NOM BLOG

Monthly Archives: October 2011

Committee Vote Tomorrow on Bill to Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

Committee Vote Tomorrow on Bill to Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

New Hampshire is poised to become the first state to legislatively repeal a same-sex marriage bill.

But it won't happen without your help!

Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee will be voting on a bill to repeal same-sex marriage. Please take a moment right now to send a message to the members of the committee, urging them to restore marriage as the union of one man and one woman in New Hampshire.

Two years ago, gay marriage advocates pushed a same-sex marriage bill through the legislature, despite strong opposition from New Hampshire voters. But last fall, voters sent a resounding message, not only giving Republicans control of both houses of the legislature, but doing so with potentially veto-proof majorities in both houses. Now is the time to hold your elected officials accountable.

If the repeal bill passes the committee tomorrow, it is expected to be voted on by the full legislature in January.

Please take a moment to send your message today, and then forward this email to three friends.

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

National Organization for Marriage Calls for Cost of DOMA Hearing to be Deducted From Justice Department Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2011
CONTACT: Mary Beth Hutchins or Elizabeth Ray at 703-683-5004


"John Boehner and the House are stepping in to do the job that President Obama refused to do." —Brian Brown, President of NOM

Washington, D.C. — In response to Democratic Rep. Mike Honda of California's calls for hearings on the cost of the House's defense of DOMA, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) released this statement:

"John Boehner and the House are stepping in to do the job that President Obama refused to do: defend a law passed by bipartisan majorities. The cost of hiring lawyers to defend DOMA should be deducted from the budget of the Justice Department," said Brian Brown, President of NOM. "The $1.5 million cost of defending DOMA represent less than one-one hundredth of one percent of the Justice Department's huge $28 billion budget. President Obama's defection of duty is responsible for incurring this cost; he should trim some fat and find the money to pay for it."

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

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New Hampshire Panel to Vote on Marriage Restoration Bill Tomorrow

Good news from the Granite State!

A [New Hampshire] House panel votes Tuesday whether to recommend repealing New Hampshire's gay marriage law and replacing it with civil unions for any unmarried adults including relatives.

The Judiciary Committee will consider a subcommittee recommendation that the House pass the bill repealing the law that took effect last year legalizing same-sex unions. It also would establish civil unions for any unmarried adults competent to enter into a contract. -- Associated Press

Readers Write in Support of NY Clerk Rose Marie Belforti

Two readers write to the Syracuse newspaper in support of NY Clerk Rosemarie Belforti after the paper's editors claim she was wrong to "defy" New York's SSM law:

A professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University Robert George recently stated: “There is no groundswell of public support for redefining marriage to include same-sex sexual partnerships.”

...Less than 5 percent of the population is now telling us that morality and history count for nothing in this debate.

The majority of Americans are being cowed into what German sociologist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann calls the “spiral of silence.”

Belforti, thank you for not being silent about an issue of conscience.

And another:

I recently read about town clerk Rose Marie Belforti in The New York Times and I am writing to you to show my support for her actions.

The United States is a great country because we are a melting pot of different religions, nationalities and traditions. Belforti did nothing wrong and should be commended for standing up for her beliefs. She is an inspiration and a role model that I have shared with my children, family and friends.

... This country needs more people like Rose Marie Belforti.

Herman Cain Promises to Support a Federal Marriage Amendment

An exclusive from the Brody File:

Herman Cain met with me one-on-one for a few minutes after the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event in Des Moines, Iowa.

David Brody: (In your Faith and Freedom speech) “You mentioned marriage as well so you’re also, just so I understand, you’re for a constitutional marriage amendment as well?”

Herman Cain: “I think marriage should be protected at the federal level also. I used to believe that it could be just handled by the states but there’s a movement going on to basically take the teeth out of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and that could cause an unraveling, so we do need some protection at the federal level because of that and so yes I would support legislation that would say that it’s between a man and a woman.”

Here is the video:

The "Birth Dearth": Over 60 Million Fewer Children in Developed World Than in 1965

Catholic Culture:

The National Marriage Project, joined by universities in five nations, has published The Sustainable Demographic Dividend--a report that links the strength of families and the economy.

