Two Kingsborough Community College students says the school has attacked their right to free speech by trying to sabotage their plans to hold a seminar on the “negative consequences” of gay marriage, and by forcing them to stop handing out anti-abortion leaflets on campus.
In court papers filed March 7, both Joseph Hayon — who is president of the Brooklyn Tea Party and the chairman of Kingsborough’s Republican Club — and Shmuel Mayteles, say school officials threatened to kick them off campus if they didn’t stop handing out anti-abortion pamphlets in 2009, and then rescheduled a forum on gay marriage, moving it to a smaller location.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Suit: College muzzled us on abortion, gay marriage
Are Christians Obsessed With Gays and Abortion?
David French, writing at Patheos, provides some perspective. After running through the numbers - which show Christians give far less money to "pure culture war organizations" (and not as much as the Left) than they do to leading Christian anti-poverty charities, he concludes:
So given these realities, what is our real "obsession"? Historically, monetarily, and with our time and lives today, it is serving our fellow man. We fight the culture war, but largely as a defensive struggle—fighting against changes instigated by the Left, like legalized abortion, the redefinition of marriage, and attacks on the basic free speech rights of Christian parents and students. Do critics expect no opposition to such cultural change? Do they believe any such opposition is inherently illegitimate?
Imagine a world in which mainstream coverage of Christian America reflected our actual expenditures and actual efforts. You'd barely hear from people like me, and perhaps you wouldn't even have to. We'd have the entirely justified reputation as America's most generous community. Yet instead we're labeled as "homophobic" or "anti-choice," and that label dogs us in all aspects of our public life.
But that's because of other people's obsessions. Not ours.
Bishop Jackson: The Black Church Helped Stop SSM In Maryland (Video)
Liberal Maryland turned out to be socially conservative when it comes to recognizing what constitutes marriage in the eyes of the state.
Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalitition gave more insight to the outcome of the fight for gay marriage in Maryland:
Bishop Cordileone on DOMA: "Future prospects of marriage, democracy go hand-in-hand"
We missed Bishop Cordileone's take on efforts to undermine DOMA when it first came out. Here it is now:
It is a curious irony that in this moment of history, when people in a number of countries in the Middle East are agitating for change from dictatorship to democracy, here in our own country, the oldest democracy with a written constitution in the world, there is a movement of the ruling class toward taking more and more power into its own hands. The flashpoint for this movement? The hot-button issue of our day: marriage.
The comparison of the Middle East and the United States, though, is just irony No. 1 among many others in the ongoing saga of the inter-relation between the marriage issue and democracy. The examples are legion, and it would not be possible to list all of them here. I will, though, mention some of the more salient ones. [Continue reading]
The Risk of Eggsploitation
Recently, the Center for Bioethics and Culture stirred up public debate with its documentary “Eggsploitation: the infertility industry has a dirty little secret” released in 2010. The Alliance for Humane Biotechnology followed up with a call for more research on the dangers of egg donation. The question at hand: “What are the effects of ovarian hyper-stimulation?”
Immediate effects seem common enough: nausea, vomiting, bloating, shortness of breath, blood clots. Donors also record infertility and organ failure. However, it is the long-term effects that cause consternation. Over a dozen women have come forward to voice their concerns over a possible correlation between ovarian hyper-stimulation and life-threatening conditions – such as ovarian, colon and liver cancer; strokes and heart attacks.
Advocates for and against egg-donation agree that potential egg donors should be pro-active about gathering information. Amy Demma, founder of Prospective Families, a group that supports egg donation and IVF treatments, writes: “What can you do if you are considering egg donation (either as a recipient or a donor)? Ask questions.”
But it is the lack of answers that disturbs. The uncertainty of the risk leaves the field open to a war of persuasion. There are no ‘informed choices’ for women to make. On the one side, the egg-donor industry encourages women to take the risk through monetary rewards, and calls for altruism. As Ms. Demma urges: “please do not let this documentary [Eggsploitation] dissuade you from a process you otherwise thought might be right for you.” On the other, advocacy groups with concerns over contemporary bio-ethics urge women to reconsider the risk. The wild west of drugs and technology holds too many potential calamities for us to rush across the frontiers blindly.
And what is it that we are looking for in this wild west techno-world? Science holds out the promise of human bodies free from bodily failings. But every promise should come with a warning. How many more exotic diseases and complications do we create as we run away from the old ones? Potential egg donors should protect their bodies and just say no.
