Kalley Yanta explains what experts on what both sides of the marriage debate say will happen if marriage is redefined.
"... the volume of new litigation will be immense."
"religious organizations, individuals that object to same-sex marriage will face a wave of new lawsuits under state anti-discrimination and other laws."
The chairman of an Australian parliamentary committee that examined gay law reform said Monday that he believes lawmakers will maintain a ban on same-sex marriage when the contentious issue is voted on later this year.
...Committee chairman Graham Perrett, who has two gay brothers and supports gay marriage, said he does not believe a majority of lawmakers share his views.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, an opponent of gay marriage, will allow members of her center-left Labor Party to make personal choices on how they vote on the legislation. But opposition leader Tony Abbott, a staunch Roman Catholic, will insist that members of his conservative Liberal Party reject gay marriage.
Perrett, a Labor lawmaker, said he believes lawmakers would reject gay marriage even if Abbott allowed members of his party a free vote.
"My reading of it is that would not be the case" that gay marriage would be allowed, Perrett told reporters.
CEOs that come out in favor of redefining marriage are sure to receive a great deal of media attention, but what often goes unnoticed is how the majority of corporations --including large corporations-- are focusing on their business, and are not interested in taking sides on a hot button social issue. The Pioneer Press quotes some of them:
Ameriprise Financial: "We have not taken a public position on this matter, as it is a state issue that does not directly pertain to our business."
CHS: "CHS does not take positions on issues that do not directly affect its business operations. As always, we encourage our employees to exercise their rights as citizens to vote on public offices and issues on the ballot in their home communities."
3M: Has taken no stand on the marriage amendment. "We focus on business issues," said 3M spokeswoman Jacqueline Berry.
U.S. Bancorp: "This issue does not relate to our core business of banking. We as an organization are neutral and do not weigh in on social policy issues. Our employees, of course, are entitled to take their own actions and have their own views, and we support those rights."
Xcel Energy: "We typically do not take positions on ballot questions that do not concern energy policy and we have no plans to fund either side of this initiative. Our benefits package was expanded in 1995 to cover domestic partners and it will not be affected by the outcome of this election."
Other Minnesota companies, such as United HealthGroup, Hormel Foods, Land O'Lakes, Mosaic, Nash Finch, C.H. Robinson, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, simply refused comment.
A father's love is as important to a child’s emotional development as a mother’s, a large-scale study has confirmed.
Examining the cases of more than 10,000 sons and daughters revealed how a cold or distant father can damage a child’s life, sometimes for decades to come.
The review of 36 studies from around the world concluded that his love is at least as important to youngsters as that of their mothers.
Researcher Professor Ronald Rohner said that fatherly love is key to development and hopes his findings will motivate more men to become involved in caring for their offspring.
‘In the US, Great Britain and Europe, we have assumed for the past 300 years that all children need for normal healthy development is a loving relationship with their mother,’ he said.
‘And that dads are there as support for the mother and to support the family financially but are not required for the healthy development of the children.
‘But that belief is fundamentally wrong. We have to start getting away from that idea and realise the dad’s influence is as great, and sometimes greater, than the mother’s.’
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke Friday at the American Enterprise Institute on the growing threats to the First Amendment rights of Americans. As part of that speech he mentioned the IRS leak of NOM's private tax information for political purposes:
"The head of one national advocacy group has released documents which show that his group's confidential IRS information found its way into the hands of a staunch critic on the Left who also happens to be a co-chairman of President Obama's re-election committee. The only way this information could have been made public is if someone leaked it from inside the IRS."
For more on NOM's IRS leak, see our previous coverage here.
Will pro-marriage speech and activism be considered a "homophobic" act?
In what they are touting as a “world first,” a Quebec homosexual activist group has launched a “registry of homophobic acts” with support and funding from the Quebec Government’s Justice Department. Standing alongside Montreal Police Chief Johanne Paquin and Commander Alain Gagnon, the leadership of the group Gai Ecoute launched the anonymous tipster registry at a press conference today.
Included in the definition of actions classified as “homophobic” and deemed worthy of reporting to the registry are: “any negative word or act toward a homosexual or homosexuality in general: physical abuse, verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, offensive graffiti, abuse, injurious mockery, inappropriate media coverage and discrimination.”
A press release from the group says that anyone who has experienced or witnessed an act of homophobia “must” report it to the registry of homophobic acts.
Funding and support for the venture comes from the Quebec Justice Ministry’s department of “The Fight Against Homophobia.” The Justice Ministry was tasked with fighting homophobia in 2008 and last year pledged $7 million to ‘anti-homophobia’ activities. --LifeSiteNews
Capital Tonight reports on David Storobin not losing any time making good on his promises to be a pro-marriage advocate in Albany:
Nearly a year after the successful passage of New York’s same-sex marriage law, Sen. David Storobin quietly introduced a bill that would repeal the measure.
