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Gay Press: Equality Maryland in Disarray, HRC Will Mount Effort to Pass SSM in 2012

May 25, 2011 at 10:12 am

In the Washington Blade:

Equality Maryland will likely lay off its four remaining staff members and could be forced to close if sufficient funds aren’t raised to cover costs, according to its board president, who blames the organization’s former executive director for the crisis.

... The flap over Meneses-Sheets’ termination has offered a glimpse into how state LGBT rights groups interact with national groups like the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry and the Gill Action Fund.

“The **** has hit the fan,” Meneses-Sheets said, “[the board] realizes there are major problems with the LGBT Caucus and that the national groups have their own agendas that have nothing to do with supporting Equality Maryland. They’ve gotten no money and they’re panicking.”

She claims that at the time she left the organization, there were rumors that HRC would keep Equality Maryland out of future efforts to pass a marriage equality bill, following this year’s failed attempt.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Maryland, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (5)

Minnesota Pastor Pledges to Protect Marriage--and Gay People!

May 25, 2011 at 10:05 am

Minnesota nice on display in the Fergus Falls Journal's letters to the editor section:

Although I understand some of the reasons for it, I was disappointed to read that the reporter could not find any minister who was willing to publicly state their position on the gay marriage issue, except two. And, unfortunately, the two who shared their views spoke in support of legalizing gay marriage.

... as an ordained minister, and as a concerned citizen of this great country, as well as someone who has been a student of the Bible for more than 35 years, I will unequivocally state my view.

... through my experiences in the entertainment industry and other related fields, I have interacted with many individuals who live the homosexual lifestyle. For the most part, I found these individuals to have many wonderful characteristics and value as human beings.

And I will also say that if I saw anyone verbally or physically abusing someone because of their homosexual orientation, I would come to their defense in a second. The reality is, gay or straight we all need a Savior.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Minnesota, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Police Investigating Possible Satanist Graffitti at Cathedral in MN

May 25, 2011 at 9:45 am

In the Twin Cities Pioneer Press:

Graffiti was discovered on the Cathedral of St. Paul last weekend and police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.

White-colored upside-down crosses were spray-painted on five of the six main doors on the Summit Avenue side, according to a police incident report. It occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Police received an initial call about the incident Saturday and generated a police report Monday.

The graffiti was quickly removed, said the Very Rev. Joseph Johnson, the cathedral's rector.

… “It was dealt with immediately,” Dennis McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said today. “It’s been removed. It could have been a prank, it could have been kids, it could have been somebody with an angry vendetta against the church.”

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Minnesota, Religious Liberty | Comments Off on Police Investigating Possible Satanist Graffitti at Cathedral in MN

Odd News: The Divorce Curse in Oregon's 5th

May 25, 2011 at 9:00 am

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

With Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and his wife filing for divorce last week, The Oregonian reports that every lawmaker who has represented Oregon's 5th congressional district has divorced while in office.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage | Comments Off on Odd News: The Divorce Curse in Oregon's 5th

New York Attorney: "[SSM] Isn't About Love; It's About Devaluing Marriage"

May 25, 2011 at 8:00 am

Raymond Belair also serves as general counsel to Family First of Eastchester and the Children First Foundation of Eastchester. He writes (and mentions our NY "Consequences" Ad in the second paragraph):

Recent news stories about the homosexual lobby's push for so-called same-sex marriage have been heavily fortified with statements about love for all people who find themselves in love. That's fine. But there is no valid reason to raise that point in this discussion, since everyone has a right to love whomever they wish. A radical redefinition of marriage — where marriage is devalued to the point of losing its very nature — is the real objective. Such redefinition is neither necessary nor desirable. The real story here is political coercion to force an agenda upon citizens who do not accept a false premise regarding marriage reinvention

... A further baseless claim of the homosexual lobby is that SSM poses no threat to natural marriage or the nuclear family. But a history of such legalization in other states belies that claim. There is a television spot running in New York that makes a valid point regarding consequences "for kids." It is entirely predictable that after SSM is approved that elementary-school students could be subjected to re-education about homosexual marriage being "normative"; this has happened after SSM passed in Massachusetts. A parent there objected to his 6-year-old's required attendance at programs favorably depicting homosexual marriage. The school board rebuffed him, asserting authority to teach "civic values" in conformity with the Massachusetts SSM law, and that it was good for children to be taught things their parents would never approve of. In California, a first-grade class took a "field trip" to the same-sex wedding of their teacher, who felt it was a "teachable moment." Even if the parents agreed to the attendance, why should such an agreement even be asked of them?