What Happened in Maryland? The Churches Spoke Up!
A few weeks ago, right after the SSM bill passed the Maryland Senate, the Baltimore Sun headlined: “Gay marriage opponents slow to fight in Annapolis.”
But last week just before Friday’s vote, the Sun reported that delegates “had never heard from so many people on a single issue.” The Washington Post reports that phone calls ran as high as 25 to 1 against the bill in some delegates offices.
So what changed?
Religious faithful in the state spoke up up. Clergy and lay people. Blacks, Hispanics and Whites. Catholics, Baptists, and Pentecostals. All came together in a big way over the past two weeks. Pastors meeting with delegates. Bishops rallying the faithful. Everyone coming together in Annapolis to stand for marriage. And it made the difference.
Just a few examples:
The Washington Post credited the “last-minute push” from black clergy in Prince George’s county, with personal lobbying visits to delegates’ offices and calls from the pulpit for parishioners to “Fight for the Family,” generating hundreds of visits and thousands of emails, phone calls and faxes.
The Baltimore Sun reported the “potentially potent lobby effort” from Hispanic churches, quoting Bishop Angel Nunez of the Bilingual Christian Church in Baltimore, and Senior Vice-President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a national coalition of more than 25,000 evangelical Hispanic congregations, rallied Hispanic leaders in the state, coordinating sermons on the marriage issue.
Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop O’Brien, and Bishop Malooly issued a joint statement, rallying the state’s 1.2 million Catholics, and bringing hundreds to the statehouse to speak to delegates.
Pastor John Smith, Head of the Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware, told the Sun that their 500 member churches in Maryland would be using “all avenues” to oppose the same-sex marriage bill.
Last week, legislators finally got the message. Congratulations once again to the people of Maryland!
Ron Paul defends DOMA, right of Iowans to oust Justices
Something interesting we didn't have time to mention last week:
Texas Congressman Ron Paul, speaking to a religious conservative group in Pella., Ia., today (March 7), cast the gay marriage issue as a states’ rights matter.
He said he supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which specifies that states do not have to accept out-of-state marriages that don’t conform with their laws. “I see that as an act that was prohibiting the move to nationalize it and force Iowa to accept the rules of Massachusetts or whatever,” he said.
He said he also strongly supported Iowa voters’ right to oust Supreme Court justices. (source: Des Moines Register)
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council also issued a statement supporting the announced DOMA intervention, "FRC Optimistic DOMA Will Now Receive Vigorous Legal Defense."
The Baltimore Sun on the defeat of SSM in Maryland and the "mass mobilization of black churches"
Over the weekend, Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz of the Baltimore Sun published a lengthy and detailed story about the defeat of same-sex marriage in Maryland, which surprised many who believed it to be a "done deal":
Failure of same-sex marriage casts doubt on measure's future
When the state Senate passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage last month, supporters and some opponents believed the controversial legislation had cleared its highest hurdle, and had the momentum to reach the governor's desk.
The failure of the measure to find the necessary support in the traditionally more liberal House of Delegates caught both sides by surprise — and sets up the lower chamber as the new battleground.
Opponents of same-sex marriage say the House's decision not to vote on the bill seals its fate through the rest of lawmakers' four-year terms. They predict that the move will have an impact on lawmakers in other states now considering whether to allow same-sex couples to marry.
"This was a big victory," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage. "We were told that this is a done deal, same-sex marriage will pass. If you look back a few months ago, I don't think anyone would have predicted this."
Advocates for gay marriage now say they underestimated the impact of the November election on the makeup of the House. Six Democrats —- including five who had supported same-sex marriage — lost or gave up their seats. And advocates didn't anticipate the mass mobilization of black churches, which began preaching against the legislation and urging parishioners to contact their lawmakers.
More on the outpouring of activity from the black churches:
African-American churches proved another forceful voice of opposition.
"Black churches have never asked us for anything," Del. Cheryl Glenn said during Friday's debate. "They are asking us now, 'Don't use the word marriage.'"
Del. Talmadge Branch said his pastor at Israel Baptist Church in Baltimore City lobbied him heavily. The Baltimore Democrat said leaders at other churches called him out from the pulpit during services.
