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47% Oppose, Only 42% Favor SSM According to 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll

August 30, 2011 at 2:42 pm

We're guessing the "I don't knows" and "no responses" are also opposed:

Source: CBSNews.com

By NOM Staff | Posted in Poll, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (34)

Vander Platts: Sen. Gronstal's Refusal to Let Iowans Vote on Marriage Will Lead to His Defeat in 2012

August 30, 2011 at 1:00 pm

In Iowa, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal still refuses to let the people of Iowa vote -- even if it costs him the next election:

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said he intends to block efforts in the Iowa Legislature next year to refer a gay marriage ban to voters.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gronstal said he knows his stand against letting voters decide whether to amend the Iowa Constitution to ban gay marriage could hurt him with some constituents, but he was willing to take the risk.

... Bob Vander Plaats, who heads the conservative group The Family Leader, speculated that Gronstal's position would hurt him in his bid for re-election.

"I think my political assessment of his decision is it will lead to his defeat in 2012," said Vander Plaats, who led the campaign to remove the three Iowa Supreme Court justices. "Obviously he'll be a top target of ours."

Vander Plaats said he would seek to repeat the successful campaign against the justices in his effort to defeat Gronstal.

"Anytime you stifle the people's voice, people are going to hold you accountable," said Vander Plaats. --Associated Press

By NOM Staff | Posted in Iowa, Marriage Election Watch, Politics, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (18)

As Herman Cain Visits Florida, Local Reporter Wonders Why He Hasn't Signed NOM's Marriage Pledge

August 30, 2011 at 11:30 am

Virginia Chamlee at the Florida Independent:

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain will be in the Sunshine State this week, for stops in both Tampa and Sanford.

... Cain, the self-made millionaire and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, has done fairly well in recent straw polls, but is arguably not as well known as other GOP hopefuls like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.

Though he has made known his stance on abortion (he is against it), Cain has been less vocal about his stance on gay marriage. Though he has lambasted President Obama for his failure to defend a federal ban on gay marriage, he has yet to comment on a pledge drafted by the National Organization for Marriage, which Perry signed.

(We wonder, too.)

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Florida, Marriage Election Watch | Comments (2)

Weprin Cancels NY-9 Debate, Blames Irene

August 30, 2011 at 10:45 am

Gotham Gazette:

Democratic congressional candidate and State Assemblymember David Weprin has withdrawn from [yesterday's] scheduled debate with his GOP rival, Bob Turner. The two men are locked in a tough contest to succeed Anthony Weiner in the Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn and Queens.

... Holden, though, was not accepting the hurricane as a reason for Weprin’s change in plans. “This stinks to high heaven,” Holden said.

He said the candidate’s people had been voicing concern about the debate for the past week, expressing fear it could get disorderly and pressing for a forum instead of an actual debate. Holden said he had promised that the debate would be well run – no placards allowed and some police on hand – but he added, “I can’t guarantee you’re not going to get tough questions.”

The cancellation “is going to backfire for Weprin big time, “Holden said. “Anybody who would do this would not be a straight shooter in Congress.”

The New York Times:

David I. Weprin, a Democrat in the State Assembly, pulled out of the event at the last minute, saying that Tropical Storm Irene, which had long since dissipated, had disrupted his schedule.

It was an eyebrow-raising explanation, especially given that his Republican opponent, Bob Turner, had been evacuated from his home in the Rockaways during the storm, yet still planned to make the debate.

... In a playful act of political theater, the Turner campaign dispatched a volunteer to drive the route between Mr. Weprin’s campaign headquarters and the debate site to demonstrate how little time it took (22 minutes “if one is willing to brave two turns and several traffic lights,” the campaign reported.)

... A civic association staff member wrote and published an article on the group’s Web site Monday assailing Mr. Weprin, who was selected as the Democratic nominee for Congress by local party leaders.

By bowing out of the debate, the article said, Mr. Weprin “was living up to his reputation as a career politician relying on appointments and back-door politics to survive in the complicated Ninth Congressional District.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (4)

Massachusetts Parents Win Federal Right to Prevent Intrusive Sexual Questioning of Their Children

August 30, 2011 at 10:30 am

CitizenLink reports:

A Massachusetts middle school passed a new policy yesterday, changing its “passive consent” system for parents — who might be concerned about sexually explicit surveys administered to students — to one that ensures they will only be given to students whose parents have given express written consent.

Arlene Tessitore and The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties law firm, filed a federal lawsuit in June against the Fitchburg City School Committee. Tessitore’s two daughters were told they had to complete a survey asking about their sexual thoughts and birth control practices. The school said parents had been sent an “opt-out” form; without that, parents were assumed to have given their consent. Tessitore said she never received any form, and was appalled by the questions her daughters were asked.

