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Rick Santorum: Prop. 8 Ruling Hurts "Foundation of Our Society"

February 9, 2012 at 1:30 pm

From Rick Santorum's campaign website:

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum made the following statement in response to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling on Proposition 8 - the 2008 ballot initiative codifying the traditional definition of marriage as one-man and one-woman.

Rick Santorum said: "Today's decision by the 9th Circuit is another in a long line of radical activist rulings by this rogue circuit - and it is precisely why I have called for that circuit to be abolished and split up. Marriage is defined and has always been defined as 'one man and one woman.' We simply cannot allow 50 different definitions of marriage.

The people of California spoke clearly at the ballot box that they wanted marriage defined in the traditional manner of one man and one woman. And for a court, any court, to usurp the power and will of the people in this manner on an issue this fundamental to the foundation of our society is wrong.

We need to have a Judicial Branch that acts within its Constitutional bounds. We need to have a President that is willing to stand up to the Judiciary. We need to have a President who will fight to protect marriage once and for all with a federal marriage amendment. I am committed to being that President."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (6)

Catholic Bishops Denounce As "Grave Injustice" 9th Circuit Striking Down Prop 8

February 9, 2012 at 1:00 pm

The US Catholic bishops conference:

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, joins the bishops of California in denouncing the February 7 decision of a federal court rejecting the constitutionality of Proposition 8, a voter-approvedinitiative in California that recognizes marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

“Today’s court ruling is a grave injustice, ignoring the reality that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” Cardinal-designate Dolan said. “The Constitution of the United States most assuredly does not forbid the protection of the perennial meaning of marriage, one of the cornerstones of society. The people of California deserve better. Our nation deserves better. Marriage deserves better.”

...“Our society does not operate in an amoral or value-less vacuum,” said Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. “To flourish, it must be infused with moral direction that is grounded in the truth. Of course, the true meaning of marriage, like the gift of human life, is ultimately not subject to a vote or court ruling. But in California, as in every other state where marriage has been put to a vote, the people justly upheld the truth of marriage. How tragic for California, for the nation, and especially for children, that this correctly-informed judgment has now been set aside.”

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Catholic Church, Law, Marriage, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (5)

A New Path to Upward Mobility: Get Married and Stay Married

February 9, 2012 at 12:00 pm

This is one of the top 5 articles on Fox News Opinion right now, written by Sheila Weber, executive director of National Marriage Week USA and the Let's Strengthen Marriage Campaign:

Marriage, we have just learned, is a major cause of the growing great divide among American upper and lower classes.

Last week, in advance of National Marriage Week USA (Feb. 7-14), I took note of fresh news about marriage that should make every American stand up in alert attention.

In mid-January, the Pew Research Center told us 72% of all adults ages 18 and older were married in 1960; but today just 51% are—a record low.

... Research is overwhelming on the fact that this disadvantages children on an enormous scale—think increased teen pregnancies, increased prison populations, and children who grow up with no modeling for how to attain healthy marriage in the next generation.

So what can be done? New York Times columnist David Brooks, who cites “Coming Apart” as probably the most important book of the year, calls for a two-year mandatory national service program to teach responsible behaviors. (Murray cites a loss of the four core American values—marriage, honesty, industrious, and religion—as all contributing to the growing economic woes of the working class.)

Brad Wilcox, head of the National Marriage Project, calls for creators of film and television to promote the values by which the elite live, but because they are stuck in the grips of nonjudgmentalism, do not promote the values of marriage, hard work, obeying the law, and faith as the path to human flourishing.

In these economically challenging times, we must commit ourselves to lowering the high cost of retreat from marriage.

... This is why caring leaders are creating a new national observance designed to strengthen and support marriages, called National Marriage Week USA to be observed from February 7 to 14 each year.

If you are fortunate enough to be in a marriage, I encourage you to take care of it.

Whether you are married or not, Americans should be supportive of promoting marriage prior to childbearing and the strengthening of marriage at all socio-economic levels.

Nothing short of the future of our country, and our way of life, depends on it.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Economics, Marriage | Comments (16)

73% Say It's "Very Important" for Children to Grow Up In Two-Parent Home

February 9, 2012 at 11:00 am

According to Rassmusen:

Adults nationwide overwhelmingly believe that it is important for children to grow up in a home with both parents and feel those children have an advantage over those who grow up in a single-parent home.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 95% say it is at least somewhat important for children to grow up in a home with both parents. This finding includes 73% who see this as Very Important.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Children, Culture, Parenting, Poll | Comments (24)

78% Rate Marriage As Important to U.S. Society; Are Uneasy With Divorce

February 9, 2012 at 10:00 am

According to Rasmussen:

Americans believe overwhelmingly in the importance of marriage, and a sizable number continue to feel it’s too easy to get a divorce in this country.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of American Adults rate the institution of marriage as at least somewhat important to U.S. society, and that includes 60% who consider it Very Important. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 17% don’t believe marriage is a very important institution, with three percent (3%) who say it’s Not At All Important.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Divorce, Marriage, Poll | Comments (13)

Carrie Severino: The 9th Circuit's Attack on Self-Government

February 9, 2012 at 9:00 am

Carrie Severino, Chief Counsel and Policy Director of the Judicial Crisis Network, writes in NRO's Bench Memos:

... This ruling [by the 9th Circuit] effectively says that any attempt by the people of California to check their state courts’ liberal activism violates the United States Constitution. That proposition is not only legally laughable but is constitutionally backwards and may be the most serious attack on self government since the era of poll taxes and literacy tests. They have not only disenfranchised those who are poor or Black, they have effectively disenfranchised an entire state’s citizenry.

Here’s how the one-way ratchet works in today’s opinion. Once a state has changed its law to allow same-sex marriage, then changing the law back becomes a “distinct constitutional violation” by “strip[ping] same-sex couples of the right to have their committed relationship recognized by the State with the designation of ‘marriage,’ which the state constitution had previously guaranteed them.” For the Ninth Circuit it didn’t matter whether same-sex marriage was the law in California for an hour, a day, or a year. It didn’t matter whether it was legalized via judicial fiat rather than legislatively or by a referendum of the people. It didn’t matter that the California Supreme Court acknowledged that the right itself was novel. Once there, it never can be eliminated. Not by the California Supreme Court reconsidering its own discovery of the right. Certainly not by the California legislature. And now not even by the people amending their own state constitution.

... In the bizarro world of the Ninth Circuit, marriage is at once nothing and everything. The unelected California Supreme Court can singlehandedly invent new constitutional rights, but the people cannot use the proper amendment procedures to amend that same constitution to restore its original meaning.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Law, Marriage, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (9)

BREAKING NEWS: WA State House Passes SSM 55-43. Get Ready for a Referendum.

February 8, 2012 at 10:07 pm

Tonight the Washington State House voted to redefine marriage. Supporters of marriage have promised a referendum to allow the people of Washington to vote. From the Associated Press:

Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples.

The action comes a day after a federal appeals court declared California's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, saying it was a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples.

The Washington House passed the bill on a 55-43 vote. The state Senate approved the measure last week. And Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the measure into law next week.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Pedersen, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who has sponsored gay rights bills in the House for several years, said that while he and his partner are grateful for the rights that exist under the state's current domestic partnership law, "domestic partnership is a pale and inadequate substitute for marriage."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, Politics, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (23)

Video: PBS Interviews NOM Chairman John Eastman on Anti-Prop 8 Decision

February 8, 2012 at 2:45 pm

NOM Chairman John Eastman was interviewed yesterday about the 9th Circuit ruling against Prop 8.

He says the question here is "The right of the people to decide for themselves a very fundamental policy question about whether we're going to continue to have an institution of marriage that is rooted in biology with a purpose of procreation as it always has been or whether we're going to allow the courts to mandate a dramatic altercation of that institution with potentially devastating consequences to society. So it's the right of the voters of the state of California to have their judgement about the basic policy in question here affirmed."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Law, Marriage, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (13)

UNBELIEVABLE COURT RULING-Judicial Overlords Declare Marriage is Unconstitutional!

February 8, 2012 at 1:59 pm

Judicial Overlords Declare Marriage is Unconstitutional!

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Yesterday's ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was truly astonishing: Proposition 8—and by implication the marriage laws at the federal level and in 43 states—is unconstitutional.

Even while pretending their ruling was a “narrow” decision, these judges effectively decreed themselves to be the supreme overlords of the people, invalidating the votes of over 7 million Californians and declaring that they, the vaunted elite in black robes and cloaked with lifetime tenure, will decide what marriage means in California and the nation.

I don't know about you but my blood is boiling!

Not only must our founding fathers be rolling over in their graves with the preposterous notion that marriage is unconstitutional, but the ruling is an affront to the millions of Americans—the vast majority of the nation—who recognize that man does not have the right to redefine marriage. After all, how can federal judges redefine something that man didn't create?

If there is any good news, it's this: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the most overturned court in the nation, and the author of the marriage opinion, Stephen Reinhardt, is the most overturned judge in the country. And even this court, the most liberal in the land, couldn't muster a unanimous ruling—the court was sharply split in a 2-1 ruling. It's almost as if even they couldn't deliver the ruling with a straight face.

We have to fight this outrageous ruling! Will you help us now?

Click here to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to the NOM Legal Defense Fund today!

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America is supposed to be a nation where the rule of law prevails. Until this case yesterday, no federal appeals court had ever declared that marriage is unconstitutional. To justify its outrageous opinion, the Ninth Circuit had to totally ignore binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent that state laws like Proposition 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman do not violate the US Constitution.

