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Monthly Archives: April 2012

Lawsuit Filed to Overturn Marriage in Nevada

April 11, 2012 – 10:30 am

Via the Metro Weekly (a gay newspaper):

Today, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund took what one of its lawyers calls "a strategic step" in the national effort to advance marriage equality by filing a federal lawsuit in Nevada seeking equal marriage rights for eight same-sex couples in the state.

The lawsuit, Sevcik v. Sandoval, marks the first time that Lambda Legal has sought equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in federal court, although a staff attorney with the group, Tara Borelli, notes that another case filed by Lambda Legal in state court in New Jersey includes federal claims as well.

... Lambda Legal's federal lawsuit against Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) was filed electronically in Nevada overnight today, and it stands as a sign of the significant ground movement on marriage equality in the country in recent years.

... At the same time, Borelli makes clear that Lambda sees this as another -- and not the final -- step in seeking marriage equality through the courts.

"This lawsuit seeks the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in the state of Nevada and is tailored to be a responsible building block for future marriage equality work," she tells Metro Weekly from Las Vegas on the eve of the filing. "We've always believed that it's important to take strategic steps that build on each other, and that's exactly what this case is designed to do."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, Nevada, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (20)

Bishop McKinney: "The Black Church’s Respect for Marriage Deserves Respect from the Media"

April 10, 2012 – 3:00 pm

Bishop George McKinney is a member of the board of the Church of God in Christ:

On March 30, an MSNBC news anchor accused the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) of “race-baiting” for (among other charges) writing in a 2009 in-house document, “We … need to … interrupt the attempt to equate gay with black, and sexual orientation with race; we need to make traditional sexual morality intellectually respectable again in elite culture.”

“Maggie,” anchor Tom Roberts asked NOM’s Maggie Gallagher, “Do you defend your own race-baiting to further bigotry and homophobia on a national level?”

As one of those black church leaders who has worked in the field with Maggie and others to protect our culture’s understanding of marriage as a union of one man with one woman, I will answer Mr. Roberts’ question. Race is different from sexual orientation, and equating the two (as many gay marriage theorists and advocates do) is unreasonable. And America would certainly be a better place if traditional sexual morality received more respect in elite circles.

The Church of God in Christ is the largest black Pentecostal denomination and the fifth largest Christian denomination in the United States. It has worldwide membership in 60 countries. We oppose same-sex marriage because it is contrary to God’s Word and opposed to the natural order.

... To suggest the prominent leaders of African-American churches are in the fight for marriage as the result of “race-baiting” is unjust and indeed patronizing on the part of media elites at MSNBC.

Marriage, and the black church, deserve better. -- The Daily Caller

By NOM Staff | Posted in Same Sex Marriage, United for Marriage | Comments (96)

LATimes Politics Blog: Obama Faces Pressure Over SSM

April 10, 2012 – 2:00 pm

In the Los Angeles Times Politics Now blog:

President Obama, who has fended off questions about his position on same-sex marriage for nearly a year and a half by saying his views are "evolving," faces increasing pressure within his party as momentum builds to declare support for marriage equality in the party's official platform.

... the Democratic Party platform debate in 1948 marked an opening triumph of the civil rights era.

Gay rights groups and their allies believe this year's platform can play a similar role for their movement.

That puts Obama in an awkward spot. He's asking gay rights supporters for votes and money — he is scheduled to headline a fundraiser with gay supporters Tuesday in Florida — without committing himself on an issue of paramount concern.

At the same time, his allies have appeared to be prodding him to embrace, or at least not to block, language that would explicitly commit the party to support "the freedom to marry."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Politics, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (9)

Video: Rhode Island Public School Paints Over Student Mural of "Offensive" Traditional Family

April 10, 2012 – 1:30 pm

Via NBC 10 Breaking News:

WARWICK, R.I. -- ...Elizabeth Bierenday, a junior at Pilgrim High School in Warwick, was asked to create a mural for the school.She sketched a mural that showed the growth of a boy into adulthood. The last image showed a man with a woman and child and wedding rings over their heads.

Bierenday showed the school's assistant principal the sketches, which were approved.

Bierenday said she started to paint the mural last week, when an assistant principal came to her with a problem.

