FoxNews quotes NOM's Chairman of the Board John Eastman:
"As the debate over gay marriage intensifies on the heels of President Obama's endorsement, an under-the-radar case pending before the Supreme Court has the potential, some say, to invalidate traditional marriage laws altogether.
The latest ruling comes from the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said that Arizona's recent attempt to strip health benefits for domestic partners of state workers is illegal.
... But one veteran 9th Circuit judge thinks his colleagues have declared a war on marriage.
Those judges "all but expressly held that opposite-sex-only marriage rules are unconstitutional -- indeed, that such rules are irrational per se because they can rest only on a 'bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group,'" Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in dissent of his court's decision not to grant the case further review. He said his colleagues were ignoring Supreme Court precedent and all but called upon the high court to take the case. Arizona's attorney general recently filed a brief with the justices asking them to accept O'Scannlain's invitation.
Lawyer John Eastman, with the National Organization for Marriage, called the 9th Circuit ruling "groundbreaking," and one that could render traditional marriage laws across the country "unconstitutional" if it takes hold."
Congressman Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, reaffirms his support for marriage in light of Obama's flip flop on the issue:
Congressman Ben Quayle, Republican candidate for Arizona's newly drawn 6th District, today re-stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. He also said that President Barack Obama's announcement this week that he now supports same-sex marriage was "one of the most cynical and manipulative political stunts ever pulled by an American president."
"The president is wrong about the issue; marriage should remain as it has always been - between one man and one woman," said Quayle. "But his conduct has been cynical and manipulative because of the obvious calculation and political maneuvering he has demonstrated on a matter of great importance in our nation. The president is a world-class propagandist, and in this case he propagandizes even his own supporters."
April 21, 2011 – 12:15 pm
The Arizona Republic reports:
Married couples will have preference when it comes to adopting children under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday.Senate Bill 1188, which was sponsored by Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, would require an adoption agency to give primary consideration to adoptive placement with a married man and woman, with all other criteria being equal.
The bill applies to both state and private adoption agencies. Previously, only Utah has a law requiring priority for married couples, though several other states have bans on adoptions by same-sex couples or by unmarried couples.
... Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, and a strong advocated of SB 1188 said Monday that the bill was among those that dealt with "critical issues of life, marriage and religious liberty," and said she was "grateful" for the governor's support.
The Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, which works to "strengthen marriage for a new generation" (and has our own Maggie Gallagher as its President) has similar model legislation available for other state legislatures interested in pursuing marital preference policy in adoption regs.
