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Monthly Archives: January 2013

UK Coalition for Marriage Hands Out One Million Leaflets in Swing Precincts

More massive mobilization for marriage, this time in Britain.

This from a gay news source in the UK:

Photo: CoalitionForMarriage Flickr

One million leaflets against government’s plans to legalise marriage equality are being sent out to voters in constituencies marginal on the issue by an anti-equal marriage campaign group which has deemed the plans “undemocratic”.

The target of the campaign are 65 MPs, who are seen as key in an upcoming vote on the government’s plans for equal marriage. The leaflets aim to push MPs to vote against the measure.

PinkNews understands that MPs will debate and vote on the government’s equal marriage plans for England and Wales before next month’s Valentine’s Day.

The one million leaflets were prepared by the Coalition for Marriage (C4M), a campaign group against the government’s plans.

The leaflets were being delivered door to door, and campaigners had been handing them out on the streets of marginal constituencies in the south west, and plan to visit others ahead of the vote.

The leaflets contain photographs and contact details of local MPs, with text urging voters to lobby them in a bid to have the legislation rejected when it comes to a vote in parliament, reports the Christian Institute. (PinkNews)

Abroad And At Home, People Rallying For Marriage, NOM Marriage News

NOM National Newsletter

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Over a million people protesting in the streets of Paris for marriage. In Great Britain, a million leaflets opposing gay marriage are being distributed in swing districts.

Here I am in Paris, giving you a front-row seat to see what happened:

Here at home, a thousand people thronged the steps of Rhode Island's capitol building, led by black and Hispanic pastors:

As the fight for marriage gears up again in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Illinois, Washington D.C., and elsewhere, I will go to the battle with French words ringing in my ears.

Frigide Barjot, the organizer of the Paris rally for marriage, gave the speech of a lifetime.

"You, President of the Republic," Barjot proclaimed, "cannot remain unmoved before the growing uneasiness of the French people who now are finding out what is really behind the so-called "marriage for all."

She went on:

The 'marriage for all' is a juridical denial of the most elementary reality of humanity, constituted as it is "man and woman", the only union naturally capable of siring new life.

You, President of the Republic — Will you be the one to float a travesty — that a human being can be born of two men or of two women? "Marriage for all" inscribes fundamental discrimination into our law among children, an inequality between children who will be born of a mother and a father, and children who will be born of two fathers, and children who will be born of two mothers.

You, President of the Republic — Will you be the one to abolish the basic equality of birth among children?

She makes a magnificent point we pro-marriage fighters in the United States have not paid enough attention to: marriage as equality between men and women.

Marriage embodies the equal dignity of men and women in the creation and care of the next generation. Marriage expresses children's equal right to the love and care of both their mother and father.

We cannot, and will not, surrender to the winds of fashion something so true, so good, and so beautiful. We will continue to stand united in this fight, both here and abroad — because unity is what marriage is all about.

This is the point that NOM's Chairman of the Board, Prof. John Eastman, made in a recent press interview regarding the National Cathedral's sad decision to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in its hallowed halls. Same-sex marriage is not a value that unites us, as its advocates claim: instead, it is deeply divisive, as the Episcopal Church is finding out all too painfully right now:

And so we, the defenders of marriage, continue to stand in unity, as Americans and with all marriage supporters worldwide!

Pray for the people of France and Great Britain who are fighting back against the elites.

And pray for all of us standing on the front lines for marriage.

The fight continues!

Video: Frigide Barjot's Rousing Pro-Marriage Speech in France!

Frigide Barjot, a French humorist, columnist and socialite, is a somewhat unlikely hero for marriage but a hero she has become!

At the rally for marriage last Sunday, she led a spirited public recitation of diverse voices calling on President Hollande to acknowledge their points and understand the damage his proposal to redefine marriage will cause to French children and culture should it be passed:

Here are a couple excerpts from a translation:

"...The marriage for all is a juridical denial of the most elementary reality of humanity, constituted as it is "man and woman", the only union naturally capable of siring new life.

You, President of the Republic -- Will you be the one to float a travesty--that a human being can be born of two men or of two women? "Marriage for all" inscribes fundamental discrimination into our law among children, an inequality between children who will be born of a mother and a father, and children who will be born of two fathers, and children who will be born of two mothers.

