Dear Friends of Marriage,

Let me start by saying, "Thank you."  I don't say this often enough--but from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

A great big thank-you especially to the thousands of you in New Jersey who have responded to NOM's Call to Marriage.  Gay-marriage advocates keep saying nobody really cares about this issue but them.  But in New Jersey, a blue state, we are generating a tidal wave of calls--more than 1000 per senate district, from people who, like you, are fed up with politicians who ignore our voices and our values!

Thank you!

NOM's hard-hitting radio ads, "Gay Marriage Has Consequences," are also having an effect  (You can help us sponsor an ad--listen to it here!--by donating to NOM.)  If these out-of-touch pols try to sneak gay marriage through a lame-duck legislature to avoid the people's wrath, they now know they have a fight on their hands!  Thanks again to you and all that you have made possible for us here at the National Organization for Marriage.

New York's unelected governor, David Paterson, may try to push a gay marriage bill through a special session--maybe as soon as next week, according to the Daily News:
"Paterson aides said he'll also ask lawmakers to act on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a special session next Wednesday.  ...A source said gay marriage will be on the agenda to force the Senate to deal with it one way or the other."  If you live in New York, now is the time to step up and make sure the politicians hear you loud and clear.  Go here to send your message--and find five friends to join you today!

Gay activists are clearly flexing their political muscles as donors and as activists and insisting they cannot wait a day longer for a vote on gay marriage.  The Daily News is also reporting about this week's Empire State Pride Agenda Fall Dinner:

Van Capelle also issued a warning to the elected officials in the room, particularly those who "make a statement and then fail to fight in the trenches where it counts." (Invoking Dante, he suggested the hottest circle of hell might be reserved for those who "take a stand, but do so tepidly").

"We have campaigned for you. We have raised money for you we have supported you in every way imaginable, and we should have no patience for these sorry summer soldiers," Van Capelle said.

"Now is not the time for half hearted you must risk yourselves as we risk ourselves every day. We must fight and work for equality as we fight and work for equality every day and if you do not, we can find other friends who will do that job for us and do it better than you."

"ESPA spent upwards of $1 million in 2008 to flip the Senate into Democratic hands (and that doesn't count the additional money poured into the Democrats' coffers by the Gill Action Fund and other pro-marriage interests," the Daily News reports.

I bet one of the reasons these gay-marriage advocates are demanding an immediate vote is that they do not want GOP state legislators to focus on the results from New York's 23rd Congressional district, where Dede Scozzafava's poll numbers are tanking as more New York voters discover just how pro-gay-marriage she is.  Not only is Dede theoretically in favor of gay marriage, she's one of the few GOP politicians ever to vote for it!  Up in Oneida and surrounding areas, Dede's position on gay marriage is not playing very well.

NOM has committed $150,000 (at least!) to helping make sure voters in New York 23 know just how pro-gay-marriage Dede is. Can you help us keep up the pressure by donating to NOM today?

And of course it didn't help that Dede's campaign recently responded to tough questioning by the Weekly Standard's political reporter--by calling the cops!  Can you imagine?

Dede, cops are busy people with a big job to do: fighting real crime.  Don't waste their time by forcing them to respond to calls about aggressive questioning from respectable news magazines.   And don't expect voters to believe you can stand up for their interests in Washington if you can't even stand up to a few tough questions.

The last published poll showed Dede in second place, with Doug Hoffman's numbers rising rapidly.  The Washington Post reported, "What all sides seem to agree on is that Scozzafava is fading -- whether slightly or badly depends on which candidate you support."

Stay tuned.  It has the smell of a great victory!

The hatred by pro-gay-marriage leaders against people who disagree with them is intensifying.  The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education' Network honored a man named David Bohnett, who took the opportunity to declare war on religious groups that oppose gay marriage.

"We must treat the causes of intolerance and bullying as well as the symptoms of them," he remarked. "And as we see most often, it is the evangelical and fundamentalist groups that teach homosexuality is a sin, who stand in the way of fairness and equality.

"It's time to combat head-on the religious organizations that are funding the opposition to marriage equality and safe school legislation.

"Let us make it known, however, that we will challenge those religious leaders and institutions that shamefully and cowardly use the imprimatur of their church and the name of god [sic] and Jesus to promote hatred and bigotry toward lesbians and gay men," Bohnett declared.

