The widow of a lawmaker who was the driving force behind a gay marriage referendum on next month's ballot in North Carolina told thousands of conservative Christians on Friday it's now up to them to get people to the polls to change the state constitution.
Mary Frances Forrester and other conservative leaders asked participants at the Return America rally to work to protect the supremacy of traditional marriage from potential court challenges.
...Forrester, wife of the late Sen. Jim Forrester, asked women in the audience to recruit others to vote for the amendment leading up to the May 8 primary. The early voting period began Thursday.
"You are responsible for nine other women that you can make sure go to the polls and vote and better still vote early because this is the time and you are here 'for such a time is this,'" said Forrester, making a reference to a verse in the Book of Esther.
State Capitol Police estimated the crowd in downtown Raleigh at about 3,000, as churches and Christian schools bused in members and students to the Halifax Mall.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
AP: 3,000+ Rally for Marriage in North Carolina!
Minnesota Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit Goes Forward
Opponents of Minnesota's Marriage Protect Amendment sometimes claim there is "no threat" to marriage in their state, but this news proves once again how wrong they are:
On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court declined to review a case brought by three same-sex couples who claiming the Minnesota Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against them and against the son of one of the pairs.
The plaintiffs, who were all legally married elsewhere, filed suit [PDF] in 2010 in state court after Hennepin County refused to issue them marriage licenses. After a trial court judge dismissed the suit, the couples, who constitute the nonprofit Marry Me Minnesota, appealed. In January, the Court of Appeals overturned the dismissal ruling.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to review the case means the matter may now proceed to trial in Hennepin County. There’s very little chance it will be resolved before next fall’s amendment vote.
News that the case will move forward is not likely to spark universal celebration among advocates of same-sex marriage, some of whom fear it could be used to fuel arguments in favor of amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage. -- MinnPost
Sen. Alesi Still Promoting SSM Outside New York State
As much as Sen. Alesi is now complaining about how much money he will have to spend defending himself against a primary challenge from within his own party after he betrayed his constituents and voted for gay marriage, he is still attempting to earn accolades for that vote outside of his state. Talk about a marriage of convenience:
Country music star Chely Wright discusses gay marriage in a special New York City edition of the Pennsylvania Cable Network’s “In Session.” This half hour program, produced by Widener’s Law & Government Institute, will air statewide on Sunday, April 22 and 29 at 6:00 p.m.
Wright, a lesbian, married her partner last year in Connecticut; a state which legally recognized such a marital partnership in 2008.
Republican New York state Senator Jim Alesi (R- NY) will join Wright on the PCN program. He was the first Republican to support the legislation which passed last June in the Republican-majority Senate of New York state. -- PCN TV
Heritage on President Obama's Enemies List
The Heritage Foundation reveals a deeply unsettling project by the campaign to reelect President Obama:
"...This week, on the president’s ominous “Truth Team“ campaign website, his staff listed the names of eight of his likely opponent’s donors.
... After each name, the campaign lists deeds that they find objectionable or “less-than-reputable” that mostly boil down to business transactions that included alleged outsourcing or layoffs and involvement in the oil energy industry.
... This follows a multi-year effort by the ongoing Obama campaign to vilify specific donors to competing philosophical causes and demands that organizations release lawfully protected donor lists or donors reveal lawfully private and personal financial information.
In each of these instances, President Obama has relied on a vast grassroots network to coerce, bully, boycott and vilify individuals lawfully taking part in the political process, just as his own donors and supporters are freely allowed to engage.
... The media has so far given this White House tactic a pass in this administration. What name will elicit a defense of Constitutional freedoms? Must it be one of their own, as was the case under Nixon?
Shouldn’t every American be protected against the heavy hand of governmental intimidation? The President must explain his intimidation of people who have lawfully participated in the political system and have borne no electoral injustice to our nation other than participating in lawful industries the President finds objectionable and supporting organizations and campaigns the President opposes.