...You, President of the Republic, dialogue, working together, participatory democracy, you cannot refuse any longer the growing demand for debate, free of homophobia, which has been expressed in all the countries of the world, by means of these citizen gatherings. You have before you, on the Champ de Mars, a wide representation of the French people.

... The people ask you, Mr. President of the Republic, to SUSPEND without further delay this bill for marriage and adoption for all. It rips apart our country. The people ask you today to convoke a General Estate of the Family, Marriage, Lineage, and the Rights of the Child. In doing so we gesture toward reconciliation and coming together as a nation. We bring this to you peacefully and obediently!"

Cartoon Lampoons French President's Refusal to Acknowledge Size of Pro-Marriage Opposition

President Hollande is attempting to claim there were 2/3rds less than the actual number of pro-marriage demonstrators last Sunday.

This french cartoon translated reads:

Advisor: "There are more than 1 million, Mr. President."

President Hollande: "We will say that they are only 340,000. After all, this law is to end with what is real, isn't it?"

BCN: Nearly One Million March for Marriage in Paris

Actually, event organizers peg the attendance at over 1,000,000:

World Congress of Families (WCF) hailed Sunday's march for traditional, natural marriage in Paris. WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs commented: "Hundreds of thousands marched in Paris yesterday, in bitterly cold temperatures, to oppose plans by President Francois Hollande to force a bill legalizing so-called same-sex marriage through the parliament. Yesterday's march, supported by the French Catholic hierarchy, was an impassioned outpouring in defense of marriage, children, and the natural family. It demonstrates, once again, that the push for 'same-sex marriage' is driven by elites and rejected by the overwhelming majority of families worldwide."

...Jacobs concluded: "We congratulate the organizers of the Paris march and declare our solidarity with efforts to defend natural marriage in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and wherever such efforts are underway. Just as the campaign to undermine marriage . . . is international in scope, the defense of natural marriage must stretch across national boundaries to embrace families everywhere." (Breaking Christian News)

European Court of Human Rights Dismisses Case of British Christian Who Wished to Opt Out of Administering S-S Civil Partnerships

A defeat for the rights of a Christian, Lillian Ladele, who lives in Britain, and her case now sets a precedent for other European countries:

"...cases [heard by the European Court of Human Rights] involved nurse Shirley Chaplin, 57, whose employer also stopped her wearing necklaces with a cross, Gary McFarlane, 51, a marriage counsellor sacked after saying he might object to giving sex therapy advice to gay couples, and registrar Lillian Ladele who was disciplined after she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies."

... Ms Ladele was disciplined by Islington Council, in north London, after saying she did not want to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies. Her lawyers said the service could have been performed by other employees who were prepared to carry them out.

ECHR judges said the council's action was legitimate as it was obliged to consider the rights of same-sex couples.

Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, which backed Ms Ladele's case, said: "What this case shows is that Christians with traditional beliefs about marriage are at risk of being left out in the cold." (BBC)

Hundreds Rally to Protect Marriage in Rhode Island!

A police officer interviewed in this story pegged the crowd at 1,000 -- ABC 6's Chief Political Reporter Mark Curtis sees this as a sign that the people of Rhode Island want to protect marriage:

Hundreds of opponents of same sex marriage rallied in the [Rhode Island] Statehouse rotunda, led by clergy members who say gay marriage is wrong.

Hundreds more lined up outside the Committee room, many hoping to testify.

Bilma Delcompare, an opponent of same sex marriage said, "Because God established a man and a woman, only."

Luis Hernandez, another opponent of gay marriage said, "It's should be defined  man and woman. Man and woman."

At its peak, one police officer estimated the hall way crowd at one thousand people.

ABC6 Chief Political Reporter Mark Curtis said, "The large numbers of people who turned out here in opposition, are probably a strong indicator of why supporters of same gender marriage want to see this done by the General Assembly, and not by voters in a ballot initiative." (ABC 6)

Watch the ABC 6 video of the pro-marriage crowds:

Learn more at www.RIformarriage.com.