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (10)

Victory in Minnesota! The Campaign Begins...

May 24, 2011 at 5:49 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Shortly before midnight Central Time on Saturday, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted 70-62 in a bipartisan majority to let the people of Minnesota vote on a constitutional amendment to protect marriage. Following passage in the Senate earlier this month, the amendment now heads to the 2012 statewide ballot to be voted on by Minnesota voters.

Thank you for all of your help!

Congratulations and thanks to each of you who made phone calls, emailed, prayed, or contacted friends to support passage of the amendment through the House. And special thanks to the Republican leadership for bringing the amendment to a vote, and to the Minnesota Family Council and Minnesota Majority for their tireless efforts, especially over the past several weeks.

Yesterday, NOM issued a statement promising our support for the upcoming ballot measure campaign, and in the weeks ahead we will begin to focus on how we can support the campaign. But before turning our attention to November 2012, I'd like to ask Minnesota residents to take a moment to say "Thank you!" to the state legislators who voted to send this amendment to the voters.

Click here to send a message thanking your state legislators today!

Many of these senators and representatives have been under intense pressure in recent weeks, as same-sex marriage advocates have tried to peel away the votes needed to defeat the amendment. Let them know they did the right thing in trusting their constituents to have the final say on marriage. Send your message today!

Brian Brown

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown

President

National Organization for Marriage

P.S.: Your support makes these victories possible! Already this year, together we have shocked the pundits with victories in Maryland and Rhode Island, and marriage amendments are now moving forward in Minnesota and Indiana.  But we're still in the thick of it in New York, as gay marriage advocates pull out all the stops in an effort to round up 6 more votes in the state senate. The Prop 8 and DOMA litigation is headed for the Supreme Court, and the Minnesota amendment campaign will require millions to educate voters and combat misinformation.  With your help, we can meet each of these challenges. Would you make a donation of $25, $50 or $100 today to help protect marriage from wherever the need arises? Thank you!

Brian Brown
By Brian Brown | Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

A North Carolinan Voice for a Marriage Amendment

May 24, 2011 at 4:08 pm

Victory in Minnesota is encouraging North Carolinans to call for their right to vote for marriage, in the op-ed pages of the Winston-Salem Journal:

Marriage serves as the basis for social organization; it is not a consequence of it. Marriage signifies a particular relationship among the many unions that individuals freely enter; it's the one between a man and a woman that has two obvious goals: mutual support and procreation of children.

No other type of relationship, by definition, can fulfill both goals without the direct or indirect involvement of a third party. To Christians, marriage remains the cornerstone of society, not some government response to the most recent group of discontented Americans.

Rather than wait to see what the Beltway elite decide, North Carolina should pass its own protection of marriage amendment to settle the gay marriage issue once and for all.

Numerous polls over the years consistently show that the majority of people in North Carolina want marriage defined as being between a man and a woman.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in North Carolina, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (6)

Jim Daly: "Why the Same-Sex Marriage Experiment Will Not Work"

May 24, 2011 at 3:26 pm

The gay blogosphere has been trying to claim that Jim Daly of Focus on the Family has given up on protecting marriage. Today he makes clear he hasn't, and knows why:

... I’ve been following the ongoing marriage debate in the New York state legislature. Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared the legalization of same-sex marriage his number one priority. Supporters are waging a clever, celebrity-driven and well-funded campaign, suggesting that all they want is “marriage equality.” In fact, what they want to do is redefine this multi-millennial institution.

... In each example of social reengineering I’ve noted [no-fault divorce, cohabitation, etc], progressives promised good things. Sadly, the exact opposite has happened. However well-meaning the motivation, reengineering what God has designed is not only unwise, but radical and dangerous, too.

Without evidence of success to which to point, supporters of these ill-fated ventures are left with but one choice: If you can’t change unfavorable outcomes, you change the minds of people as to what is considered favorable and good.

Here lies the last great frontier and the last gasp for those determined to re-engineer marriage. Those committed to this form of radicalism have systematically broken down the cultural barrier to same sex marriage by desensitizing people on the issue, stigmatizing those who oppose the movement and potentially criminalizing anyone who stands in opposition to them. The irony in our cultural discussion currently, is if you support traditional marriage, you are the one perceived by the cultural elite to be the radical.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Divorce, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (14)

Most Bed-Stuy Residents Oppose Gay Marriage in New York

May 24, 2011 at 2:48 pm
A local reporter grabbed people off the street in Bed-Stuy and got this response:

This week, [Bed-Stuy Patch] asked Bed-Stuy residents for their opinions on the contentious issue:

“I don’t agree," said Michael Vest. "I think men are supposed to marry women; that’s my view from a Christian perspective.”