Some people at the school felt the mural didn't accurately represent many students at Pilgrim and school officials decided to paint over the right side.

Warwick Superintendent Peter Horoschak said he just found out about the issue on Thursday and sided with Bierenday saying she should be allowed to paint her original design.

NBC 10 spoke with a few parents and they agreed with the superintendent.

On Friday, Bierenday spoke with John DePetro on WPRO-AM about the mural and said she was told that her original design may be offensive or a religious symbol.

A final decision about the mural is scheduled to be made after the weekend.

Here is the video report:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Culture, Education, Free Speech, Marriage, Rhode Island, Youth | Comments (13)

Reader Defends NOM Against HRC Attacks in Maine Newspaper

April 10, 2012 – 1:00 pm

Margaret Yates responds to an article published in Maine's Sun Journal:

In the Sun Journal on March 28, the Human Rights Campaign assailed the strategies of the National Organization for Marriage, insinuating, among other things, that it was playing racial politics, "dividing gays and blacks."

This is a media play on 3-year-old, in-house documents recently released by the Maine courts describing a number of NOM projects for 2009 and 2010.

This is 2012. Many blacks and Hispanics, Republicans and Democrats, are still unified in defending basic principles affirming a most fundamental institution: marriage. Animus against gays is not the object. Redefining marriage is the issue, and yes, it is "socially radical."

... Social science affirms that the optimal model for raising children suggests "mother" and "father" relationships to form gender identity and reduce problems, particularly during adolescent development.

Identify the real issues and explain the positions. Avoid the accusations of "racial politics," bigotry and discrimination. There are voters who need information in order to make an important choice in November.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Maine, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (11)

NOM's New DumpStarbucks.com Campaign Goes International

April 10, 2012 – 12:00 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2012
Contact: Anath Hartmann or Elizabeth Ray (703-683-5004)

"Today we go international, expanding DumpStarbucks.com campaigns into Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish and Bahala." —Brian Brown, NOM president—

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage today announced that its new DumpStarbucks.com campaign is going international.

"In our first week, we gained 25,000 pledge signers in the U.S. alone; today we go international, expanding DumpStarbucks.com campaigns into Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, and Bahala (one of the chief languages of Indonesia)," announced NOM President Brian Brown. "DumpStarbucks.com online ads will also start running in Egypt, Beijing, Hong Kong, the Yunnan region of China, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait."

"What happens in Seattle won't to stay in Seattle," Brown continued. "By making gay marriage core to his brand, Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz is telling millions of customers and partners who support traditional marriage in the Middle East, China, South America and North America that they aren't truly part of the Starbucks community."

"The National Organization for Marriage is in this for the long haul," said Jonathan Baker, head of NOM's Corporate Fairness Project. "Here's our goal: If Howard Schultz and his insular Seattle liberals hear from enough of us, management will move to a more genuinely inclusive attitude toward its customers' and partners' diverse views on marriage. People should be able to drink or serve a great cup of coffee without betraying their own core values on marriage."

Starbucks as a company recently endorsed gay marriage in the state of Washington, and signed onto an amicus brief asking U.S. courts to overturn the federal definition of marriage as one man and one woman. NOM's DumpStarbucks.com protest campaign was launched after Starbucks President and CEO Howard Schultz confirmed that gay marriage is "core" to the Starbucks brand.

The National Organization for Marriage will continue developing the DumpStarbucks.com campaign.

To view several international DumpStarbucks sites, please see:

###

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

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

By NOM Staff | Posted in Dump Starbucks, Press Releases | Comments (63)

Video: Vote for Marriage NC Explains Why Marriage Matters, and Much More

April 10, 2012 – 11:00 am

The Vote4MarriageNC coalition has created this extended video explaining why marriage matters, what the threats to marriage are, and why marriage protection amendments should be passed:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Free Speech, Marriage, North Carolina, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (4)

Obama's Minnesota Campaign Announces Opposition to the Marriage Protection Amendment

April 10, 2012 – 10:30 am

It is interesting that in both North Carolina and now here, Obama's surrogates have claimed the President does not weigh in on "every single ballot measure in every state" even though the President evidently opposes every state effort to protect marriage as the union of husband and wife:

President Obama's Minnesota campaign waded into the state's marriage amendment fight on Monday with a statement saying the president opposes the proposal that would define marriage only as the union of a man and woman.