The school’s new policy brings it into compliance with the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

... “This is a huge victory for parental rights,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Parents are the ones who should decide whether they want their children to be mined for information about their personal thoughts, beliefs or practices. We take it seriously when government officials try to short-circuit that essential parent-child relationship.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Children, Education, Massachusetts, Parenting | Comments Off

Pro-SSM Senator Admits Getting WA State Lawmakers to Approve SSM in Election Year Will Be Tough

August 30, 2011 at 10:00 am

The Seattle Times buries the lead, but the implication is clear:

Two key Democratic state lawmakers are considering a major push to try and pass a gay-marriage law in Washington next year.

Sen. Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen, gay lawmakers from the 43rd District in Seattle, said they're in early discussions and have to run the idea by community and legislative leaders.

... "The Senate has always been a problem," Murray said. "I know we do not have enough votes in the Democratic caucus in the Senate to pass marriage and that it would require ... a bipartisan vote, with some Republicans voting for it."

Currently, it appears they're a few votes short, he said.

The House may have enough votes to pass the legislation. "But there's never been a hard count, saying this year in an election year, will you vote for this bill? That has not happened," Murray said.

And why should it matter that 2012 is an election year? Oh, that's right -- because marriage has consequences for lawmakers who presume to redefine it.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage Election Watch, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments Off

Santorum: Gay Activists on Jihad Against Me Over My Stand for Marriage

August 30, 2011 at 9:30 am

And he's not giving up!

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said the gay community has "gone out on a jihad" against him for his stance against gay marriage.

"So the gay community said, 'He's comparing gay sex to incest and polygamy, how dare he do this,' and they have gone out on a, I would argue, jihad against Rick Santorum since then," the former senator said at a campaign stop in Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday.

Santorum (R-Pa.) has been an outspoken critic of bothLawrence v. Texas, a 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down state sodomy laws, and state laws that allow gay marriage.--The Hill

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Election Watch 2012, Marriage Election Watch, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Marriage Amendment Awareness Campaign Launched at Minnesota’s State Fair

August 30, 2011 at 9:00 am

The Catholic Spirit reports:

Within sight of the main gate of the Minnesota State Fair, Michael Blissenbach offered literature about marriage to people on their way to and from The Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Blissenbach and other volunteers were the point persons in the launching of what is expected to be a 15-month effort to inform voters in Minnesota about the importance of supporting an amendment to the state constitution that would preserve the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

“A lot of people are taking the literature,” said Blissenbach, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings. “And even if they don’t they’re very respectful about it. They’ll say ‘No thanks’ or ‘We don’t agree.’”

... Volunteer Andy Servi, from St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, pointed to the “wisdom of the ages” that he felt should be convincing. “Cultures throughout history found that marriage of one man and one woman benefited society.” Servi was joined in staffing the coalition booth by his wife, Richel and their 20-month-old daughter, Riana.

... Gene and Gloria Hippe, Wilmar residents and members of St. Mary parish there, stopped at the booth Aug. 26.

“I don’t want to see marriage breakdown any more than it already is,” Gloria Hippe explained.

Gene Hippe added, “It comes down to a child needs a mom and a dad. It’s something so basic that we haven’t thought about it until it’s threatened.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, Minnesota, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (4)

HRC President Joe Solmonese Resigning

August 30, 2011 at 8:30 am

FOXNews:

Joe Solmonese, head of the Human Rights Campaign, the influential gay rights group at the forefront of debate over same-sex marriage and the repeal of don't ask don't tell, announced his resignation over the weekend.

Solmonese will depart at the end of his contract in March 2012. After seven years, he said he wants to to try something new but plans to remain political.

"This is the right moment for me to move on," Solmonese said in a press release.

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

NY-9: Weprin Supporters More Likely to Change Vote After SSM Betrayal

August 30, 2011 at 8:00 am

Orthodox Jews have supported NY Assemblyman David Weprin in the past but now his vote for same-sex marriage is putting that support in grave jeopardy, as the Village Voice reports:

"...Though Weprin gave generously to Jewish nonprofit groups when he was the City Council's finance chair, many religious Jews are still fuming about his vote in the Assembly this year in favor of same-sex marriage.

While turnout in an off-year special election is notoriously hard to predict, the latest Siena poll [PDF] shows that despite a three-to-one advantage for Democrats, Weprin leads by just six points—and that his voters are significantly more likely to change their vote."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage Election Watch, New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Governor Perry Signs Marriage Pledge!

August 29, 2011 at 6:10 pm

2012 NOM Marriage Challenge

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Governor Rick Perry

Kudos to Gov. Rick Perry for making it clear: he's a marriage champion!

Our purpose in creating the Marriage Pledge was to move presidential positions from vague values statements to concrete actions to protect marriage. With his signature yesterday, Gov. Perry joins Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum as a signer of NOM Marriage Pledge. (Click here to view Governor Perry's signed pledge.)

Each of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination have now signed the NOM Marriage Pledge, going on record with a strong commitment to protecting marriage. Governor Perry's signature makes crystal clear that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, gay marriage is going to be a bigger issue in 2012 than it was in 2008, because the difference between the GOP nominee and Pres. Obama is going to be large and clear.