ADF's Brian Raum: "In Defense of the National Organization For Marriage"
Our profound gratitude to Brian Raum, who serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, for coming to our defense in TownHall:
The unfounded attacks and insults lodged against the National Organization for Marriage have increased recently by an ever ravenous opposition. The Humans Rights Campaign has shamelessly published NOMs confidential IRS records, and last month a federal judge unsealed some of NOM’s constitutionally protected internal reports.
Not surprisingly, those who seek to redefine marriage immediately seized upon the opportunity to attack NOM based on these documents with salacious accusations and vilifications.
NOM’s political adversaries have violently reacted to its efforts to leverage an inconvenient truth: African-Americans and Hispanics, as a community, generally reject same-sex “marriage.” They don’t see the redefinition of marriage as a civil rights issue. And it was this disdain for that comparison which compelled large numbers of minority voters in 2008 to vote for Proposition 8 in California while at the same time voting for Barack Obama.
... why are HRC, The New York Times, and others attempting demonize NOM simply because they have sought to marshal the black and Hispanic communities to speak out for marriage—and much to the chagrin of the Democratic Party, which is in the precarious position of opposing and potentially alienating a segment of largely Democratic supporters who support marriage? Why wouldn’t NOM seek to organize, support, and encourage those groups to uphold the integrity of marriage? There is nothing sinister or underhanded about that. The question we should be asking is why the Democratic Party feels that it can ignore this significant segment of its constituency with impunity.
Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012)
This weekend our longtime friend Chuck Colson passed away. NOM co-founder Prof. Robert George and Prof. Timothy George write their farewells over at The Manhattan Declaration (which Mr. Colson co-launched):
...Chuck lived the principles of the Manhattan Declaration long before it was drafted. When humbled by his own failings, Chuck was born again in Christ in 1973. Only three years later, he founded Prison Fellowship, a ministry that for more than three decades has fulfilled Christ’s command to remember the incarcerated and share the transforming love of Jesus with them and their families. “I could never, ever have left prison and accomplished what has been accomplished but for God doing it through me,” Chuck said.
In 1991 Chuck began broadcasting BreakPoint Radio, educating Christians to understand their faith as both personal trust and public witness, including the support of life, marriage and religious freedom. So he called upon all who have faith in the Lord, and indeed on all men and women of good will, to support the sanctity of life, the culture of marriage, religious freedom and the rights of conscience.
And in 2009 the Manhattan Declaration was born in the heart of Chuck Colson. You are among the now more than 525,000 persons who have committed themselves to this statement of conscience. Chuck regarded the Manhattan Declaration as a vital act of Christian obedience at this moment in history when foundational principles of our faith and culture are in jeopardy at home and abroad.
The two of us are committed to devoting our lives to carrying forth the vision and advancing the cause to which Chuck gave himself with unstinted vigor. His life stands as a testimony to God’s power to transform culture and make a difference...
North Carolina Marriage Opponents Stoop to Lies to Scare Women
New ads in North Carolina are claiming NC's Marriage Amendment will somehow interfere with domestic violence prosecutions for unmarried women. They know this is a lie. They have claimed the same thing before about, for example, Virginia's similarly worded Marriage Amendment.
In Ohio a silly judge ruled that the marriage amendment had this effect, but he was swiftly overruled by Ohio courts. 30 states have marriage amendments. In none of them were women deprived of domestic violence protection.
More evidence that our opponents know they cannot win this vote on the main question: "should marriage remain a union of husband and wife?"
Photo: One Maryland Parish Drops Off Thousands of Signatures!
Seen on the Maryland Catholic Conference Facebook page:
"Look at the thousands of signatures to repeal the same-sex 'marriage' law that ONE parish just dropped off!"
If you live in Maryland, help your parish get involved at MarylandMarriageAlliance.com.
WaPo Blog: Democrat Candidates Mostly Quiet on Gay Marriage
Jonathan Bernstein for the WaPo's Plum Line blog:
Greg has been reporting recently on a fascinating issue: how Democrats will handle same-sex marriage in their 2012 party platform. The general sense has been that Barack Obama is lagging behind his party on this issue, and that it’ll be hard for him to block a marriage equality plank without angering core Dem voters.