Obama for America's Minnesota communications director, Kristin Sosanie, said in a news release that "while the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples. That's what the Minnesota ballot initiative would do -- it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples."

... Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, one of the House supporters of the marriage amendment, said he was "disappointed" in the Obama campaign statement.

... Gottwalt said he objects to the idea that the amendment is being framed as anti-gay marriage. He said the amendment simply would enshrine the idea that marriage should be a union between a man and a woman. "The idea that this is an attack on anyone is just incorrect," he said. "It's called the marriage amendment. What this really is about is marriage, and Minnesotans ought to have the right to say what that means to them."

Monday's statement marks only the second time Obama's campaign has weighed in on a state ballot question involving gay marriage, Sosanie confirmed. The first was last month in North Carolina, where voters face a marriage-ballot question in May. There, Obama state campaign press secretary Cameron French issued a statement with almost the exact wording as Sosanie's. Despite his opposition to the amendments, the president has not come out in support of gay marriage; he has said that his views on marriage equality are "evolving." -- Star Tribune

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Minnesota, Politics, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (7)

A Leftist Case Against SSM: Bad for Marriage, Bad for Government, Bad for Gays

April 10, 2012 – 10:00 am

Brendan O'Neill in The Australian:

"...The political thirst for gay marriage is underpinned by officialdom’s instinct to get a foot in the door of the family. It devalues marriage as it is currently constituted - in real life, not just in law - and, in an historically unprecedented step, it makes the sovereign of society into the sovereign of marriage and the family too.

The gay-marriage bandwagon isn’t only bad for married couples. It’s bad for gay couples too. For while it’s presented as a positive drive for equality, it’s actually motored by a very defensive clamour for state recognition of gay relationships.

A gay relationship is fundamentally one of romantic love, far more so than traditional marriage is (although that can have romance in it too, of course). But ours is an era which feels uncomfortable with romantic love, viewing it as naive, even as the site of abuse and harm. This means many homosexuals feel increasingly uncertain about their unions based on romance, on pure partnership, and feel compelled to wrap them in the legitimating comfort blanket of that respectable institution, marriage.

This ties in with another gay-activist tactic today: the search for evidence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom. Gay-rights spokespeople constantly claim, on the basis of dodgy science, that every creature from penguins to donkeys engages in homosexual behaviour, and therefore it must be natural.

This, too, represents a frenetic search for external legitimation of gay love. Gay activists defensively seek to naturalise their relationships through the use of pseudo-science and to normalise them through state recognition, through the demand for marriage. Both of these activities reveal a profound lack of confidence in the modern gay movement, which once simply declared: “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.”

There would be nothing positive about institutionalising gay marriage on the basis of a new defensiveness amongst gay people about their lives and loves. That would leave unaddressed the moral question of why romantic unions, of which gay ones are amongst the purest, seem lacking in confidence today.

Underlying the gay-marriage debate is a relativistic reluctance to distinguish between different kinds of relationships. Gay love is fundamentally a relationship between two people. Traditional marriage is not. It is a union between a man and a woman which very often, through its creation and nurturing of a new generation, binds that man and woman to a great many others, to a community. It is an institution, not a partnership."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Marriage, Politics, Same Sex Marriage, United Kingdom | Comments (12)

Please...We Cannot Let Them Get Away With It...

April 9, 2012 – 5:52 pm

Email Header Image

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Will you please make one URGENT gift right now to help protect marriage?

When the New York Times and other media outlets ran with a ridiculous narrative about NOM being racially divisive and politically poisonous, I have to admit, I was angry—but not surprised.

After all, in the middle of this artificially created media flurry, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and their allies at the Huffington Post published stolen IRS documents from NOM that are protected by federal laws.

This is what we're up against...every single day. I don't know if there is a limit to how low radical same-sex marriage activists will go to get what they want—no matter what you and I think.

Our coalition of Americans from every walk of life, regardless of race or religion has won tremendous victories for marriage. And with 2012 being such a critical year, our opponents are desperate to divide us.

We must stand up and fight back...we must make our voices heard...we must make sure the lies of radical same-sex marriage activists don't become commonly accepted "truth" because nobody is working to expose their lies.

