Dear Marriage Supporter,
Recent events have certainly taught us that the tenor of the debate about marriage in America needs to change. Personally targeting folks for their position on marriage, and labeling them bigots or haters, is completely inappropriate, and—as we have seen all too graphically—it can be dangerous, too!
In recent weeks, we've witnessed mayors using the "bully pulpit" to tell Dan Cathy and his company, Chick-fil-A, that they aren't welcome in certain cities. We've seen organizations that claim the goal of preserving civility and diversity rashly and arbitrarily assigning terms like "hate group" simply because of a difference in opinion. We've seen, sadly, one crazed individual inspired by this rhetoric to take his own warped sense of the law into his own hands and nearly commit mass-murder, stopped only by the grace of God and the quick action of a heroic security guard.
The way in which the debate about marriage is conducted in our country is not a new concern for me. Months ago, when Dan Savage took to his own bully pulpit to harass and demean Christian high-school students, I issued a challenge to him for a civil and adult debate on the topic of marriage. The American people deserve better from the designated representative of the White House's anti-bullying campaign than to have him spewing invective at young people less than half his age who don't even have the chance to talk back. And the American people deserve better from the debate over the future of marriage in general.
So, Dan Savage and I made arrangements to meet. I flew out to the West Coast to have dinner with Dan at his house, and the long anticipated debate over marriage was finally held—on Wednesday, August 15th. A piece covering the debate will be out soon in the New York Times, but the whole thing was video-taped as well.
To make sure you don't miss out on this exciting video, NOM has set up a brand-new website dedicated to the event—www.BrownVSavage.com. We'll be posting the video of the debate there soon, and I'll be sure to let you know when it's available.
In the meantime, I want to encourage you to take a moment to watch this inspiring new video from the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance. We've posted this on www.BrownVSavage.com to underscore why my debate with Dan is so timely and so important.
The new video features one of the young people who was at the journalism conference in Seattle where Dan, in an "anti-bullying" speech, belittled and bullied his Christian audience members in such an appalling way. The girl featured is named Julia Naman, a high-school student with an adult dose of courage; I promise you, her and her father's inspiring message is not to be missed!
"When the mass majority of people are against you and against what you believe, and they're clapping...that you're getting made fun of and ridiculed...it's going to be scary walking out and standing up for your faith," said Julia. "But it's definitely necessary," she continued, "and once you're...face-to-face with God, and He'll bring up that situation and say, 'What did you do...to represent me?', standing up for Him would have been the right decision in that situation."
What an inspiring young person! God bless Julia for her courage and her conviction to "stand up for Him." It should give us hope for the future of marriage in our country seeing the bravery of young people like her!
Please stay tuned to www.BrownVSavage.com for the upcoming video release of my debate with Dan. Meanwhile, I'll continue to stand strong for marriage on your behalf, with your help, debating the matter (with civility and charity), wherever and whenever the opportunity arises! Julia Naman wasn't afraid to stand up, so we can't be either. The stakes are just too high!
Now, more than ever in America, we need civilized, calm, reasonable discussion about marriage: about its importance for our country, for our communities, and—most of all—for our children. We owe this to our kids. We owe it to anyone who has ever been bullied for taking a stand in this debate, anyone whose views have been shouted down by those who just don't want to listen to reason.
So please join the debate today by visiting www.BrownVSavage.com. Together, let's continue to stand strong for marriage—to refuse to be bullied into silence, to speak the truth boldly but always with love, and to provide worthy models for the next generation of what civic discourse in American can and should be!
But the carefully worded text, first published earlier this month, dominated the news headlines in France, where the media have presented it as a strong attack on the reform.
Schumer staff members, put simply, like to marry each other. There have been 10 weddings so far, and two more scheduled this fall — an average of nearly one “Schumer Marriage” (his term) for each year he has spent in the Senate.
