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Monthly Archives: September 2011

URGENT ACTION NEEDED -- Senate Vote on NC Marriage Amendment Today!

September 13, 2011 – 11:48 am

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Many, many thanks to each of you who have sent messages, made phone calls, and even joined me in Raleigh yesterday at the State Capitol. With your help, the marriage amendment passed the House on a 75-42 vote yesterday, satisfying the 3/5 majority required for passage.

But the battle isn't over yet. We urgently need your help today as the Senate takes up the amendment.

Groups like FRC Action, the North Carolina Family Policy Council, and the North Carolina Values Coalition have played critical roles in getting the amendment to this point. NOM is using automated phone calls to reach out to marriage supporters in targeted districts across the state today to help push across the finish line. But ultimately, it comes down to you, and what your senator is hearing from his constituents.

Please take a moment right now to call or email your state senator, urging him or her to vote YES on the marriage amendment.

With the Senate vote pending later today, there isn't much time. Please send your emails and make your phone calls right now!

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

VOTE TODAY! Support Bob Turner in NY-9 Election to Replace Anthony Weiner

September 13, 2011 – 11:20 am

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Bob Turner Photo

If you live in New York's 9th Congressional District, please be sure to vote today for Republican Bob Turner in the special election to replace Rep. Anthony Weiner. And if you know anyone who lives in Brooklyn or Queens, please call them to make sure they get out and vote!

This race, in a normally safe Democratic district, has broken wide open, with the latest polls showing Democrat David Weprin trailing Republican Bob Turner. The unspoken elephant in the room is Weprin's vote for same-sex marriage in the New York Assembly earlier this year, which deeply offended many of his Orthodox Jewish and Hispanic constituents. NOM was in this race early with the largest independent expenditures in the race, including mailings and over 100,000 phone calls voiced by Rabbi Wallerstein and State Senator Ruben Diaz. (Follow all the latest campaign news at NOMblog.com.)

A victory by Turner would send a huge message not just in the 9th Congressional District, but across the nation. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is reported to be in "panic mode," spending half a million dollars on TV ads over the weekend.

Send a message for marriage by voting for Bob Turner today! Then call anyone you know who lives in Brooklyn or Queens and make sure they vote, too!

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

By Brian Brown | Posted in Election Watch 2012, New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Local Press Covers NOM and SSM in NY-9

September 13, 2011 – 11:00 am

Here's some coverage we missed:

"A powerful group of social conservatives has raised David Weprin's vote to legalize gay marriage in New York State as an issue in the struggling Democrat's bid to succeed former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)." -- The Washington Current

"The race in NY-9, which Nate Silver predicted last week could conceivably go Republican, began as a referendum on President Obama when Weiner resigned. Despite the economy, it has somewhat surprisingly shaped up instead as a referendum on same-sex marriage..." -- The Village Voice

"Contrary to what the pundits would have you believe, social issues are not only playing a role in this election--they may be deciding it! Without Weprin's support for same-sex "marriage," this race--even in the "bluest of blue districts"--wouldn't even be close. Although Democrats outnumber conservatives 3-to-1, the majority of 9th District is still socially conservative." -- Opposing Views

"The National Organization for Marriage paid for 30,000 robocalls to Jewish homes supporting his opponent, Republican Bob Turner. And online, Weprin’s vote for same-sex marriage has been portrayed as a vote against God – even though Weprin is himself an Orthodox Jew." -- City Hall News

By NOM Staff | Posted in Media, New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

NC Legislators Flooded with Requests to Support Marriage Amendment

September 13, 2011 – 10:45 am

In the Blue Ridge Times-News:

"[State Rep. Chuck McGrady] has had plenty of input on the issue [of the marriage amendment]. Nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of phone calls he received late last week about the amendment - at one point, the calls were coming in at a rate of one every 10 seconds, McGrady said Sunday, and all were generated by the hot-button issue.

... [State Sen. Tom Apodaca] said about 70 percent of the people his office has heard from support the amendment, with particularly strong backing in Henderson County.

McGrady, who said he is unsure who is backing the ads and robo calls, added that one of his colleagues, state Rep. Glen Bradley (R, Youngsville), has been so overwhelmed by robo calls he’s had to turn off his cell phone and unplug his land line.

... But while almost all the calls McGrady has received come from those who support the amendment, a slight majority of emails he gets are from those who oppose it.

On Monday, several hundred amendment supporters held a rally behind the Legislative Building in Raleigh, saying it’s time for lawmakers to let the people vote on the same-sex marriage question.

Thank you to everyone who has joined us in taking action and helping the people's voice be heard!

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, North Carolina | Comments (2)

NY Daily News on NOM's Two Robo-Calls for Bob Turner in NY-9

September 13, 2011 – 10:30 am

In their Daily Politics blog:

Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, founder of the Ohr Naava women's Torah center in Brooklyn, recorded an anti-Weprin robocall paid for by the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex nuptials. VIN reports that Wallerstein says he doesn't know anything about Turner, but agreed to do the call based on his belief that Weprin's past support of SSM makes him a unfit candidate for Orthodox Jews.

One of my readers reported getting a call recorded by state Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., another vocal opponent of New York SSM.

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Local Jewish News: "Prominent Rabbi Makes Robo Calls For Turner"

September 13, 2011 – 10:15 am

Via Vos Iz Neias (Yiddish for "What's News?"):

... “I have no political leanings whatsoever,” said Rabbi Wallerstein. “But I am very political when it comes to toeivas Hashem and His name. This was a vote against Hashem. This is my chance to stand up and vote for Hashem.

Rabbi Wallerstein said that he is further committed to making the same statement in future elections against any other Orthodox politician who supports gay rights.

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Brooklyn GOP District Leader - Another Weprin SSM Casualty?

