My Dear Friends,
Sarah Palin says no. Chris Christie says no.
The GOP presidential field now appears to be closed—just in time for the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC.
Just in time for the summit, NOM has teamed up with the Susan B. Anthony List to produce a pro-life, pro-marriage values voter guide for the presidential candidates who have promised to speak at what has become the premier annual political gathering for social conservatives.
What will Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum do for marriage if we trust them with the gift of our own vote?
Four of these candidates have signed the NOM Marriage Pledge: Bachmann, Perry, Romney and Santorum. We know what these candidates, as president, will do: support a federal marriage amendment, appoint not only pro-marriage justices but also a pro-marriage attorney general, vigorously defend DOMA in court, appoint a presidential commission to investigate the growing number of threats to the livelihood and property of people who support our marriage tradition, and give back to the people of DC their right to vote on marriage.
But we also tracked down the public positions on each of these commitments of the candidates who refused to sign NOM's Marriage Pledge.
The results may surprise you.
Did you know, for example, that Herman Cain actually opposes a federal marriage amendment? (So does Ron Paul.) So far, his remarks on that issue have gotten none of the attention focused on Gov. Rick Perry when he made a stray "states' rights" comment about gay marriage in New York.
Cain's comments on a federal marriage amendment have not always been crystal clear and consistent. I personally hope that means he is in the process of "evolving" on the issue, as the campaign moves forward.
You can read the SBA List/NOM Values Voter Guide here.
One thing is certain: There is going to be a huge contrast between whomever becomes the GOP's nominee and President Obama on marriage.
With your help, we will be in a position to make it clear to politicians in both parties that being pro-marriage is not just the right side—it's the winning side, too!
Also in Washington, DC: John Boehner has once again shown leadership in re-committing to the defense of DOMA. And to the critics who complain about the cost, he also has the right answer: Deduct the cost of the lawyers' bill from the budget of the Justice Department. If the Justice Department were doing its job and defending the law, no outside lawyer would be necessary!
Click here to thank John Boehner for his hard work defending marriage!
Meanwhile our own brilliant lawyer, Prof. John Eastman, is making news for taking over as NOM's new Chairman of the Board.
NOM's new billboard campaign in New York is holding politicians accountable who betray their constituents values.
Another day, another politician to hold accountable!
Some things are truly bigger than parties, bigger than politics. Marriage is one of those things. Government did not invent marriage, God did, and He knew what He was doing!
The human heart knows the difference between real and counterfeit truth.
Down in Mexico City the same group which pushed through a bill authorizing same-sex marriage is now behind a measure that would create another oxymoron: "temporary marriage."
A "commitment" of as little as two years would be considered a marriage.
You probably know that NOM's founding Chairman of the board, Princeton Prof. Robby George, has warned that once government accepts the idea that two men can be a marriage, most of the other core features of marriage in our tradition become hard to justify: Why only two people, why not polygamy? Why sexual fidelity? Why can't sisters qualify for marriage?
But even that great intellectual genius didn't predict that the next step (at least in Mexico City) would be to try to rip away from under marriage another of its features: even the ghost of the ideal of permanence.
Every day confirms the importance of the work you make possible here at NOM: defending our marriage tradition and defending, as well, the people who stand up for it!
Here's the latest video from NOM's new Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance:
It shows interviews with three marriage clerks in New York who were told by gay marriage advocates that they must choose between their faith and their job.
They've shown enormous courage under fire; may God grant them the ultimate victory.
Thank you for all that you've done to make all our victories for marriage possible.
Faithfully,
Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage
P.S. Can you help in the fight to defend marriage? Whether you can give $20 or $200, know that you are making a difference. You are making certain that your voice and your values are heard!