Victory: Angela McCaskill Reinstated After Signing Maryland Marriage Petition

The university quietly reinstated Angela McCaskill over the holiday recess, after some gay marriage activists called for her to be fired simply for petitioning to allow the people of Maryland to vote on the question of marriage:

Gallaudet University has reinstated its chief diversity officer after a 3-month paid suspension for signing a petition circulated by opponents of gay marriage in Maryland.
University President T. Alan Hurwitz announced the reinstatement of Angela McCaskill in an email to the campus community on Monday. The statement doesn't elaborate on the reasons for the reinstatement, and university officials declined further comment.

Gallaudet is the nation's leading university for the deaf and hard of hearing, and the Washington campus has a prominent gay community. McCaskill was placed on leave in October after administrators became aware that she had signed the petition. The petition drive led to a referendum on gay marriage in Maryland, where McCaskill lives. Voters upheld the law, and same-sex couples began marrying in the state this month.

“I am not anti-gay. I never have been and I never will be,” says McCaskill. (AP)

Socialist Politician Says Spanish Bishop Should be "Muzzled"

CNA/EWTN News:

A socialist government official in Andalusia, Spain, called for a local Catholic bishop to be “muzzled” for arguing that men and women are both different and complementary.

Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba should be silenced for leveling attacks against “real and effective equality between men and women,” charged Miguel Angel Vazquez, a member of the Socialist Party and spokesman for the Andalusian provincial government.

In a Jan. 4 post on his personal blog, Vazquez labeled Bishop Fernandez “a true representative of religious fanaticism” and said that the prelate provokes “controversies that are at odds with the individual and collective rights embodied in the constitution.”

Calling the bishop’s defense of marriage and the family “backwards,” Vazquez said that he would “rather burn in hell (if it exists) than renounce equality.”

In a recent pastoral letter, Bishop Fernandez critiqued sexual philosophies that hold the differences between men and women to be a social construct rather than a biological reality.

Video: NOM Chairman John Eastman Comments on Same-Sex Ceremonies at the National Cathedral

NOM's Chairman John Eastman was on FoxNewsHQ this Sunday speaking about the National Cathedral's decision to offer ceremonies to same-sex partners.

"The step that [the National Cathedral] has taken ... is directly in violation of international Anglican law and the Book of Common Prayer. So they can do this if they want but redefining marriage to be something it was never understood to be is going to have dramatic consequences both in this country and in their church."

Watch the rest of his appearance below:

GOP Chair Pat Brady In Danger of Being Ousted Over Betrayal of Marriage

Our grassroots activism is having an effect!

The Illinois Review:

Illinois Review has learned that the Illinois Republican Party's State Central Committee may very well have the votes needed to force Chairman Pat Brady's resignation. We're told that the SCC is working out a plan for IL GOP Vice Chairman Carol Donovan to step in as the interim chairman, and will oversee a deliberate, thoughtful process to pick the next permanent party chair.

Insiders are frustrated that Chairman Brady's calls to GOP state senators in support of gay marriage have distracted from discussions about the state's fiscal and pension crisis.

Three-fifths of the State Central Committee's weighted votes are needed to oust a sitting chairman. Several 2012 Platform Committee members, one GOP lawmaker and the Grundy County GOP have called for Brady's resignation.

And more:

The second Illinois county Republican organizations has called for Chairman Pat Brady (photo right) to resign. Passed Thursday night, the Clinton County GOP's resolution calls for Brady to step down, and the 17th CD's State Central Committeeman Bob Winchester to officially call for Brady's resignation. County Chairman Marc Hoffman will transmit the resolution Friday.

Clinton County GOP Western Vice-Chairman Doug Gruenke told Illinois Review the resolution's passage was because Brady undermined the ILGOP platform when he lobbied state senators to support same sex marriage legislation during the recent lame duck session.

Here are even more IL GOP state committee members expressing their disapproval of Brady's comments on gay marriage.

Please continue to contact GOP party members in Illinois.

"More Than 1,000 Priests Sign Letter Claiming Gay Marriage is Biggest Threat to Religious Freedoms Since the Reformation"

The UK Daily Mail:

More than 1000 priests have signed a letter voicing concerns about how same-sex marriage will threaten religious freedoms and may even lead to Catholics being excluded from jobs.

In the letter, which is one of the biggest open letters of its type ever written, the priests claim that same-sex marriage could threaten freedoms in a way that was last seen during centuries of persecution of Catholics in England.

