Dear Friends of Marriage,

You may have heard: A gay marriage bill was introduced this week in the DC City Council.

Oh, and guess what? Robert Kabel, the chairman of the DC Republican Committee, immediately issued a statement endorsing gay marriage. Like I told the press, this is a PR fantasy, part of an ongoing attempt to conjure up a "bipartisan" consensus on gay marriage when frankly there isn't even a partisan consensus on gay marriage.

Our internal polling in DC found that even 43 percent of Democrats oppose gay marriage in the District of Columbia. And as for African-Americans? They are opposed, 56 percent to 36 percent.

The battle for marriage in DC is likely headed first into court, where we must first fight for our right to gather signatures, engaging in the ordinary processes of democracy, to put the marriage issue before the people. I promise you one thing: That's the one place the gay-marriage movement doesn't want the issue to be.

Take a good look at the new Washington Post story on Maine: "For Gay Marriage, the Maine Event Is Low-Key." (The link is at the end of this letter.)

It mentions in passing the hits being leveled against NOM for emerging as a major donor to the Maine effort (as we were in California, and expect to be in DC and elsewhere). But that's not what interests me.

First of all, according to the WaPo, national gay donors to California are feeling "burned" by the loss and not so interested in Maine. They are also worried, frankly, about the mid-term elections, another nod to the reality that the American people do not believe gay unions are marriages. "Since then, many dependable gay Democratic fundraisers have felt burned -- and decidedly less generous," the Post says. "Plus, progressive lawmakers, worried about the 2010 midterm elections, have shied from the issue."

Now don't be misled by this. In the first few weeks of the campaign, the gay-marriage forces have been outspending the Stand for Marriage Maine campaign by two to one at least. Marriage forces need resources to win this fight in Maine.

Secondly, WaPo notes that unlike in California, very few national organizations are playing large roles in the Maine fight on the pro-marriage side. Except NOM--thanks to your help over the years! I believe in my heart that God has called us all together for a great purpose: to stand against the powerful forces arrayed in favor of inverting God's truth and replacing it with a man-made substitute for marriage. It's a privilege to be your voice for our values across this country. Thank you. (To help in Maine, you need to give directly to Stand For Marriage Maine.com. Whether you can give $15, $150 or, if God has given you the means, even more, know that Stand for Marriage Maine can use all the help you can give them. This is a fight we can win!)

Thirdly, and this is most important: The reporter shrewdly notes a huge generational shift taking place right now within the gay-marriage community.

For example, you will be hearing a lot about a march on Washington by gay-rights activists, capped by a speech by Pres. Obama to the Human Rights Campaign. (Side note: WaPo also reports that Obama will reject increasing calls for him to weigh in the Maine battle or lay out a time table to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, in favor of stressing "incremental advancements as evidence of progress.")

The elders of the gay movement, like Barney Frank, are calling this weekend march a waste of money or worse; "useless" is the term Frank uses to describe it.

But a new generation of energetic younger gay-marriage leaders don't care. They are pushing lawsuits in Texas, Louisiana, California and elsewhere against the advice of their elders. They organized this March and are pushing Obama to make overturning DOMA huge priority. They have no clue what the rest of America thinks and frankly they do not really care.

"Some of the next generation of LGBT opinion leaders think more boldly than the preceding generation," freshman Congressional representative Jared Polis told the Post. "We grew up in a different environment than people who grew up in the 1960s or the 1970s."

Why am I telling you this? Because I want to point something out that is very important. The younger generation of leaders is just practicing what the older generation preaches: Equality demands gay marriage; opposition to gay marriage is bigotry. You don't compromise with bigots. These relentlessly principled young people are the people who are going to be in charge of what gay marriage will mean, too.

They literally believe they are fighting for the civil rights cause of the century. There is no spirit of compromise, no spirit of tolerance; this is now a movement that believes moral right is totally on their side. And they are determined to use the law to impose their morality on the bad people (that's you and me and the majority of Americans) who disagree, whether we like it or not.

A very American spirit, badly misdirected, if you ask me. But here's the main point: "Equality" arguments do not lead to "live and let live" tolerance. This is not a debate about expanding personal and private liberty. Look well on the face of this radical young generation of gay-marriage activists: They really mean it. Their "equality" not only redefines marriage as we have always known it; their "equality" takes away your liberty and my liberty to act according to our deepest moral and spiritual values.

That's why we at NOM, with your help and God's will, won't be deterred. We will not be intimidated. We will continue to stand tall, knowing that hundreds of thousands of generous, kind, decent, and freedom-loving  people like you are standing with us. I believe that in the end the Truth will not only endure, it will prevail.

Maine is crucial. Marc Mutty of Stand for Marriage Maine is one of many good people getting repeatedly slammed as a bigot just for standing up for marriage. National groups, he says, are on the sideline--but not us here at NOM!

This is our chance to fight back!

I ask you for many things: your prayers, first of all. Your emails, and phone calls, letters to the editor and water-cooler conversations, to let others know that we are here, we vote, and we believe in marriage. And I ask you for the sacrifice of your time and your treasure in this great cause--usually for NOM.

But not this week. No, as crucial as the fights are in DC, New York, New Jersey, and nationally, Maine is our number one priority. So we are asking: If you have $5 to spare this week for marriage, do not give it to us. Give it to StandforMarriageMaine.com right here.