Now you know where the hatred and intolerance displayed against good people who spoke, donated, and voted to protect marriage came from. With leaders like this who openly and proudly declare open war on whole faith communities for their disagreement on marriage, is it any wonder so many followers have reacted with threats, intimidation, and harassment--petty and otherwise?

But more good news this week:  Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy just stepped in to block the release of petition-signers' names in Washington state.

The Wall Street Journal just published a story by John Fund showing why protecting petition-signers is necessary.  It's called "Come Let us Harass Them: Gay Marriage Proponents Want to Intimidate their Critics":

The prospect of harassment is real. Last year, activists hounded those who had financially supported California's Proposition 8. Scott Eckern, artistic director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento, the state's largest nonprofit performing arts company, was forced to resign over his $1,000 donation to the "Yes on 8" campaign. Los Angeles Film Festival Director Richard Raddon was similarly forced to step down. Marjorie Christoffersen, manager of the famous Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote, resigned after her restaurant was subjected to a month of boycotts and demonstrations because she had contributed a mere $100 to the campaign against gay marriage.

It's not hard to see the hand of God at work in this case.  Justice Kennedy is the "swing vote" on the Court on the gay-marriage issue.  His willingness to step in will make sure he is aware of and understands the increasing hatred and intolerance directed towards Americans who disagree with gay marriage.  And that cannot but be good news for the ultimate triumph of Prop 8 in the federal courts.

And you can be sure we will fight to protect not only marriage but all your rights! The National Organization for Marriage is involved in two lawsuits, one out of California and one in Maine, which will help us protect the exercise of core civil rights to speak, to donate, and to vote on behalf of marriage. (See the story in the Bangor Daily News, below, for the lawsuit we just filed.)  We will not be intimidated out of standing up for the truth about marriage.  With God's help we will vindicate your rights and the rights of millions of other Americans who care about protecting marriage.

God bless you for all you do not only for marriage, but for the cause of truth, for decency and for democracy itself.

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

NOM Featured Article
"Gay Marriage 101"
Seyward Darby
The New Republic
October 21, 2009

"It's simple: Any area that the state defines as a civil right, if it's brought up in schools, why would you not talk about it?" Brown asked. But isn't there a difference between teaching students what state laws say are legal and presenting those legal activities as things students should or shouldn't pursue in life? (After all, vegetarianism is legal, so teachers might accurately say, "Vegetarianism means not eating meat, and there are vegetarians in Maine"--but that doesn't mean they'll necessarily tell students they should be vegetarians or agree with their views on beef.) "I don't think that parents want their kids as young as kindergarten being taught about same-sex marriage, period, whether the teacher thinks it's appropriate or not," Brown said.

NOM in the News
"One Question for Ted Olson"
Maggie Gallagher
October 18, 2009
The Corner--National Review Online
I have only one question for Ted: How exactly did you come to believe you have the right to use the Constitution (i.e. the power of government) to impose your values? I have seen the arguments he and David Boies are using in the case to strike down Prop 8 and impose gay marriage on all 50 states. They are standard liberal fare - speaking constitutionally, not politically.

"Tokenism Is Back in Style at the National GOP"
Marilyn Musgrave
Washington Examiner
October 22, 2009
A battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party is underway in upstate New York. At stake is whether a candidate's gender and vote for House Speaker ultimately hold more sway than the values reflected in her record.

"RI Governor to Meet with Activists After Anti-Gay Marriage Speech"
On Top Magazine
October 18, 2009
Carcieri, who will be term-limited out of office next year, remains a major obstacle to passing a gay marriage bill in Rhode Island, which lawmakers have considered for the last 12 years. The governor also backs an effort to place a gay marriage ban in the Rhode Island Constitution. And in the spring, he and his wife, Sue, joined the state's newly minted chapter of the National Organization for Marriage, the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage.

"Coalition Calls for NJ State Commission of Ethics to Investigate Abuse of Power, Funding and Conflicts of Interest by the NJ Civil Union Review Board"
New Jersey Family Council
October 19, 2009
What: A coalition of organizations are calling for the NJ State Commission of Ethics to investigate and review the principles, practices and performance of the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission (CURC). Questions remain open about abuses of power, how the committee secured funding, obvious conflicts of interest by the leadership and potential subterfuge in the reporting of the CURC in its operation and report generation. These issues will be discussed at the press conference.

"Anti-Gay Marriage Group Sues State"
Bangor Daily News
October 23, 2009
A Washington, D.C.-based organization under investigation for its financial role in the campaign to repeal Maine's gay marriage law has fired back with a lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of a state election law.