A Sangamon County judge has ruled the Illinois Department of Children and Family Service can begin canceling its adoption and foster care contracts with Catholic Charities.
Judge John Schmidt on Monday denied Catholic Charities' request to stay his earlier ruling that the group has no right to state contracts to provide adoption and foster care services.
... Attorneys for Catholic Charities say they will ask the 4th District Appellate Court to stay Schmidt's ruling.
Monthly Archives: September 2011
Breaking News: Illinois Judge Rejects Catholic Charities Appeal
September 28, 2011 – 5:35 pm
WaPo: Values Voters Still Motivated by Gay Marriage, Abortion
September 28, 2011 – 2:10 pm
Amid a political climate dominated by economic concerns, social conservatives are as concerned as ever about issues like abortion and gay marriage, a leading conservative activist said Tuesday (Sept. 27).
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), spoke about what “values voters” and evangelicals want in a presidential candidate as Republicans court a key constituency in the GOP.
The media have given the impression that the economy will far outweigh social issues in the 2012 elections, Perkins said, but “that’s not the case with evangelical voters.”
In fact, he said, social conservatives don’t see a dichotomy between social and economic issues, listing health care, tax policy, and jobs as “not just fiscal issues.”
For example, values voters see big government and deficit spending as the result of policies that arise “when the natural family is looked down upon” and thereby foster dependency.
Perkins spoke less than two weeks before the FRC’s political arm, FRC Action, hosts the annual Values Voter Summit, which will feature most major Republican candidates.
Debra Saunders: Prop. 8 Tapes Show Judicial Hubris
September 28, 2011 – 12:30 pm
Syndicated columnist Debra Saunders in the Orange County Register:
At first blush, Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware's decision to unseal videos of the federal trial challenging Proposition 8 would seem to be a victory for truth, justice and open government. But you can't always tell a video by its jacket.
... Let's say you believe in broadcasting trials purely on principle. In that case, Prop. 8 would be the last case you would propose for the debut of witness testimony.
Opponents argue that recording trials could lead to retaliation against witnesses – which most judges don't want to happen. That already has occurred with Prop. 8. After their names were made public, a small number of donors were forced to resign from their jobs. Clearly, would-be Yes on 8 witnesses had reason to fear that they would be harassed.
On the close coordination between Judges Walker and Ware:
... After Walker ruled against Prop. 8, he sealed the videos pending appeal. Later, however, Walker broadcast part of the recordings at a speech that was aired on C-SPAN – which led to the controversy that led to Ware's ruling.
And how did Walker get the sealed evidence? As the San Jose Mercury News reported, Ware admitted that he himself gave Walker the recordings. It shows the arrogance of this district that its present and former chief judge treated sealed evidence like a trophy.
... Ware treated the recordings as spoils that rightfully belong to the victor. Then he issued a ruling that found he was right to do so. In the cause of transparency. Otherwise known as hubris.
Prop 8 Tapes to Stay Sealed While 9th Circuit, SCOTUS Review
September 28, 2011 – 12:11 pm
The videos of last year's same-sex marriage trial in San Francisco will remain sealed, at least for now, while a federal appeals court considers arguments by sponsors of Proposition 8 that making the recordings public would endanger witnesses and damage the "credibility and integrity of the federal judiciary."
Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled Sept. 19 that the videos would be released this Friday unless a higher court intervened. On Monday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a temporary stay, which is likely to be renewed while the appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court review the dispute.
Study of Religiously-Mediated Sexual Orientation Change Published in Respected Scientific Journal
September 28, 2011 – 11:30 am
Many professional voices proclaim that it is impossible to change homosexual orientation, and that the attempt to change is commonly and inherently harmful. Psychologists Stanton L. Jones (Wheaton College, IL) and Mark A. Yarhouse (Regent University) have just published in the respected, peer-reviewed Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy the final results of their longitudinal study of individuals seeking sexual orientation change through involvement in a variety of Christian ministries affiliated with Exodus International.
The results show change to be possible for some, and the attempt not harmful on average. These results stand in tension with the supposed professional consensus; more information is available at www.exgaystudy.org.
Prof. Robert George: SSM a "Train Wreck" for Religious Liberty
September 28, 2011 – 10:30 am
Kevin Jones at CNA reports:
Legalizing “gay marriage” is having major repercussions for religious freedom, according to observers of the latest developments.
Princeton law professor Robert P. George cited the words of American Jewish Committee lawyer Marc Stern, who in 2006 said the conflict between religious liberty and same-sex marriage would be “a train wreck.”
“That train wreck has now arrived in states that have redefined marriage or have created schemes of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships as the equivalent of marriage,” George told CNA.
He cited incidents of religious adoption and foster care agencies being pushed out of work, and small business owners being fined or sued for not accommodating same-sex couples. Education is another “critical area.”
“Once a state recognizes same-sex partnerships as marriages or the equivalent, then naturally the argument is made that in family life classes in schools this has to be taught to be a valid partnership.”