The Rev. Franklin Lance, pastor at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in Baltimore, said members asked questions about gay marriage at Bible study.
"From my perspective just in talking to my congregants, we have simply been saying that we believe that marriage should be defined as man and woman," Lance said. "This is not to be negative toward or restricted toward or biased toward anyone else. We do believe that is sacred. We believe it's holy. We believe it's the first institution ordained by Christ."
McIntosh said supporters of gay marriage "have a lot of work to do in the African-American community." She said they erred in drawing parallels to the civil rights movement — a comparison that angered some black opponents.
"That is comparing apples to oranges," McIntosh said. (source)
Video: Orthodox Jew Dov Hikind Defending Marriage in NY Assembly
"God does not change his mind"
The video was taken in May 2009.
Bill Maloney for Gov. of West Virginia: "Protector of Traditional Marriage"
Republican gubernatorial candidate and Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney has released the first ad of the primary campaign season:
... It says Maloney will focus on job creation, but also emphasizes that he’s a conservative on social issues.
“As governor, Bill Maloney will work to defend life, protect traditional marriage, and make West Virginia the most family-friendly state in America,” the narrator says. (source)
Dr. E. Christian Brugger: "'Gay Rights?' In Defense of Rational Argument"
Dr. Brugger, who holds four graduate degrees in ethics and related fields, dismisses the Obama administration's claim that DOMA lacks a "rational basis":
Rhetoric about ‘gay rights’ being civil rights, about ‘overcoming discrimination’ and ‘progress in equality’ has been shaken about in the faces of defenders of marriage like a drunkard’s fist for two decades. Rhetoric without argument will not do. We can’t let it. We should hold the administration’s feet to the fire and make it set forth arguments for the rational plausibility of its decision. (source)
Gay Press Admits: Illinois Civil Unions Bill May Drive Christian Charities From Foster Care
Kendall Marlowe, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) admitted to the Windy City Times (Chicago's oldest gay newspaper) that, just as Cardinal George predicted, the new Illinois civil unions bill will probably help drive Christian adoption agencies out of the foster care business:
Marlowe [said] the passage of the state's civil-unions legislation—which officially becomes law on June 1—has further contributed to an already "very complex set of interrelated legal issues" concerning the faith-based agencies' denial of foster care licenses to same-sex couples. Private foster care agencies—many of whom are faith-based, the majority of whom do not bar same-sex couples—oversee some 80 percent of the state's foster children.
... The possible result of these conversations will likely come down to a choice for the agencies involved: Change their policy and allow for openly gay and lesbian people to be licensed as foster parents or lose state funding.
Equality Maryland Concedes Defeat on SSM
"Though we are disappointed that we must continue to fight for marriage equality, today's move was a strategic step that will allow us to fight and win in the future," said Morgan Meneses-Sheets and Charles Butler, the executive director and board president, respectively, of Equality Maryland, the statewide advocacy group, in a statement.
A coalition of groups including Equality Maryland, the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, and Gill Action echoed that sentiment in a subsequent statement. (source)
Del Jill Carter: Leadership Killed Bill By Killing Debate, Amendments in Committee
A unique perspective from a pro-gay marriage black Democrat, Jill Carter: by refusing to permit open and genuine debate, the leadership killed gay marriage in Maryland.
Bill sponsor Jill Carter, a Democratic delegate, blamed its demise on a failure by the Democratic leadership to properly manage the debate.
"The fact that leadership was unwilling to entertain any real debate or discussion within committee, I think that killed it," Carter said.
(Reuters)
Days Before MD Vote, Abp O'Brien Called for Prayer and Fasting in Support of Marriage
From the Catholic Review, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore:
During a March 9 Ash Wednesday liturgy at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien called on Catholics to affirm traditional marriage by participating in a special day of prayer and fasting March 18.
“The institution of marriage can only belong to the union of one man and one woman because nature – not social prejudice – has given this relationship the unique capacity to bring children into the world,” Archbishop O’Brien said in a written statement. “It is for this reason that religion and governments alike have bestowed special recognition upon this relationship for thousands of years.
Archbishop O’Brien said the value of marriage “must not be abandoned for the sake of partisan politics or political gain.”
“It is not too late for the members of the House of Delegates to hear from God’s people and to vote in accordance with their true conscience to uphold marriage,” Archbishop O’Brien said