Dear Friends of Marriage,

The people of New Hampshire have spoken! As the Eagle Tribune headline put it, "New Hampshire Voters Want a Say on Gay Marriage"!

This is news you haven't heard, not even on conservative talk radio, where the relative news blackout on developments in the movement for marriage continues.

Here's the true story:

Last year the Democratic leaders in Concord, influenced by the Gill money flowing into their coffers, decided to push a gay marriage bill on the people of New Hampshire. Gov. Lynch, who had said he opposed gay marriage when he was running for election, flinched under pressure from left-wing activists and wealthy donors and signed it into law anyway. Tuesday was the first chance the people have had to fight back, and they flowed into town meeting halls and voted by large majorities for a resolution calling on Concord to put the future of marriage to a vote.

Overwhelmingly the people of New Hampshire voted to take back the power to define marriage--to get this power away from the courts, away from the politicians, and into the hands of the ordinary citizens. Votes are still being tabulated but early returns shows that of 42 towns, just seven wanted to keep gay marriage without a vote.

As the Union Leader put it (see below), "Granite State voters on Tuesday signaled a desire to vote on same-sex marriage, according to results of town meetings from across the state. ...In communities ranging from Pittsburg to Bedford, the resolution drew strong support. It passed by 100 percent in Stark." In New Hampshire the issue is not just marriage--it's the honesty and responsiveness of politicians.

Along with a streak of GOP victories in special elections since the gay marriage vote (seven out of eight victories), Tuesday's votes make it clear that the gay marriage issue will not just die in New Hampshire. Left-wing politicians who voted for gay marriage were radically out of touch with the people of New Hampshire. Rep. David Bates predicts that bills to either repeal same-sex marriage or enact a constitutional amendment defining marriage will be introduced this fall.

Let me make a prediction of my own: Gov. Lynch and other pro-gay-marriage pols in New Hampshire will pay a price this November if they continue to impose their own personal values on the people of New Hampshire when it comes to marriage.

Congratulations to Rep. Bates, and to Kevin Smith from Cornerstone Policy Research for fighting this good fight.

This Tuesday was the first Tuesday the people of New Hampshire had a chance to make their views, voices, and values heard. But let me promise you something: It won't be the last Tuesday! The people's voices will not be silenced.

This week also marks, sadly, the beginning of gay marriage in Washington, D.C. The media is treating this like a done deal, but do not believe it. Here's the main thing you need to know: It's not over in D.C. Our case is still pending in the lower courts, still waiting to get to the Supreme Court, where we believe we will win because the facts are so clear. The people of D.C. have a right, granted by Congress in their charter, to vote to overturn legislation passed by elected officials, just as people in many states (like Maine) have that right. Meanwhile here's another truth: It's not over, because Congress always has the final say over D.C., which is federally-controlled territory. We will fight in the courts and in Congress to give back to the people D.C. their core civil right, guaranteed in their charter, to vote for marriage.

If you want some more good news check out the doings over at the Ruth Institute, a NOM project which does outreach to college students on behalf of lifelong and life-giving marriage. Several students from Brigham Young University had attended the Ruth Institute's conference last summer in San Diego, and so they decided to put together their own conference at BYU. Ruth Institute President Dr Jennifer Roback Morse and Executive Director Jamie Gruber helped. The results were astounding! The student-led Stand for the Family Symposium had over 700 people registered. The Ruth Institute sponsored a student essay contest, arranged for the judging of the papers, and awarded cash prizes. We had over 150 students submit papers and projects on protecting marriage and family life! The winning essays are already posted on the Ruth Institute's Marriage Library website.

At the National Organization for Marriage we understand the power of many: Amazing things can happen when ordinary Americans come together to make sure our voices and values are heard. And we also understand something else: That the power of many begins with the power of one. Just one person, refusing to be afraid, unwilling to buy in to the lies and the hatred, standing up in love for what's right. Standing up for the truth about marriage.