Religious parents who do not want their children to be “indoctrinated in beliefs contrary to their own” are “out of luck,” said George, who founded the Manhattan Declaration project to defend religious liberty.
Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Paul, Santorum Confirmed for NOM Co-Sponsored Iowa Family Forum
September 28, 2011 – 10:00 am
From the press release:
Five Republican presidential candidates have so far confirmed their attendance at The Family Leader's "Thanksgiving Family Forum," but the two front-runners are not among them.
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum have confirmed their attendance.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have been invited but have not yet confirmed that they will attend.
The event is sponsored by The Family Leader, an Iowa nonprofit advocating for traditional marriage and against abortion. It is co-sponsored by CitizenLink, a Focus on the Family affiliate, as well as the National Organization for Marriage.
Maryland Del. Burns: "We Have More People [for Protecting Marriage] Than Last Year"
September 28, 2011 – 9:30 am
The movement to protect marriage in Maryland has only grown stronger since their victory earlier this year:
Delegate Emmett C. Burns, Jr., D-Baltimore County, said opponents [of same-sex marriage] have increased in numbers.
"Last time we had a loose confederation of opponents. Now we have a tightly-knit organization with strategies, with plans, and with money to fight same sex marriage," Burns said. "We have more people ... who are against it than last year."
Burns, who is a reverend at Rising Sun First Baptist Church, held a press conference in early September with several Baltimore area church leaders to announce the creation of a Political Action Committee (PAC) that will fight same-sex marriage legislation during the 2012 session. Burns has a meeting planned with potential PAC members for early October, and hopes to have the PAC officially up and running soon thereafter. The chuch is in Woodlawn, a community west of Baltimore. -- Capital News Service
Southern Baptist Leader Says Gay Marriage Not "Live and Let Live"
September 28, 2011 – 9:00 am
A Southern Baptist leader warned Sept. 24 that gay marriage is not a matter of “live and let live” but rather part of a “radical homosexual agenda” aimed at destroying the institution of marriage.
“The big problem is that most people think this is a live-and-let-live situation,” Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said on his weekly radio program. “It’s not. They want to normalize themselves and they want to abnormalize us -- those who believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is only between a man and a woman -- and reduce us to the level of the Ku Klux Klan.”
“We will be ostracized in society, and we will not be able to be licensed,” Land warned. “We will not have tax exemptions. All the ways a society can ostracize a detested group is the way they want to ostracize us."
Will Pro-Gay Marriage Millionaires Divide and Conquer the GOP
September 27, 2011 – 6:55 pm
Dear Marriage Supporter,
The Human Rights Campaign and its pro-gay marriage allies are desperate to divide the Republican Party.
They spent more than $3 million to split off four Republican senators in New York. Led by wealthy GOP liberal Charles Munger, Jr. (the son of Warren Buffet's business partner), they very nearly succeeded in a stealthy takeover of the California GOP platform, using money and influence to gut the platform of its traditional support for life and marriage.
And now they've gotten their first Republican defector on DOMA.
Last Friday, Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced that she would co-sponsor the bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act – becoming the first Republican to sign on to Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-NY) legislation.
It's critical that Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen hear from you (and your friends!) today.
We have many, many wonderful friends and marriage supporters in Congress. GOP frontrunner presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, together with Senator Rick Santorum and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, have publicly pledged concrete action to protect marriage. And that's no surprise. Polls show that upwards of 80% of Republicans support marriage, and Republican defectors do so at their own peril.
But groups like the Log Cabin Republicans and Freedom to Marry have been quietly courting Ros-Lehtinen for months, and this isn't the first time Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has abandoned the Republican party on important issues. She has repeatedly voted against a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, and earlier this year, she was the only Republican co-sponsor of a bill to shut down Catholic Charities and other religious adoption agencies across the nation, forcing them to violate religious convictions or go out of business.
Gay marriage activists know they don't need to persuade the Republican grassroots to support same-sex marriage – they just need to split off enough GOP elite opinion to provide cover as they force SSM on the entire nation. Several prominent GOP elites have already signed on, and gay marriage activists are spending millions of dollars to pressure and persuade more Republican lawmakers that they can support same-sex marriage without consequence.
I need you to send an email to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen today. Let her know that you are outraged that she would abandon marriage and the millions of voters who have adopted state amendments to protect marriage.
And maybe it's time Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen started looking for a new job.
In California, an outpouring of courageous grassroots opposition at the last minute – with behind the scenes support from NOM – was able to successfully derail Charlie Munger's attempted takeover of the Republican platform. In New York, an unexpected wall of Orthodox Jewish and Hispanic voters, offended by Assemblyman David Weprin's support for same-sex marriage, rose up to block Weprin in New York's 9th Congressional District, electing a (pro-marriage!) Republican to the reliably Democratic seat for the first time in nearly a century.