The two judges who formed the majority opinion dismissed this precedent with a mere mention in a footnote because it inconveniences their radical judicial activism.

The judicial overlords on the Ninth Circuit have come to the amazing conclusion that once a court has imposed same-sex marriage on a state—as the California Supreme Court did in 2008 in a hotly-contested 4-3 ruling—the voters of that state are powerless to do anything about it. Maybe these activist judges think they are above the law, but we don't!

In America, the people are sovereign, not elitist federal judges with their Hollywood values and lifetime tenure. Nobody is above the law, and it's time we reminded them of that fact!

Marriage supporter, please help us take this case to the United States Supreme Court where we can defend marriage!

Donate Now

Let me be clear—I am upset about this decision, but it is not unexpected. In fact, I have been expecting this since the very first Prop 8 hearing in the San Francisco courtroom of Judge Vaughn Walker. From the very beginning, Walker's bias against Prop 8 was evident. Ruling after ruling went against us, despite the evidence and legal precedents. Three times the backers of Prop 8 had to appeal Walker's orders, once all the way to the US Supreme Court where they won a key reversal.

Make no mistake about it—yesterday's ruling will also be reversed by the Supreme Court. I believe that God will stand by those who stand by His design for marriage. We have to do our part to get the case to the Supreme Court, where we can win the ultimate victory to preserve Prop 8 and traditional marriage across the land.

Your donation is tax-deductible and will be kept confidential. Whether you can give $10,000, $1,000, $100 or $10, we need your help today! Every penny you give will go directly toward the Prop 8 legal expenses.

Will you help us?

Click here to make your most generous tax-deductible gift in defense of marriage right now!

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The legal costs of defending Proposition 8 exceed $10 million. NOM has contributed hundreds of thousands directly, and helped raise additional funds, but we must do more. It's going to cost several hundred thousand dollars just to ask the Supreme Court to take this case.

NOM is committed to raising $100,000 in the next week to support the defense of Proposition 8. But we can't do it without you. We're stretched incredibly thin with marriage fights in Congress and in numerous states—New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington state. It's almost overwhelming.

But we must step up and make sure that the outstanding legal team fighting for Prop 8 and traditional marriage across the country have the resources to win the battle. We are counting on you to help us help preserve marriage as God Himself designed it—the union of one man and one woman.

Together, we will prevail. Please help us right now.

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S Brown

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
NOM Education Fund

P.S. Please do not delay. We need the funds right away to fund an immediate appeal to the United States Supreme Court. We have 7 days to raise as much money as we can. WE CAN WIN THIS FIGHT! But only if you stand with us.

Please stand by us in this fight by making an urgent, online, tax-deductible gift to the NOM Legal Defense Fund today.

Donate Now

Brian Brown
By Brian Brown | Posted in California, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (37)

Eugene Volokh: 9th Circuit Proves Yet Another Slippery Slope Prediction Was Accurate

February 8, 2012 at 1:45 pm

An interesting observation by legal scholar Eugene Volokh -- that the 9th Circuit's decision validates yet another "slippery slope" argument used in the past by pro-marriage advocates:

...The Ninth Circuit did not decide that all opposite-sex-only marriage recognition rules are unconstitutional. Rather, it concluded that when a state has already recognized same-sex civil unions that are functionally equivalent or nearly equivalent to marriage, denying the symbolic recognition provided by the label “marriage” is no longer rationally related to a legitimate government interest. The court did not decide whether the general constitutional right to marry that applies to same-sex couples, or whether opposite-sex-only recognition rules are generally unconstitutional on the grounds that discrimination based on sexual orientation requires “strict scrutiny” or “intermediate scrutiny” and fails that scrutiny. It only applied the rational basis test, and held that the regime of civil unions but not same-sex marriage lacks a rational basis.

Note that, if the decision is upheld, this means that the arguments that civil unions are a “slippery slope” to same-sex marriage were absolutely right: The recognition of civil unions changed the legal landscape in a way that made it more likely for courts to also conclude that same-sex marriage must be recognized, too.

Perhaps the next time pro-marriage advocates point out a slippery slope, it will be taken more seriously.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Civil Unions, Law, Marriage, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (18)

ADF Senior Attorney: 9th Circuit Just a Battle -- We're Winning the War to Protect Marriage

February 8, 2012 at 1:15 pm

Brian Raum is senior counsel and head of marriage litigation for the Alliance Defense Fund. He writes in NRO's Bench Memos:

...No one should be surprised that this Hollywood-orchestrated attack on marriage, which was tried in San Francisco, turned out this way. But as the primary legal defenders of California’s marriage amendment, we are confident that the expressed will of the American people in favor of marriage will ultimately be upheld. To that end, every pro-marriage American should be pleased that this case can finally go to the full Ninth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court — where, we are confident, the American people’s definition of marriage will be upheld. The ProtectMarriage.com legal team’s arguments align with every other federal appellate and Supreme Court decision on marriage in American history.