... The newly minted Republican lawmaker from Brooklyn is running in the so-called “Super Jewish” Senate district, putting him on a collision course with Simcha Felder, a Democrat who has not pledged to support the current minority conference leadership.
... The bill introduced on Thursday can be seen as Storobin doubling down on his effort to keep those voters in the fold as he gears up for yet another election this fall against Felder.
Still, the measure could be problematic for the Republican conference, which has largely worked to put the same-sex marriage issue behind them and focus on economic policy.
As Liz reported this morning, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was actually booed by conservatives, in part for the perceived hesitance to take up social issues.
NOM's Thomas Peters is interviewed in this OSV article on the proposal to "separate" religious and civil marriage:
"...Could a clearer separation between civil marriage — a union sanctioned by the state — and those blessed in a religious setting calm religious freedom concerns by presenting a compromise that both sides of the issue could live with?
... Several gay-rights organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign, highlighted the civil-religious marriage distinction. Marriage equality, they said, is simply the government recognizing their unions, whether a church wants to bless their partnerships or not.
... But that creates a false distinction in what marriage is, said Thomas Peters, cultural director for theNational Organization for Marriage, which opposes any efforts to define marriage as anything other than one man and woman.
Peters told OSV that trying to separate marriage from its religious and civil dimensions does not resolve religious liberty threats or prevent marriage from becoming unmoored from its foundation in the natural family.
“I don’t think this distinction between civil and religious marriage makes any sense practically speaking,” Peters said.
“This is a temporary distinction proponents of redefining marriage introduce and then, once civil marriage has been redefined, they then set about collapsing the two categories into each other again,” Peters said. “In European countries that have redefined marriage, the next step is to require all individuals [including ministers] who can issue civil marriage licenses that they also grant them to same-sex couples as well.”
In late March, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that same-sex marriage is not a human right guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, the European court also said that if same-sex couples were allowed to marry, then any church that offers wedding ceremonies would violate anti-discrimination laws if they refused to also marry same-sex couples.
Welcome to the DumpStarbucks.com News!
This week Starbucks doubled down on their support of same-sex marriage. Starbucks Australia released a statement echoing their parent company's previous statement that same-sex marriage is core to the brand. Even more interesting is that it appears Starbucks Australia is going to take their support beyond what their corporate parent has done.
"It is with this in mind that Starbucks Australia would like to publicly announce our proud support of marriage equality for all."
While I'm not exactly sure of the intent behind this statement, the obvious implication is that Starbucks Australia supports the ability of any person to marry anyone else, with no qualifiers. Lest anyone think we are taking this statement out of context, the full statement from the Starbucks Australia Facebook page is as follows:
Core to who we are and what we value as a company is our belief in equal treatment of our partners (employees) and our customers. It is with this in mind that Starbucks Australia would like to publicly announce our proud support of Marriage Equality for all. Many of our stores and partners are actively participating in events and activities aimed at changing local legislation—together we can make a difference.
Such a broad statement is easily misunderstood and tells us that Starbucks is better equipped to sell coffee than push a controversial moral issue. While I doubt they intended to support polygamous, incestuous, or underage relationships, it certainly appears they are trying to push the line.
They should stick to their coffee.
What you can do this week:
Get on your Facebook account and go to the Starbucks Facebook page. On the right hand side, just below the main bar at the top of the page, you should see a list of your own Facebook friends that "like" Starbucks. Look at the list and send your pro-marriage friends a private message along these lines:
I was checking out Starbucks the other day and saw that they have endorsed same-sex marriage. I know you are a big supporter of the family and thought I'd send you a link to the counter-campaign that I found, DumpStarbucks.com. I signed on because I believe in marriage, and that big corporations should stay out of controversial moral issues that have nothing to do with their business.
Feel free to personalize the message as you see fit; the key is to let people know that Starbucks has endorsed same-sex marriage and to help them figure out a way they can join with tens of thousands of other people in speaking out.
Have a great week!
Dear Marriage Supporter:
Same-sex marriage advocates are stockpiling millions of dollars that will be used in Washington, Maryland, Minnesota and Maine this November. They know how much is riding on the outcome of these four elections . . . and it is imperative that we stand up and fight back against the Hollywood liberals and radical billionaires bankrolling the gay marriage campaigns.
It is because the need is so urgent that I am asking you today to give whatever you can to help fund these state campaigns. The campaign volunteers are doing heroic work on a shoestring budget, but unless they have the funds to pay for expensive ad campaigns this November, our unbroken string of 32 consecutive states to reject same-sex marriage could come to an end.
Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day, acknowledging the unique and critical role that fathers play in the formation of a family for the purpose of raising children. Last month we did the same for mothers.
But there are forces at play who are actively trying to destroy this foundational notion—that marriage is between a man and a woman because it takes a mother AND a father to raise a child.