One person, then another, and the chorus of truth and love swells. Each of us has a widow's mite to join to this great battle. Thank you for all you do, for all you've made possible, whether it's your prayers, your time in picking up the phone and calling your legislator, passing this email on to just one friend today and inviting them to join our growing Nation for Marriage, or sacrificing your treasure to get this precious message out. I pledge to you we will steward each mighty mite carefully because we know it is God's money, not ours, to be used for His great purposes.

Thank you for speaking up kindly when someone implies that advocates for marriage are haters, bigots or discriminators. Thank you for saying, "I believe that marriage is the union of a husband with a wife, and no power on Earth has the right to redefine that. Not you, not me, not anyone."

The power of many begins with the power of one. One person standing up, finding another person. And another. And then truly amazing things happen.

God bless you and keep you and protect you always,

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
[email protected]

PS: Help us amplify your voice, and stand up for marriage! Consider what you can give today--whether you can give $10, $50, or $150, or even a monthly donation of just $5, NOM will make every dollar work to defend your beliefs.

NOM Featured Article
"NH Voters Speak on Gay Marriage"
Union-Leader
March 11, 2010
Granite State voters on Tuesday signaled a desire to vote on same-sex marriage, according to results of town meetings from across the state.

NOM in the News
"As Gay Marriage Begins in Washington, Opponents Vow to Fight"
Christian Science Monitor
March 9, 2010
"It's not over in D.C. by any means," wrote Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, on the group's blog. "The people of D.C. have a right, granted by Congress in their charter, to vote to overturn legislation passed by elected officials, just as people in many states (like Maine) have that right."

"Same-Sex Couples Begin Saying 'I Do' in Washington"
FOXNews.com
Brian Brown, executive director for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), is pushing for a vote on same-sex marriage.

"New Hampshire Votes Against Gay Marriage"
Maggie Gallagher
National Review Online--The Corner
March 10, 2010
New Hampshire town meetings yesterday gave voters the chance to vote for a nonbinding resolution favoring putting a marriage amendment on the ballot. Bishop John McCormack of the Diocese of Manchester encouraged a yes vote in an op-ed that ran in the Union-Leader Tuesday.

"For Better and for Worse: Good Families Deserve the Support of Good Laws"
Sally Kalson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 7, 2010
One example: The fourth annual Southern Evangelical Seminary Veritas Lecture on April 1 will feature a presentation on "Marriage: Why It Can and Must Be Saved -- The Case Against Same-Sex Marriage," with speakers Maggie Gallagher and Robert George. Seminary students can look forward to hearing that the marriage tent will collapse if just anybody is allowed inside. If memory serves, restricted clubs used to have the same philosophy -- until their membership declined. Suddenly, all those "undesirables" started looking pretty good, as long as they could pay the freight.

"Symposium Battles Trends that Damage Traditional Family"
Deseret News
March 6, 2010

After attending a several-day seminar in Southern California last summer at an interfaith organization, the Ruth Institute, BYU law student Alisa Rogers rallied support for a conference on strengthening the family.

"IOWA: Clergy Let Lawmakers Know Their Support of Same-Gender Marriage"
Episcopal Life Online
March 4, 2010
Last August, the National Organization for Marriage, a faith-based association working to ban same-gender marriage nationwide, launched a campaign to "Reclaim Iowa" aiming to pass a state constitutional amendment reversing the unanimous court ruling and to work to elect legislators sympathetic to their cause.

"Pride Network in Full Force"
Hofstra Chronicle
March 11, 2010
"The Pride Network is not a GLBT organization; it is an organization that works to educate people on GLBT issues, so part of our mission is to educate people who don't identify as GLBT." The marriage debate, which took place last year, was a large part of the education effort put forward by the Pride Network. "We had a speaker from the National Organization for Marriage, which is anti-same sex marriage, and the President of Marriage Equality of New York, which is pro same-sex marriage."

"Bachmann Contributes Chapter to New Conservative Book"
Minnesota Independent
March 9, 2010
Rep. Michele Bachmann is a contributing author to a new book being published by the Heritage Foundation. "Indivisible: Social and Economic Foundations of American Liberty" also contains chapters by religious right leaders Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage's Jennifer Roback Morse and Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., as well as politicians such as Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Ohio's former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.