That may be true. But if so, he may have company: Dem candidates for the U. S. Senate also are generally avoiding or downplaying the issue, at least if their campaign web sites are any guide.
For the first time, some polls show majority support for gay marriage. But if this is any guide, Democrats are still being extraordinarily about an issue they seem to think can still backfire on them.
The web sites of the 10 Democratic candidates running as challengers or for open seats show that very few of these candidates are eager to jump on this particular bandwagon. Only two — Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts and Chris Murphy in Connecticut — trumpet their support for marriage equality and for repealing the Defense Of Marriage Act. To be sure, none of the other six openly opposes the issue. They’re just not mentioning it. What’s particularly interesting is that neither candidate in the two strongly contested nominations, in Hawaii and New Mexico, included support of marriage equality as part of an effort to court liberal activists.
A quick caveat: it’s certainly possible that these candidates have made public commitments on DOMA or on the general issue of same-sex marriage that simply aren’t on their campaign web sites (some of which are still developing). But this is precisely the point: What I’m looking at here is whether the candidates want people to hear about the issue. The Web sites are a good guide to that.
New UK Ban: Therapists Have No Right to Aid Clients Who Want Help With Living Chastely
A would be therapist is kicked out of a program and called a threat to "public safety" because he says he used to live as a gay man and no longer does. Therapists warned their licenses will be threatened if they try to help patients who want help with same-sex attraction.
Whether you are gay or not, the withdrawal of all assistance in helping people live the lives they choose--and the punitive attitude towards scientific discussion and professional practice--is chilling. An incredible repression not only of speech, and employment, but of science itself:
While most medical ethics throughout the western world has adopted the primacy of patient autonomy as its guiding principle, the psychiatric and psychological professions in the UK are becoming increasingly authoritarian in matters of sexuality, according to one would-be therapist.
Recently published professional guidelines in the UK say it is an “ethical offense” to either offer to help a client overcome homosexual temptations and feelings, or to accede to a request to do so from a client.
“I would agree that the focus is no longer on autonomy” in ethics in psychotherapy, said Dr. Michael Davidson, PhD, Director of the Core Issues Trust. In Britain’s main psychotherapeutic organisations, “the person-centred approach is not being respected,” he said.
The Core Issues Trust is a Christian organisation that helps equip Christian ministers to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction and who want to leave the gay lifestyle.
Dr. Davidson told LifeSiteNews.com this week that he has fallen afoul of a “politically motivated” shift within the counselling and psychotherapeutic professional organisations, one that he says is betraying the real needs of clients and patients, and their freedom to make choices.
“I started my training in 2009 with the UK Psychodrama Association, and was very open and explicit about my position, including about my own journey out of homosexuality,” he said.
Nonetheless, two years into his training to become a therapist, Davidson was suddenly presented with an “interim order” telling him he was a threat to “public safety” and was not allowed to practice any type of therapy or even to train and attend classes, pending the outcome of an investigation into his conduct.
Since the publication last summer of the professional guidance, he said, the psychotherapeutic community has created a climate in which therapists who do not toe the official “gay affirming” line, daring to assert that homosexuality is not, or does not have to be a fixed condition, face severe censure, even the loss of their professional credentials.
Dr. Davidson said that the system overrules even the wishes of patients, telling them, in effect, that they must remain in the homosexual lifestyle, whether they want to or not. -- LifeSiteNews
Scottish Imams Tell all Muslims: Vote to Defend Marriage
Imams in Glasgow have told all Muslims throughout Scotland not to vote for any local election candidate on 3 May who supports redefining marriage.
The news will trouble the leaders of major parties, all of whom have indicated their personal support for the plan.
A statement was issued yesterday by the Council of Glasgow Imams and it is being sent out to Muslims throughout Scotland.
The statement said: “We urge the Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to look very seriously at this fundamentally important issue and to re-consider the full implications of what she is proposing.
“We wish to inform both her and the First Minister Alex Salmond that we are deeply unhappy and vigorously opposed to the proposed legislation for same sex marriage.