With both DOMA and California's Proposition 8 soon to make their way to the United States Supreme Court, gay marriage advocates know what a coup it would be if they were able to use election returns from November as evidence that the attitudes of the American people are "shifting" regarding same-sex marriage.
Supporter, we have to let them know, in no uncertain terms: NO THEY HAVE NOT!
And the only way to unequivocally do that is to win this November in all four states.
Each of these states—Washington, Maryland, Minnesota and Maine—needs funds to counter the well-funded campaigns of lies and disinformation the same-sex marriage lobby is bankrolling.
Thank you so much for your support. God Bless You,
We've reported on Julea Ward's story in the past. Now, state legislators in Michigan are doing something to help her situation and to help others who face discrimination over their pro-marriage views:
The Michigan House has passed a bill meant to prohibit religious discrimination against college students who study counseling, social work, and psychology.
The bill was prompted after student Julea Ward was kicked out of a counseling program at Eastern Michigan University for refusing to counsel a gay student, saying it conflicted with her Christian beliefs. Bill 5040, known as the, "Julea Ward Freedom of Conscience Act," passed 59-to-50 Wednesday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. -- WHTC
The Indiana Republican Party's new platform makes no mention of same-sex marriage, even though GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence has sought a national ban in Congress and legislators have pushed to put a ban in the state constitution.
... Indiana Republican Party spokesman Pete Seat downplayed the importance of the change in the state platform, which was approved during the party convention last weekend.
"A lot of issues are covered; a lot weren't," Seat said. "This platform reflects the broader priorities of the Indiana Republican Party."
... When the legislature voted in 2011 for an amendment banning same-sex marriage, 11 Democrats voted with 59 Republicans to approve it in the House, while three Democrats joined 37 Republicans to support it in the Senate.
The amendment must be approved again by the Legislature elected in November to be considered by voters in the fall 2014 election.
The Conservative Party is no fan of NY GOP Senate Leader Dean Skelos, who allowed a vote to redefine marriage when he did not have to:
Two different sources who attended the state Conservative Party’s 50th anniversary gala in New York City last night emailed to say that Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was booed by members of the crowd when he was introduced from the dais.
One source estimated between 30 percent and 40 percent of the audience participated in the booing.
He suggested rank-and-file conservatives are still smarting from the fact that Skelos allowed the same-sex marriage bill to the floor for a vote last summer, where it passed, thanks to the “yes” votes of four members of his majority conference.
Those votes cost the members – Sens. Mark Grisanti, Steve Saland, Jim Alesi and Roy McDonald – the Conservative Party’s cross-endorsement.
One of the four, Alesi, has opted not to seek re-election this fall, thanks to a lack of support from both fellow Republicans and Conseravtives in his Rochester-area district...
... The remaining three are all facing primary challenges from more conservative Republicans. -- Capital Tonight
W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia:
Dads are disposable. This is the story now being told in certain precincts of our culture, from the Hollywood Hills — “Women are realizing it more and more, knowing that they don't have to settle with a man just to have that child,” in the words of Jennifer Anniston — to the Ivy League — Cornell psychologist Peggy Drexler recently wrote a book, Raising Boys Without Men, that celebrated women raising children without fathers.
There is only one problem with this story: it is a myth that does not fit the facts.
Do not get me wrong. I was raised by a single mom, and I think I turned out OK, as do many children raised in fatherless homes. But as a social scientist, I can also tell you that one consistent conclusion from hundreds of studies on child well-being is this: on average, children are much more likely to thrive when they have the good fortune to be raised in a home with their own married father. -- Deseret News
The Economist filed this under "diversity and speech" -- our President Brian Brown spoke at the conference in question:
HOW far does tolerance stretch? In March Christian Concern, a lobby group that opposes gay marriage, booked rooms for its conference at the Law Society, a statutory body that represents solicitors in England and Wales. On May 11th the Law Society’s hospitality company cancelled the booking, saying that the event was “contrary to our diversity policy, espousing as it does an ethos which is opposed to same-sex marriage.” Christian Concern then booked at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, a publicly-owned building near Parliament. On May 22nd, the afternoon before the conference was due to start, its chief executive Ernest Vincent cancelled the booking, saying: “The event would conflict with our policy on diversity.”
Christian Concern is incensed. It is planning legal action, possibly for damages, possibly to get a judge to rule that the cancellation was unlawful. It notes that the government has launched a public consultation on changes to the marriage law. Those campaigning for reform are allowed to book the QEII centre; why not those opposed to it? Speakers at the conference (which then moved to a nearby hotel) included a retired philosophy professor, a representative of the Catholic archdiocese of Westminster, the chairman of the Tory Party’s oldest pressure group, the Bow Group, Phillip Blond (another Tory adviser) and Cristina Odone, a journalist married to an editor at this newspaper.
