals of American freedom and the intent of the U.S. Constitution.

During a noon rally at the University of Montana, organizers said the idea that only straight people’s marriages are blessed by God is narrow-minded.

“That idea of love is too small. That idea of God is too small,” said Karen Loos of Missoula, a member of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG.

An amendment to the Constitution is a slide down the slippery slope of hatred and prejudice, Loos told about 75 people gathered on the UM Oval.

“This nation must not go there,” said Loos, a heterosexual married woman who said she is increasingly uncomfortable with the benefits she and her husband get automatically. “It is potentially disastrous. It is deeply disturbing.”

For almost an hour, speakers decried President Bush’s Feb. 24 call for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to give “clarity” on the issue of who makes up a legal marriage. Bush was reacting to recent judicial and municipal events that support marriage equality.

Casey Charles, UM English professor and member of the Outfield Alliance, a group of faculty, staff and graduate students who support gay and lesbian rights, said it’s only a matter of time before marriage for gays and lesbians comes to Montana and Missoula.

“The dominoes are falling,” he said.

“Legal marriage brings couples more than 1,000 benefits, he said, in tax matters, hospital visitation, custody of children, Social Security benefits and other areas,” Charles said.

Cat Carrel, co-chairwoman of the Western Montana Gay and Lesbian Community Center, called on Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to clarify his position on the issue.

Baucus said in a statement on Feb. 24 that he supports traditional marriage and Montana’s right to do what’s right for the state. He said a constitutional amendment “should only be used as a last resort.”

All those things are true, Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser said when contacted by phone. “He doesn’t support gay marriage,” Kaiser said. “But he doesn’t support a constitutional amendment.”

The “Rally for Love” was organized by UM’s Lambda Alliance, the campus’ student gay and lesbian group.