It added: “We will be urging our community from the pulpit to make sure that any person they consider voting for does not favour the proposed legislation.”
Man Fails to Overturn Germany’s Incest Ban
A German man who fathered four children with his sister has failed to get his conviction for incest overturned at the European Court of Human Rights.
The court ruled that Germany’s criminalisation of sex between siblings is justified for the protection of marriage and the family.
But Patrick Stuebing claims his sexual relationship with his sister is not abnormal, and that Germany has interfered with his rights to privacy and a family life.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) commented that Germany’s ban on incest was “aimed at the protection of morals and the rights of others”.
Bishops of Mexico: Family Founded on Marriage Between Man and Woman is 'Pillar of Society'
In a recent statement, the bishops of Mexico called the family, built upon the unity of man and woman, necessary for society to exist.
“The family, founded upon marriage, is a patrimony of humanity, an essential social institution,” the bishops said. “It is the vital cell and pillar of society. This affects both believers and non-believers. It is a reality to which all governments must give their full attention.”
The statement was read during a press conference attended by Bishop Juan Pedro Juarez Melendez of Tula, Coadjutor Bishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong of Papantla and Auxiliary Bishop Victor Rene Rodriguez Gomez of Texcoco and secretary general of the bishops’ conference.
... In today’s culture, they added, “Love is reduced to an emotional feeling and the satisfaction of instinctive drives, with no effort to build lasting bonds of mutual belonging.”
The bishops recalled the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, who has urged families to resist attempts to redefine the traditional family, “in which all of us have lived.”
... Committing to another person “is not something to be feared,” noting that fatherhood and motherhood is “a gift of God.”
Daughter of Author of "The Color Purple" Reveals How Her Mother's "Fanatical Views Tore Us Apart"
She's revered as a trail-blazing feminist and author Alice Walker touched the lives of a generation of women. A champion of women's rights, she has always argued that motherhood is a form of servitude. But one woman didn't buy in to Alice's beliefs - her daughter, Rebecca, 38.
Here the writer describes what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a cultural icon, and why she feels so blessed to be the sort of woman 64-year-old Alice despises - a mother.
The other day I was vacuuming when my son came bounding into the room. 'Mummy, Mummy, let me help,' he cried. His little hands were grabbing me around the knees and his huge brown eyes were looking up at me. I was overwhelmed by a huge surge of happiness.
I love the way his head nestles in the crook of my neck. I love the way his face falls into a mask of eager concentration when I help him learn the alphabet. But most of all, I simply love hearing his little voice calling: 'Mummy, Mummy.'
It reminds me of just how blessed I am. The truth is that I very nearly missed out on becoming a mother - thanks to being brought up by a rabid feminist who thought motherhood was about the worst thing that could happen to a woman.
You see, my mum taught me that children enslave women. I grew up believing that children are millstones around your neck, and the idea that motherhood can make you blissfully happy is a complete fairytale.
In fact, having a child has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Far from 'enslaving' me, three-and-a-half-year-old Tenzin has opened my world. My only regret is that I discovered the joys of motherhood so late - I have been trying for a second child for two years, but so far with no luck.
I was raised to believe that women need men like a fish needs a bicycle. But I strongly feel children need two parents and the thought of raising Tenzin without my partner, Glen, 52, would be terrifying.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury: Christians in UK Being Persecuted the Way Gays Once Were
In a strongly-worded statement submitted to the European Court of Human Rights, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey has said that Christians in Britain are being “vilified” by the courts and “driven underground” with the same kind of persecution once directed at homosexuals.
In particular Carey pointed the finger at the British judiciary’s use of equality law to marginalize Christianity.
“In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by State bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong,” Lord Carey wrote.
“It affects the moral and ethical compass of the United Kingdom. Christians are excluded from many sectors of employment simply because of their beliefs; beliefs which are not contrary to the public good.”
Lord Carey’s comments were made in anticipation of a case on religious freedom to be heard by the ECHR in Strasbourg on September 4
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