September 13, 2011 – 10:00 am

The Brooklyn Politics reports:

"...former Assembly candidate Joseph Hayon is taking on incumbent District Leader Boris Pincus for the party leadership post.

... Hayon additionally cites Pincus’ contributions to Democrats — including David Weprin (not for Congress) and for Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasn— as symbolic of the work the incumbent is not doing on behalf of Republican interests.

All this contrasts, Hayon suggests, with the work that he’s been doing for Bob Turner’s campaign for Congress. He says he helped get the National Organization for Marriage involved in the race, which dovetails nicely with his own personal focus on the issue.

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

NC HOUSE PASSES MARRIAGE AMENDMENT 75-42! --Senate Vote Expected Soon

September 13, 2011 – 9:59 am

Good news! Please continue to contact your Senators in North Carolina so together we can ensure that the people have their chance to vote!

The N.C. House on Monday passed a bill to allow voters to decide in the May primary whether to ban gay marriage in the state Constitution.

The Senate is expected to consider the constitutional amendment proposal as soon as Tuesday.

The 75-42 vote on final reading was enough to reach the required three-fifths majority of the 120-member House for constitutional amendments. The vote came after more than three hours of emotional debate on the House floor Monday afternoon and in the House Rules Committee, where the bill's newest language got its start earlier in the day.--StarNewsOnline

An exciting moment:

“You’re at a defining moment in this state where you’ve got to understand this is about you being a moral voice to this state House and a moral voice of conscience to this Legislature,” said Derek McCoy, who heads the Maryland Family Alliance...

He brought the crowd to his feet when he told them that the House standing behind them was not immovable.

“This House is your House,” McCoy said.

He led them in a chant, saying, “Let the people vote! Let the people vote!”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, North Carolina | Comments Off

You Don't Need to Redefine Marriage to Get Hospital Visitation

September 13, 2011 – 9:00 am

President Obama's ruling proves it:

The Department of Health & Human Services will enforce the policy granting hospital visitation rights to gay couples...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid sent a letter to state survey and certification agencies clarifying the mandate that President Barack Obama issued last year. All hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds must allow patients to designate their own visitors during a hospital stay, including a same-sex partner. --AP

By NOM Staff | Posted in Law, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (6)

Watch Out for Voter Fraud in NY-9

September 13, 2011 – 8:00 am

Hans A. von Spakovsky in The Corner:

The latest data from Public Policy Polling (a Democratic firm) shows Republican Bob Turner is “poised to pull a huge upset“ in the race to replace Anthony Weiner. Turner led Democrat David Weprin 47 to 41 in PPP’s poll, putting the Republican candidate an astonishing six points ahead in a district that President Obama won by 55 percent in 2008.

Will this tempt some locals to resort to the kind of voter fraud that Kings County andBrooklyn are infamous for?

A source within the Turner camp tells me the campaign sent a letter and campaign literature to all the voters on the permanent list maintained by the Board of Elections who are automatically mailed absentee ballots. They have received hundreds of pieces of returned mail marked “address unknown” or “return to sender” and at least five marked “deceased.” They were contacted by another voter who received an absentee ballot he had not even requested.

The polls open soon.

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

WaPo: Dems Blame SSM for Weprin's Potential Loss

September 12, 2011 – 4:05 pm

Aaron Blake in The Washington Post's elections blog:

"Democrats are already blaming New York Democratic nominee David Weprin’s vote for same-sex marriage from when he was in the state Assembly for alienating Jewish voters."

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (3)

Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein Sends Message To NY-9 Voters: Say No To David Weprin

September 12, 2011 – 3:25 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2011
Mary Beth Hutchins or Elizabeth Ray at 703-683-5004

National Organization for Marriage Partners With Rabbi for Robo-Call in NY-9

Washington – The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today announced that Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein has partnered with them to record a robo-call in New York’s 9th district, calling for voters to support Bob Turner in tomorrow’s congressional election.

Following robo-calls made in the district from New York State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Rabbi Wallerstein recorded a call in response to Democrat David Weprin, a self-proclaimed Orthodox Jew, voting for same-gender marriage in the New York legislature earlier this year. The call, which began on Monday and will reach 30,000 Jewish voters’ homes, is a plea to those of the Jewish faith to support Bob Turner.

“With the formation of the Let the People Vote coalition in the wake of passage of same-gender marriage, leaders from different faiths, backgrounds and political parties vowed to hold legislators accountable who betrayed them,” said Brian Brown, president of NOM. “David Weprin is learning the hard way that we are keeping our promise. The people of New York’s 9th district are sending a message loud and clear: Don’t Mess With Marriage.”

Audio of the call can be heard here:

Transcript of the call:

“Hello, I am Rabbi Wallerstein and I am calling to let you know that I am opposing David Weprin’s campaign for Congress in the 9th district. David Weprin defied Jewish law and betrayed our values by voting for same-gender marriage in New York. Now he wants to be our representative in Congress? I say No to David Weprin. David Weprin abandoned Jewish teaching in New York state; it’s time for us to abandon David Weprin. Please, join me in voting for Bob Turner for Congress on September 13th.”

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), [email protected], or Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by the National Organization for Marriage, www.nationformarriage.org. Not authorized by any candidate or any candidate’s committee.

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By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, NOM on Facebook, Press Releases, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (4)

SSM Advocates Complain Because NC Businessmen Decline to Enter Culture Wars

September 12, 2011 – 3:00 pm

The Editors of The Charlotte Observer:

"The gay marriage amendment, up for a legislative vote [this] week, is primarily a transparent attempt to rile up the state's most socially conservative voters for the 2012 election.

...The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce is ducking the issue. So is the Charlotte Chamber and the Raleigh Chamber. They're afraid, it seems, to alienate some of their more unenlightened members."