A brief Iowa update we thought you would want to know: According to the gay press, an Iowa woman who once represented Marriage Equality USA was just arrested on fraud and money-laundering charges. According to 365gay.com, Phyllis Stevens was arrested in Las Vegas last week on federal money-laundering and wire-fraud charges. She allegedly used a large chunk of embezzled money to fund political candidates all over Iowa. (And we thought it was all Tim Gill's money!)

Finally, two pieces of good news.

You know that NOM works very hard in the political arena, to be your voice for God's truth about marriage--we push marriage amendments, fight back gay-marriage bills, and work to protect DOMA. We are founding PACs to fight for candidates who will stand up for marriage and religious liberty, too.

But you may know less about our other work in the cultural battle to transmit a marriage culture to the next generation. One of the things we are most proud of is the work that Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is doing with The Ruth Institute in San Diego. The Ruth Institute's motto is One Man, One Woman for Life, and Dr. Morse's primary mission is working with college students throughout the country to help them bring the message of lifelong married love to their campuses.

This is the next generation of moral, cultural and political leaders. The Ruth Institute is finding them, bringing them together, and training them in how to speak truth--in love--to power. As Dr Morse just wrote to me, "We are having a lot of fun working with college students across the country: Students want to hear the Ruth Institute's message. They are seeking us out!"

The Ruth Institute just held the first international student training conference at the beginning of August in San Diego. Ruth Institute staff and guest faculty prepared the students to confront the anti-marriage campus culture. Now, our 32 students from across the United States and Mexico need our help to promote marriage on their campuses. The Ruth Institute already is assisting students at Princeton, UCLA, Rice University and Pasadena City College.

If you'd like to hear more about this exciting new project, sign up for the Ruth Institute weekly e-newsletter. If you know a college student--or a future college student--please pass this letter on to them and ask them to join the Ruth Institute in order to stay up to date on all of their student activity. SIGN UP HERE!

Another last bit of good news: New Hampshire Rep. David Bates has taken the initiative to organize a movement to get a marriage amendment on the ballot in New Hampshire."Let's make New Hampshire #31," he says, meaning the 31^st state to pass a state marriage amendment:

"If you believe the true meaning of 'marriage' matters, and that the definition should be decided by the citizens of New Hampshire, please support this effort to amend the New Hampshire Constitution.

"The main objective at this time is to find people willing to help persuade legislators to put this question on the ballot for the voters to decide. If you are one of those people, please reply with: your name, address, phone number, and the name of your church and minister (if you regularly attend church)."

If you live in New Hampshire, or know someone who cares about marriage who does, please email this info to us at [email protected].

We will pass it on to Rep. Bates. This is how our movement grows, working together.

Until next week, Semper Fi!

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

PS: Remember, right now the most urgent need is in Maine. Stand for Marriage Maine needs your help now--please consider what you can give!

NOM Featured Interview
Brian Brown on DC's News Channel 8
October 7, 2009
Discussing the DC gay-marriage bill that was introduced on Tuesday.

"Maine Proves a Low-Key Battleground--and Bellwether?--for Gay Marriage"
Washington Post
October 9, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine -- Canvassers are knocking on the doors of saltbox houses and slogans are pinned to yellow slickers. But outside the Pine Tree State, next month's referendum on gay marriage is the vote that dare not speak its name.

NOM in the News
"The Five Leading Indicators of Marriage"
Maggie Gallagher
October 6, 2009
How do you measure a marriage culture?

The Institute for American Values, in conjunction with the new National Center for African-American Marriage and Parenting has just released a new "Marriage Index" that for the very first time in American history creates a tool to measure the health of marriage in America.

It's a brilliant conceptual idea, long overdue. This is a GDP for marriage, a way to statistically sum up complex trends in a way that allows us to capture a core truth: Is marriage getting weaker or stronger?

"Has the American Family Court System Become Totalitarian?"
Jennifer Roback Morse
The Family in America
Baldwin does not discuss the ease of divorce ushered by the no-fault divorce revolution. Like most Americans, Baldwin has probably made peace with no-fault divorce, believing easy divorce to be an enhancement of individual liberty. But Baldwin's story of his life after Basinger decided she had no use for him illustrates that the opposite is more true. Easy divorce opens the door for an unprecedented amount of government intrusion into ordinary people's lives. This unacknowledged reality is the subject of Taken Into Custody, by Stephen Baskerville. With penetrating insight, the political scientist exposes the truly breathtaking consequences of no-fault divorce for the expansion of state power and the decline of personal autonomy.

"Panel: Probe fundraising by 'Yes on 1'"
Portland Press-Herald
October 2, 2009
But the National Organization for Marriage, a major contributor to the PAC, said that the money came from the group's general fund and that it doesn't accept "designated contributions" from individuals.

"Maine voters face historic choice on gay marriage"
Newsday
October 9, 2009
No on One's supporters include the Human Rights Campaign and other national gay-rights groups. The other side, Stand For Marriage Maine, is getting major assistance from the National Organization for Marriage, which played a key role last year when Proposition 8 quashed a California Supreme Court ruling that briefly legalized same-sex marriage.

"Gay Marriage Bill Introduced in District"
Washington Post
October 8, 2009
Washington, D.C.: Now that the National Organization for Marriage has moved to D.C., have they organized a significant rebuttal towards opposing the Gay Marriage bill?

"Obama Will Address HRC Dinner on Eve of March"
EDGE Boston
October 6, 2009
And there will be pickets--only they won't be anti-gay groups. Instead of Fred Phelps or the National Organization for Marriage, Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network and Dallas-based Queer Liberation are organizing to protest the president's appearance.