“A turning point has occurred in the life of the human race,” the report found. “The sustainability of humankind’s oldest institution, the family—the fount of fertility, nurturance, and human capital—is now an open question. On current trends, we face a world of rapidly aging and declining populations, of few children—many of them without the benefit of siblings and a stable, two-parent home—of lonely seniors living on meager public support, of cultural and economic stagnation.”

... the number of children age 0–14 is 60.6 million less in the developed world today than it was in 1965.

Video: NY Clerk Belforti Answers Questions at Wells College

The Syracuse Post-Standard:

Ledyard Town Clerk Rose Marie Belforti, who gained national attention for refusing to issue a same-sex marriage license, told a crowded room of college students and community members Wednesday night that she was not going to back down from her beliefs.

“This is who I am and I can’t do it,” Belforti, a Republican, said during the question and answer presentation hosted by Wells College in Aurora.

... Ed Easter, a Republican from the village of Aurora, disagreed with Belforti’s refusal to sign same-sex marriage licenses. He said he believes Belforti should follow the law or leave her position. He is running a write-in campaign against Belforti, who is seeking her sixth term in November’s election.

... [Belforti] said she is not preventing any same-sex couple from receiving a marriage license in the town.

“I’ve been battered over this in the media, over my emails and I can’t answer my phone anymore and everyone thinks I’m a bigot,” she said.

Belforti said most of the negative attention has come from outside the town. Several community members came to the forum to support Belforti.

Here is a short video of the panel:

They sold you out and think they can get away with it!

They Sold You Out... And They Think They Can Get Away With It

Dear Marriage Supporter:

New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his Wall Street buddies just funneled more than a million dollars in a desperate attempt to save the jobs of the four turncoat Republican senators who brought same-sex marriage to New York this summer.

A small, but wealthy, elite think they can get away with simply buying the votes of Republican state senators. They think that people won't respond ... that voters won't care enough to take action, leaving them free to impose their radical social agenda without consequence.

We CANNOT let that happen! We CANNOT let them have the last laugh!

Contribute

When it comes to elections, money talks. We don't have to match the millions being funneled to same-sex marriage supporters, but we must be in a position to reach out to voters and respond to false attacks.

We must have the resources to hold these turncoat Republican senators accountable! We CANNOT let them get away with this!

I know that times are tough. And many elected officials like Mayor Bloomburg and Governor Cuomo think that their legislative priority is imposing same-sex marriage, not creating jobs and fixing the economy.

But I am asking you to please make a generous contribution of at least $99 (donations of $100 or more are publicly disclosed), or whatever you can afford, to help us reverse this unjust law and hold the legislators who imposed it accountable.

Like you and the voters throughout New York, I'm fed up with the corruption in state capitals like Albany. We don't want same-sex marriage, and are sick and tired of politicians who promise one thing and then do the exact opposite. Even voters who don't care about marriage have had enough.

As one fed-up constituent wrote about New York Senator Grisanti: "I could care less about gay marriage. But I can't stand two faced politicians no matter what party they are from!"

Help us stop Michael Bloomberg and his billionaire buddies from buying next year's elections.

By Tuesday night, we need to raise $100,000 – a down payment on the $2 million it's going to take to restore a pro-marriage majority in Albany next year. But we can't do it without your help.

Contribute

Please, whatever the amount, make your most generous contribution today. I promise you, we will not rest until we have repealed same-sex marriage in New York and stopped this wealthy minority from thwarting the will of the people!

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Help meet our goal and send a message to the multimillionaires who think they can force same-sex marriage on the nation. Please make your most generous gift of $1,000, $500, $100, or even $50 or $20 today.

Brian Brown

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown
Treasurer
NOM PAC New York

P.S. The special election in New York's 9th Congressional District shows that we CAN succeed. In an overwhelmingly Democratic district, we were able to elect a pro-marriage Republican over a Democratic candidate who voted earlier this year in favor of gay marriage. A Republican was elected to represent Brooklyn and Queens for the first time since 1923! So, please, make sure we have the means to continue both fighting and winning with your most generous contribution today.

Video: Couple Married 72 Years Dies One Hour Apart Holding Hands

Lifelong married love is possible:

An Iowa couple who was married for 72 years died one hour apart last week in the hospital as they held hands.

Family said the story of Gordon, 94, and Norma Yeager, 90, is a real-life love story.

After SSM, What Next? Redefining Fatherhood

The Calgary Sun:

In what’s being called a groundbreaking ruling, a gay Calgary man has been granted legal parent status in place of his ex-partner, the child’s biological father.