This is only one battle. The good news is that those who wish to see marriage protected are still winning the war across the nation. Society should protect and strengthen marriage between husband and wife because marriage protects and strengthens children, families, and society.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Culture, Law, Marriage, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (4)

Santorum, Romney and Gingrich Slam 9th Circuit Decision

February 8, 2012 at 12:45 pm

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog:

Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney denounced today’s ruling by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco striking down California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.

Mr. Gingrich tweeted, “Court of Appeals overturning CA’s Prop 8 another example of an out of control judiciary. Let’s end judicial supremacy.”

Mr. Romney’s view was almost identical. “Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage,” he said in a statement. “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices.”

Rick Santorum tweeted and wrote this on his campaign Facebook page:

Today, activist judges in the 9th Circuit stripped away the rights of 7 million California voters by striking down Proposition 8. These judges inserted a right into our Constitution that isn't a right at all, but a privilege. The radical actions of the 9th Circuit underscore the need for a constitutional amendment which would define ‘marriage’ as between one man-one woman. Study after study shows that traditional marriage, as it has always been defined – one man and one woman – creates the best possible environment for our children. And strong families are a key part of a strong America.

This issue is far too important to allow for 50 different definitions of marriage at the state level. And this issue should certainly not be decided by a few activist judges. As your president, I will fight for traditional marriage.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Election Watch 2012, Law, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Politics, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage, Supreme Court | Comments (5)

Poll: Majority of New Jersey Citizens Want to Vote on Marriage

February 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm

The State House Bureau:

A majority of New Jersey voters agree with Gov. Chris Christie’s call to put gay marriage on the ballot, according to a poll released this morning.

The Kean University/NJ Speaks poll of 1,000 likely voters found 57 percent support a public referendum on whether to allow same-sex couples to get married, while 32 percent oppose it.

... Democratic members of the Assembly are meeting this afternoon to discuss gay marriage, which has already cleared the Assembly and Senate judiciary committees. Senate President Stephen Sweeney says he has at least the 21 votes needed to pass it in the upper house and has scheduled it for a vote a week from today. Supporters are still trying to line up the 41 votes needed to pass the lower house.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, New Jersey, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (3)

Rep. Nunnelee to Commemorate National Marriage Week on Floor of U.S. House

February 8, 2012 at 11:00 am

A press release from the congressman's office:

Tonight, Congressman Alan Nunnelee (MS-01) will lead a special order on the floor of the House of Representatives emphasizing the importance of strong marriages. The effort is part of National Marriage Week, which aims to encourage many diverse groups to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate, and build a stronger marriage culture, which in turn helps curtail poverty and benefits children.

“I’m proud to participate in National Marriage Week because strong marriages are crucial to strong communities and it is important that government policies support marriage,” Nunnelee said.

Mariam Bell, Policy Advisor for National Marriage Week, said in a statement: "In Congressman Nunnelee we find a champion of the family who is a person of both insight and steadfast action. As we celebrate National Marriage Week, both the Congressman and his wife Tori are a living example of partners walking together through life's journey, working together for a better community and nation. They understand how thriving marriages nurture children and families, our hope for the future. For the Nunnelees, a marriage is not for themselves only, but is a blessing they earnestly seek for others both by example, encouragement and through thoughtful policy advocacy."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Divorce, Marriage, Politics | Comments (4)

11th Circuit Sides with CDC Against Woman Who Refused to do Same-Sex Counseling

February 8, 2012 at 10:00 am

One News Now:

A federal appeals court has upheld the firing of a Christian counselor who lost her job at the Centers for Disease Control for refusing to advise a woman in a homosexual relationship.

Marcia Walden launched a lawsuit in 2008 saying she was illegally laid off by a company the CDC hired to provide counseling to CDC workers. She said the CDC requested the dismissal.

Walden said the layoff violated her free exercise rights under the First Amendment and her rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But on Tuesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld a federal judge's dismissal of Walden's claims.

"We accept that Ms. Walden's sincerely held religious beliefs prohibit her from encouraging or supporting same-sex relationships though counseling," the court said. But the record in the case is "devoid of evidence" supporting her claim that she was removed because she needed to refer potential clients engaged in same-sex relationships to other counselors.

In response, the Alliance Defense Fund has released a statement that reads: "A counselor who is a Christian shouldn't lose her job for upholding the highest professional standards. It is unlawful to punish a Christian for abiding by her faith, particularly when she made every effort to accommodate the interests of a potential client. We are disappointed that the court ruled against these fundamental principles, but we are determining next steps to ultimately vindicate Marcia and the freedoms for which she's fighting."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Education, Georgia, MarriageADA, Religious Liberty | Comments (3)
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