The letter, signed by 1054 priests as well as 13 bishops, abbots and other senior Catholic figures, expresses fears that the simple acts of practising or speaking about their faith will be severely limited.

They even claim the freedom to speak freely from the pulpit could be at risk.

Published in The Daily Telegraph, the letter goes as far as to compare David Cameron's proposed changes to the meaning of marriage to those of Henry VIII, whose efforts to divorce Catherine of Aragon sparked centuries of upheaval between Church and State.

Their fear is that Catholics who believe in the traditional meaning of marriage would effectively be excluded from some jobs - in the same way as Catholics were barred from many professions from the Reformation until the 19th century.

It said: 'After centuries of persecution, Catholics have, in recent times, been able to be members of the professions and participate fully in the life of this country.

'Legislation for same-sex marriage, should it be enacted, will have many legal consequences, severely restricting the ability of Catholics to teach the truth about marriage in their schools, charitable institutions or places of worship.

'It is meaningless to argue that Catholics and others may still teach their beliefs about marriage in schools and other arenas if they are also expected to uphold the opposite view at the same time.'

The Equal Marriage Bill, allowing couples of the same sex to marry, is due to be published this month.

NOM's Peters in NRO: "GOP Won’t Deserve Millenials If It Abandons the Pro-Marriage Ones"

Our Communications Director Thomas Peters writes in response to the comments made by the IL GOP Chair Pat Brady about young voters and their views on marriage.

He argues that "An abandonment of traditional marriage by the GOP would leave 12 million Millennials without a party that reflects their views on marriage":

Illinois GOP chairman Pat Brady thinks gay marriage is the secret to Republicans’ winning Millennial voters, but he’s wrong.

Brady lamented to a reporter this week that GOP support for traditional marriage is driving away young voters: “How are we ever going to get the vote of anyone under 40?” he asked.

As a 27-year-old ardent supporter of traditional marriage, my question to Pat Brady is, “How does the GOP deserve to get the vote of anyone under 40 if they don’t act decisively to strengthen marriage now?”

Here’s some hard data: Despite all of the Obama campaign’s advantages among young voters, Romney actually won under-30 white men by 13 points. He won under-30 white women by a point. He won 93 percent of under-30 white Republicans, while Obama only managed to get 91 percent of under-30 white Democrats. Romney also won under-30 white independents by two points.

Was Romney’s support for traditional marriage crippling for him among under-30 white voters? Clearly not. (NRO's The Corner)

Update from France: A Pro-Marriage Rebellion!

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Ally,

I write to you from France, where a pro-marriage rebellion is underway!

Francois Hollande, the ultra liberal President of France, swept into power last May, promising among many other things a swift legalizing of same-sex marriage and adoption.

But the people of France did not want this to be.

You see, the French people know in their bones that every child deserves a mother and father. And so they took to the streets – hundreds of thousands of them!

I am proud to be a part of this historic moment in France. See for yourself:

The pro-marriage movement in France is passionate, diverse, uncompromising and inspired. They are also calm, rational and persistent.

This was the biggest pro-marriage demonstration to date. Conservative estimates number the crowds in the hundreds of thousands.

They held signs that read "Une papa, une maman pour TOUS les enfants! — which means "A dad, a mom for ALL children." Some children held signs that read "Made in papa + maman": "Made in mom and dad."

I have been so excited to be part of this new international solidarity movement in defense of marriage, children and family.

I will certainly be reflecting more on this experience on my flight home. And I would ask you to join me in thinking about more creative ways we can proclaim our pro-marriage views with passion and conviction...and in the public square where our fellow Americans can see our fervor and resolution.

I can't wait to come back to the country I love.

But I am inspired to see that those of us in America who hold the institution of marriage sacred truly have so many friends overseas and around the world.

A new day is dawning for marriage.

As I said when I ended a speech last night before a group of French leaders in the fight to protect marriage: Vive le Marriage -- Vive la France!

Le Parisien: 300,000+ Protest SSM in Historic French Marriage Rally

More photos of today's historic marriage rally from Le Parisien:

[translation] ...All came equipped with signs, banners, balloons and clothes for the occasion. The police department expects to manage an influx of 250,000 to 300,000 protesters.