... The ruling granting parenthood to a gay male non-biological figure amid two separate guardians is unheard of in this country, said Edward McCann, lawyer for R. and D.

Together Until The End: Couple Married For 66 Years Die Within Hours of One Another

UK Daily Mail:

A devoted couple who were happily married for 66 years - and hardly spent a day apart - died within hours of each other.

Harold Luty, 86, would visit his beloved Mary, 87, every day at her nursing home where they would sit together holding hands and talking.

But he had not told her that he had cancer - and when he was told of her death, he lost his secret battle the following day.

... The couple had three children - Elaine, Jennifer and Dennis - six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

ADF's Brian Raum on the "Mounting Doubts About Same-Sex Marriage"

Brian Raum is the senior counsel and head of marriage litigation for the Alliance Defense Fund. In First Things he explains the many reasons to doubt same-sex marriage will ultimately become the law of the line, including (for instance) the ambivalence of gays to entering marriage in states that have redefined it:

In the wake of the New York Legislature’s decision to pass the so-called “Marriage Equality Act,” there has been a renewed discussion among homosexual activists over whether they really ought to be pursuing an institution historically rife with “heterosexual” values such as exclusivity, fidelity, commitment, and monogamy.

“I felt pretty ambivalent, I have to say,” said one celebrant, who a CNN reporter described as a “cross-dresser,” about the New York vote:

“It’s definitely not something I’m unhappy about.” But he wondered about the appropriateness of only extending new rights to gay people who embraced the specific model of heterosexual marriage. “Of course there are many other kinds of relationships, especially within queer culture, whether it’s open relationships or nonsexual companionship or polyamorous relationships. These nontraditional relationships have been championed in the gay community in the past, and I do think all types of relationships should be honored, and not just the people who fit this model.”

His partner agreed, adding, “I think it’s a little sad that what we’ve devoted ourselves to here is, at its core, about transfers of wealth and property.” The writer of the CNN article agrees: “I myself have never believed that marriage was such a magnificent institution that all gay people should be encouraged to embrace it. To me, being queer has always been about celebrating everything which makes us different.”

Forcing Christians Into the Closet? NOM Marriage News, October 21, 2011

NOM National Newsletter

My Dear Friends,

How quickly do the cultural inhibitions shift after same-sex marriage becomes the law?

In Connecticut, just a few years after court-ordered gay marriage became the law of the land, a public high school in Hartford chose to put on a musical featuring two boys kissing passionately.

The public school is composed of several "academies" with separate principals. One of the principals sent out a letter advising the parents in advance so they could choose whether that was appropriate for their children. But another principal, David Chambers, said he thought about and rejected that idea.

As Lifesite News reports:

Nursing academy principal David Chambers, said that he had considered sending an opt-out letter to parents before changing his mind.

Chambers said that students needed to learn empathy towards homosexuals and exposure to things that would make them uncomfortable. "Our kids are not there yet," he said. Chambers also suggested that the reaction of disgust was a good sign, indicating a release of students' inner conflict about homosexuality.

"Even though it's kind of chaotic, kind of wild and crazy, I see it as very successful," he said, according to The Courant. "Our kids never deal with this, they keep it inside, and that's that nervous energy. That's why they walked out."

Adam Johnson, principal of Hartford High's Law and Government Academy, agreed. "This is as important of a topic to discuss as anything in math, anything in social studies," Johnson said. "I'm completely glad that we did it."

Watching two boys kiss is as important as anything in math class?

In one sense, of course, we should not be surprised. The heart of the gay-marriage movement is a new moral idea: There is no difference between two men in a sexual union and the union of a husband and wife, and if you see a difference there is something wrong with you.

Of course once the government accepts the legitimacy of this position, public schools are going to reflect and promote, with your tax dollars, this new moral norm in a variety of ways, some we can predict and some we cannot.

This is a movement that has trumpeted what they believe and want, and then accuses others of lying or bad faith when they say those beliefs and demands will have consequences.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, a public school teacher posted her objections to celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History month in her public school. Gay-marriage advocates are demanding she be fired. An "investigation" has been launched.

"She has a right to say it. But she does not have a right to keep her job after saying it," one former public official said.

What did Viki Knox say?