We've just finished our weeklong Values Voters Bus Tour with FRC Action and the Susan B. Anthony List. On Labor Day, NOM Founding Chairman Robert George will be asking questions of the candidates at the Palmetto Freedom Forum in South Carolina.
And now all the frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination have signed the NOM Marriage Pledge, promising to defend DOMA, support a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, appoint judges who will be faithful to the Constitution, and protect the religious liberty of marriage supporters.

And this is just the beginning! By getting involved early, we are helping to shape the nature of the marriage debate. We have much more in store for the coming year, but need your help to make it happen. Please stand with us today – this next election will have profound consequences for the future of our nation, and with your help we can move the ball forward for marriage in 2012!

Please click here to make a generous gift of $200, $100, $50 or whatever amount is right for you. Or better yet, help sustain us through the next year with a monthly gift of $10, $20 or $50.

Together, we are showing that support for marriage is a winning position for a presidential candidate.

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

PS: This is our chance to make sure the Republican Party gets the message loud and clear: The American people, and especially the Republican grassroots, stand firmly on the side of marriage. Protecting marriage isn't just the right thing to do – it's a winning position for politicians, too! Help us communicate this message to the GOP elites with your generous gift today!

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (32)

Recent News Coverage of NOM's Marriage Pledge

August 29, 2011 at 6:08 pm

Jim Forsyth at Reuters offered good coverage of Rick Perry signing the NOM Marriage Pledge:

Texas Governor and Republican presidential contender Rick Perry has signed a pledge vowing to support a Constitutional amendment declaring marriage to be a union of one man and one woman, the group sponsoring the pledge said on Friday.

"Kudos to Governor Rick Perry for making it clear: he's a marriage champion," National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown said in a statement.

...The pledge also includes a vow to support the Defense of Marriage Act in court, appoint judges and an Attorney General who will respect "the original meaning of the Constitution," and appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of "traditional marriage" supporters.

Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, among those competing with Perry for Republican presidential nomination, have also signed the pledge, the group said.

Here's even more coverage by mainstream media:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage Election Watch, Media, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Video: Pro-SSM Flash Mob Protests At Michele Bachmann's Husband's Clinic

August 29, 2011 at 4:16 pm

This is their idea of a good joke, complete with a fake glitter "baptism" and mock "conversion" therapy to the gay rights side:

Andy Birkey at the Minnesota Independent writes:

A flash mob at Bachmann & Associates, a Christian counseling clinic run by Michele Bachmann and her husband Marcus [...] poked fun at allegations that the clinic performs therapy to “cure” homosexuality.

... The barbarian outfits were in response to a radio interview Marcus Bachmann gave in 2010 that insinuated that LGBT people were “barbarians” who “need to be educated.” The dance troop also featured a fake Marcus Bachmann who was “baptized” in glitter during the stunt.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Culture, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (21)

Wherein the WaPo Pretends Gay Marriage Splits the Republican Party

August 29, 2011 at 3:50 pm

NOM's Marriage Pledge continues to make waves, with the mainstream media --in this case, the Washington Post-- bending over backwards to find some way the issue hurts Republicans:

Republicans broadly are very much against gay marriage. But according to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute last September, by a 55-to-41 percent margin, they think decisions about the issue should be made at the state level. And among tea partiers, the margin is even greater: 62 to 35 percent.

So, at least on the surface, that’s a solid majority of Republicans AND tea partiers expressing what amounts to opposition to a federal marriage amendment.

Now it should be noted that, as with Bachmann and Perry, there does appear to be some overlap between those who say they think gay marriage is a state issue and those who support a federal amendment effectively banning gay marriage.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage Election Watch, Politics, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (5)

Santorum in Iowa: SSM Means Government Redefining What is Good

August 29, 2011 at 1:00 pm

CitizenLink reports that presidential candidate Rick Santorum continues to speak out strongly for marriage and religious freedom on the campaign trail:

In the question-and-answer session, published today by The Iowa Independent, Santorum explains why he believes same-sex marriage — which is legal in Iowa — threatens religious freedom.

... “When you cheapen [marriage] by saying anybody in any relationship is the same, it’s not. So you undermine the institution, number one, and number two, you’re gonna undermine religious liberty in this country. We’re seeing it already,” he continued. “Anybody who does not recognize what the state says is ‘good’ and ‘right’ is a ‘bigot.’ (The government won’t) give licenses for adoptions to organizations that won’t do gay adoptions because they’re ‘bigots.’ And a lot of those are faith-based organizations.

“Will we go into pulpits and tell preachers they can’t preach that gay marriage is wrong? Well, maybe not right away, but maybe tax-exempt status is next. There’s a conflict here because we’ve created something that is not what it is. As a result of that, it will have a huge impact on people’s religious freedom. You see it in every country that has adopted it already.

“It will also have the impact of changing our educational structure. You’re seeing that already, too, where young children are being indoctrinated as to what ‘normal’ is. Now ‘normal’ is what the law says it is.”