And that's just the start! We have committed to spending at least $2 million to defeat the turncoat senators who voted in the new same-sex marriage regime. We're holding the Republican presidential candidates accountable on marriage. And together we will work to hold every official in Washington, Democrats and Republicans alike, to account for their position on marriage and the rights of American voters.
Please, take a moment to send a message to Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen today. Tell your friends. And if you are able, please make a donation of $25, $50, or even $100 or more to help hold Washington accountable.
Faithfully,
Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage
Video: Google/FoxNews Skip Marriage Question, Despite Evidence Americans Want to Hear it Debated
September 27, 2011 – 11:00 am
While TV viewers of last week's Google/FoxNews GOP presidential debate watched commercials, online viewers at YouTube.com were treated to short segments designed to reflect and explain how viewers were reacting to what was being said by the candidates. This segment shows that on social issues, online spectators were intensely interested in the marriage question.
So why wasn't marriage discussed in the actual debate?
CNA: "New Alliance Supports Those Threatened for Defending Marriage"
September 27, 2011 – 10:30 am
Michelle Bauman at Catholic News Agency interviews Maggie about NOM's newest project:
The National Organization for Marriage announced Sept. 23 that it is launching the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, a new project to defend the freedom to express one’s belief that marriage should be the union of a man and woman without fear of harassment or punishment.
“My sense is that there are too many of us who believe that marriage is the union of husband and wife to stigmatize or marginalize if we come together,” said Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of National Organization for Marriage.
Gallagher told CNA Sept. 26 that the alliance was created in response to “increased reports, both public and private, of people whose livelihoods are being threatened because they disagree with gay marriage.”
“Gay marriage advocates are seeking to create an America in which decent, loving, law-abiding Americans are afraid to stand up for the idea that marriage is the union of husband and wife, for fear of reprisals ranging from insults and invectives like 'hater' and 'bigot,' to practical consequences like the loss of a job,” she said.
The alliance is not a legal project, Gallagher explained, but rather an attempt to increase awareness and support for those who have faced unjust harassment because of their views on marriage.
Gallagher said that the alliance aims “to get the word out about what is actually happening, because this is not being well-covered.”
The alliance is also designed “to create a community where other people to whom this is happening will feel safe in coming forward and will feel that somebody cares about what’s happening to them.”
Autonomy of Some Student Groups at Vanderbilt In Doubt After Gay Complaint
September 27, 2011 – 9:30 am
Five Christian student groups at Vanderbilt University are fighting to stay on campus and retain their religious freedom as administrators try to decide whether they are in violation of the school's nondiscrimination policy.
... Vanderbilt administrators began a review of all student organizations earlier this year after Christian fraternity Beta Upsilon Chi asked an openly gay member to resign. He subsequently filed a discrimination complaint.
... In a column published in The Tennessean on Sept. 14, law and political science professor Carol M. Swain accused the university of trying to destroy all religious organizations.
"If this policy is implemented, it will make it harder for the students to have on-campus fellowship with like-minded believers and it will make it more difficult for them to grow in or even maintain their faith while on campus," she wrote. "The policy sends a clear message to students: religious associations are not a valued or respected part of the university's ideological diversity."
NRO's Kathryn Lopez Interviews Maggie on NOM's New Anti-Defamation Alliance
September 27, 2011 – 9:00 am
Kathryn Lopez at National Review Online chats with Maggie Gallagher about NOM's new Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance and its role in defending the livelihood of those who exercise their core civil rights when protecting marriage:
LOPEZ: What exactly is the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance? And how much of a need is there for it anyway? How many Tureks could there be out there?
GALLAGHER: Marriage ADA’s goal is an America where people on all sides of the gay marriage debate feel free to participate peacefully in the democratic process without fear of threats, harassment, or retaliation. I know that Frank is not the only one, because I’m getting e-mails from others who’ve faced similar threats. The goal of too many gay marriage advocates is to isolate, intimidate, and silence Americans who believe that marriage is the union of husband and wife, because children need their mom and dad. Marriage ADA is a response to these tactics of branding civil, thoughtful participation in democracy as hatred and bigotry.
I hope, by creating community, to inspire more Americans to stand up for their rights to preach, teach, and live the idea that to make a marriage you need a husband and a wife. There are too many of us to stigmatize if we stand together.
Pope Promotes Catholic-Orthodox Defense of Marriage, Faith in Public Square
September 27, 2011 – 8:30 am
“The common engagement of Christians, including many Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians, makes a valuable contribution to building up a society equipped for the future, in which the human person is given the respect which is his due,” said the Pope at a meeting with Orthodox leaders in the German city of Freiburg Sept. 24.
At the Archdiocese of Freiburg’s seminary, the Pope highlighted areas where co-operation is particularly needed in order to reverse “the present climate, in which many would like, as it were, to ‘liberate’ public life from God.”
...They can also work together to promote “the value of marriage and the family,” particularly when defending “the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman.”
There are an estimated 1.6 million Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians in Germany today.
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