She did not call any person a name. She specifically called for kind and loving treatment of gay people and said that's the way she treated gay people in her life. She said she believed that homosexuality is a sign of a "perverted spirit" of this age.

Turning against the spirit of what God asks of us, she meant. Sin, she said, "breeds like cancer."

This week, for her sins, the Human Rights Campaign delivers 75,000 signatures—hardly any from her school district of course—demanding that the board act against Viki.

Thanks to your help, NOM was there at the protest in Union County, and in the next few days we'll be releasing new video footage from the protest so that you can see (through the mainstream media-haze) what these protestors really want.

Getting the word out with original videos isn't cheap. Please help us stand up for Viki and for others in her shoes by making a donation to NOM today! $5, $10, or, if you can afford it - $100 will help us leap over the MSM's biased coverage and stand up for truth and love.

The intense national public campaign to get Viki fired is another very bad sign about the intentions of gay-marriage advocates, a sign of the kind of America they believe "equality" requires.

Of course gay teens in public schools should be treated with respect. As a Christian I never forget that Christ died for each and every one of those souls. Children who bully one another need to be instructed, to be taught manners and morals.

But for the gay-marriage movement, at this point respect is not enough.

It's not a level playing field. It's second-class citizenship for Christians and other traditional faith communities.

Just a few years ago a gay teacher could have been fired. Now a Bible-believing Christian has to be "in the closet" or get fired.

In other important news, rich New York billionaires promised four GOP senators they would be "protected" if they betrayed the people they represent, the promises they made, and voted for gay marriage.

Now, as EWTN reports, "NY Senators Seen As Vulnerable for Turning Against Marriage":

"These senators campaigned with the promise that they would not vote to redefine marriage. Mark Grisanti, in fact, went as far as to promise churches that he would never vote to redefine marriage," our own Christopher Plante told EWTN. "But when they were shown the money, and they began to do the money dance, they betrayed their people's vote—for the money. Therein lies the problem."

At one of the many fetes in which establishment New York tried to persuade these four guys they are heroes, one of the New York Four, State Sen. Jim Alesi, actually explained out loud how lacking in integrity he has been and still is on this issue.

At an Oct. 18 panel hosted by the New York Times (which now loves Jim Alesi), he explained that he voted NO in 2009 because he was for same-sex marriage in 2009:

"As the State Senate Republican minority prepared to enter the chamber for the December 2, 2009 vote on marriage equality, James Alesi, a GOP member from the Rochester area, told his colleagues, 'I'm voting no. If anyone votes yes, I'm going to quit the Senate.'"

Politically, he was unwilling to take the heat for being for gay marriage in 2009. Instead, he explained that senators knew ahead of time that the votes for passage were not there.

He says now, in 2011:

"This was the best vote [for same-sex marriage] I've ever taken in 20 years, and I'll go to my grave with that."

As New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his coterie of wealthy establishment Republicans hosted a fundraiser showering more than a million dollars on these four pro-gay-marriage state senators, with your help the National Organization for Marriage launched a new web ad, "The Money Dance."

Under media scrutiny for selling his vote and betraying his constituents, Sen. Grisanti said a very strange thing to the press:

State Senator Mark Grisanti: "To say 'you're next,' first of all I don't know what that means, second of all it was done by an organization that's based out of Utah, that pays no taxes in New York state, that doesn't care about Western New York whatsoever."

Huh? NOM has supporters in all fifty states, including New York. Just look at the hundreds of Western New Yorkers who showed up for out Let The People Vote Rally in Buffalo:

Sen. Grisanti—these are New York taxpayers. These are your constituents.

These are the folks you betrayed when you cashed in on your vote for gay marriage.

NOM's "Money Dance" ad lampooning the pro-SSM New York Senators who betrayed the voters is already being noticed by New York media.

Times-Union Capital Confidential:
"The National Organization for Marriage is out with a JibJab-ish web ad attacking the four GOP Senators who voted for same-sex marriage last June. This is a response to the recent fund-raiser held for the lawmakers in New York City."

New York Daily News Daily Politics:
"The senators, as you can see, are Roy McDonald, Mark Grisanti, Steve Saland and James Alesi [...] As we noted here on The Daily Politics two weeks ago, NOM is also waging a billboard campaign against the Republican quartet."