And that's exactly why I launched this campaign to raise $200,000 by April 17.

Won't you please make an IMMEDIATE gift of $1,000, $500, $100 or even $50
to help protect marriage—knowing that your donation will be matched by another
to double its impact?

My friend, we NEED to take full advantage of our generous donor's offer to match every gift, dollar-for-dollar up to $200,000.

If we can raise the full $200,000, we will have the funds we need to fight back and ensure your voice is heard...your beliefs are defended.

Thank you.

By Brian Brown | Posted in Same Sex Marriage, United for Marriage | Comments (58)

"David Cameron Pleads With UK Christians for Support Despite Gay Marriage Push"

April 9, 2012 – 2:00 pm

The Global Christian Post:

British Prime Minister David Cameron has pleaded for Christians in the country to stick by him despite his attempts to legalize same sex marriage in the U.K., prompting the question how much support can he really enjoy from the Church?

Cameron, in his bid to repair and strengthen his relationship with Christians, has welcomed attempts by religious leaders to fight secular efforts to remove references of faith from public life. The British PM has also tried to assure Churches that they would not be forced to marry same-sex couples even if gay marriages were accepted by law.

... During an Easter reception, however, where many church leaders were present, the Prime Minister insisted that the government is not looking to change how the church operates, but only the register office.

"I hope we won't fall out too much over gay marriage," Cameron said, according to the Telegraph. "There'll be some strong arguments and some strong words."

The Coalition for Marriage petition has passed 400,000 signatures.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Free Speech, Marriage, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage, United Kingdom | Comments (12)

Seattle Times: 1,500 Washington Churches Requesting R-74 Petitions to Protect Marriage!

April 9, 2012 – 1:00 pm

The Seattle Times on the growing effort to get marriage on the ballot in Washington this November:

"...In the three weeks or so Referendum 74 has been in circulation, [Joseph] Backholm said the campaign has received requests from 1,500 churches across the state, exhausted the first 50,000 petitions and filled orders for thousands more.

"We've got history on this issue ... it's not totally new," Backholm said. "People are a lot more engaged, and we have a lot more people involved than in 2009. It's reasonable to think we can get this done with a really organized, well-run effort."

The campaign, backed by the National Organization for Marriage, does not have paid signature gatherers — though Backholm said he's not opposed to the idea.

"We'll do what it takes — legally and ethically — to get on the ballot," he said.

Learn how you can help at www.PreserveMarriageWashington.com.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (14)

Washington Catholic Bishops Pledge to Join R-74 Signature Gathering Effort

April 9, 2012 – 12:00 pm

SeattlePI:

The two bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, in a letter to the faithful, say they will deploy parishes to collect signatures for Referendum 74, a measure for the November ballot designed to roll back same-sex marriage in Washington.

While asking that signatures not be collected on Easter Sunday, the bishops described the issue as “critically important” and said information on the signature drive is being sent to pastors throughout the Western Washington diocese.

... “Treating different things differently is not unjust discrimination,” the bishops claim. “Marriage can only be between a man and a woman because of its unique ends, purpose and place in society. The word ‘marriage’ isn’t simply a label that can be attached to different types of relationships.

“Instead ‘marriage’ reflects a deep reality — the reality of the unique, fruitful, lifelong union that is only possible between a man and a woman. There is nothing else like it, and it can’t be defined or made into something that it isn’t.”

Learn how you can help at www.PreserveMarriageWashington.com.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Catholic Church, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (8)

The Saratogian: Pro-SSM Sen. Roy McDonald Faces Challenge

April 9, 2012 – 11:00 am

The Saratogian:

Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione erased whatever speculation may have remained about her candidacy for state Senate on Wednesday afternoon, when she formally declared she's campaigning for the seat currently held by Sen. Roy McDonald.

The announcement sets the stage for a Republican primary in advance of the November election. It could prove to be one of the state's most hotly contested races because of McDonald's recent voting pattern, notably his votes to enact same-sex marriage and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tax plan, both of which Marchione criticized while announcing her candidacy Wednesday.

"A promise is something you keep," she told the roughly 75 supporters who crammed inside Hayner's Ice Cream Hall of Fame for the announcement. "When you give your word, you keep your word."