WIVB Buffalo:
"The organization behind the billboard that's up along Interstate 190 also has released a new web ad called, 'Money Dance.' The ad features the four senators dancing with wealthy contributors. It's in response to a fundraiser Grisanti attended Thursday in New York City hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg."

Buffalo News:
"The event was used as new attack material by the conservative National Organization for Marriage, which has vowed to spend $2 million to defeat Grisanti and the other Republican senators in next year's elections. The group already has taken out billboards in the senators' districts and on Friday launched an online advertisement labeled 'Money Dance' against the four lawmakers."

Politics on the Hudson:
"The National Organization for Marriage is up with an online ad today against the four Republicans senators who voted in June to legalize same-sex marriage. [...] NOM has a 'Let the People Vote' campaign that is seeking to overturn the same-sex marriage law, which took effect in July, through a constitutional amendment."

WNED Buffalo:
"State Senator Mark Grisanti continues to be dogged by his vote in June on the Marriage Equality bill. Grisanti was one of four Republicans who sided with Democrats to get the legislation passed. Now, critics are claiming that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hosted a lavish fundraiser recently to pay the Senators back."

Thank you for all you do to help us break through and get the message out in all 50 states: People care about marriage!

Also in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets up and slams millions of Americans as bigots this week, claiming,

"Ultimately, there was no answer by the opposition. There isn't! There really isn't. And as soon as you ask the question, and you probe the answer, the only answer [by those opposed to the gay marriage bill] is 'I want to discriminate against gay people.'"

Really? For thousands of years human beings have recognized marriage as the union of male and female—for no reason but to hurt gay people?

Who is being irrational now? Where does this ugly mischaracterization lead?

The governor of New York, who is living openly in a home with his children and the woman he does not love enough to marry, and the mayor of New York City, whose children at least are grown but who also does not love the woman he lives with enough to marry her, are preaching to the rest of us about the reasons and rationality of marriage?

Does this really make any sense at all?

Finally, disturbing news out of Washington State. The Secretary of State's office on Monday began making public the names of 137,500 people who signed Referendum 71 petitions two years ago to repeal a civil union law.

The lawsuit designed to prevent the disclosure of these names, given the organized efforts to harass and threaten petition signers in Prop 8 and in Massachusetts, may have failed for now. But the two-year delay, we hope, has given the zealots time to cool their tempers and re-evaluate a strategy designed to intimidate people for exercising their core civil rights.

Please pray for each of the 137,500 and for the people who disagree with their views. Democracy demands a culture of civic respect even when we passionately morally disagree.

So much is happening behind the scenes, and under the radar screen. So many decent, good people are gathering their courage to face the onslaught that is coming.

So many victories, unpredicted and unheralded, to be fought for and won.

Thank you for all you do to make this possible.

Alone, we can be frightened and intimidated. Together we are too many to be deterred, discouraged, or defeated!

God bless you and thank you again for your prayers, your emails, your letters, and your financial sacrifices, on behalf of God's truth about marriage!

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

PS: If what you read here has renewed your strength and desire to fight for marriage, act now! No matter what you can give, you can make a difference by donating to NOM. You are fighting for the future of marriage in this country, for your children and grandchildren and the generations to come.

Contribute

NOM Video: Viki Knox Supporters and Protestors at NJ School Board Hearing

NOM cameras were there in New Jersey this week to fill-out local media coverage of Viki Knox's school board hearing:

Student-Led Organization Supports Marriage at Eastern Kentucky University

The Ruth Institute blog:

A group of individuals have come together on campus with the intent of reminding Eastern of what they said is a forgotten value: marriage between a man and a woman.

The group, Love and Truth, was approved by Student Life two weeks ago and immediately began advertising and recruiting around campus several planned events this year.

Joelle Sprague, president of Love and Truth, said men and women each bring a different aspect to a relationship.

“Marriage is under attack in the United States and the world,” said Sprague, a 23-year-old graduate student from Lawrenceburg. “It is not respected or valued in this society anymore,”

The club has planned a tabling event on Powell Corner, received money from the Ruth Institute for conference fees and discussed bringing speakers to campus.

... According to its mission statement, “… By advocating for the historical, biological and ethical reasons for marriage, Love and Truth aims to uphold the sanctity of marriage and its crucial role of creating the most stable environment for childrearing. Love and Truth’s aspirations are to inform students about the benefits of marriage and why it should be respected, valued and supported in today’s modern era.”