Jason Coleman, a 26-year-old computer tech walking along Fulton Street back to work, concurred. “I don’t care what the next man does, but God didn’t intend for two men to get married nor two women. That just makes everything untraditional. After you pass same-sex marriage you’re just throwing religion out the door.”

“It’s not a good idea to have same sex marriages,” said Wendy, a resident walking along Fulton Street. “It’s about Adam and Eve, not Steve and whoever.”

“I don’t believe in same-sex marriage, but to each their own. If that’s what the people want to do... but I don’t believe that it should be a law,” said another Bed-Stuy resident who declined to give her name.

“I don’t support same-sex marriage, so I can’t condone trying to accept it,” said Bernadette Okeke, an administrator who works in human resources.

While most Bed-Stuy residents we spoke to were in favor of traditional marriage, there were still some who agreed with the governor’s position:

“You love who you love,” said Jennifer Sales, a 48-year-old cook who has a gay daughter. “It’s not for us to judge. When it’s time to meet the maker, we’ll know if it’s right or if it’s wrong.

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

Afghans Take Back the Rainbow

May 24, 2011 at 2:19 pm

Nushin Arbabzadah writing in the UK Guardian (the embarrassing part of this story is the liberal western reporters' assumption they had universally changed the meaning of the rainbow):

If you are gay and proud, Afghanistan is quite likely the last place on earth to show it publicly. How, then, are we supposed to make sense of the recent very conspicuous appearance of the rainbow-coloured gay pride symbols all over the streets of Kabul and other urban centres?

... Even more remarkably, Afghan drivers seemed to have little concern about using their cars to openly advertise being gay and proud of it. In a country where social conservatism sometimes results in gay men sharing their life with their partner of choice and an arranged wife so as to keep up appearances, there was certainly something very unusual about this apparently new openness.

Needless to say, Pajhwak's reporter soon discovered that Afghans who had decorated their cars with the rainbow symbol had no idea what it stood for. For them it was just the newest car fashion accessory but, on learning of its meaning in the west, drivers immediately started removing it.

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

Todd Hartch on SSM and The Myth of Escaping the Body

May 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Todd Hartch writes at Public Discourse that "Rather than trying to escape our bodies, we should see that our bodies make union with another possible". In doing so, Hartch confronts the underlying assumptions behind the pro-SSM arguments proposed by NYU Law Professor Kenji Yoshino:

... Yoshino’s own words reveal the failure to take seriously the embodied nature of human persons that is at the heart of his case for same-sex marriage.

... at the core of Yoshino’s argument is a desire. He never makes a philosophical defense of person-body dualism but nevertheless lets its implications infuse his political program. Same-sex marriage, for instance, is a classic example of an attempt to assert that bodies do not matter, that any two consenting adults should be able to enter into “marriage,” regardless of whether their bodies are complementary and oriented toward procreation. Yoshino’s dismissal of what he calls the “common procreation argument” for conjugal marriage is based not on a refutation of the argument in “What is Marriage?”—he does not engage the main threads of that argument seriously and refuses to offer his own definition of marriage—but on this desire to transcend the limitations of biology and to allow human beings to be whatever they want to be.

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

Prof. Wilcox: Adultery on the Run

May 24, 2011 at 11:50 am

In the Washington Post, Prof. Bradford Wilcox points out:

"The marital misbehavior of Schwarzenegger, a Roman Catholic, not to mention evangelical Protestants such as John Ensign and Mark Sanford, however, should not be mistaken for the norm among married men in America today, and especially for married men who are regular churchgoers. . . .

According to research by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, Americans have become less tolerant of marital infidelity over the last forty years, and somewhat less likely to stray over the last 20 years. For instance, in the 1970s, 63 percent of men and 73 percent of women said marital infidelity is “always wrong.” In the 2000s, 78 percent of men and 84 percent of women said that marital infidelity is “always wrong.”

Likewise, in the 1990s, 17 percent of married men and 11 percent of married women reported that they had been unfaithful to their spouses. In the 2000s, infidelity reports fell to 16 percent and 10 percent, respectively, among men and women.

Infidelity is even less common among men and women who attend religious services regularly. Married men and women who attend church weekly are about half as likely to report sexual infidelity, compared to their peers who never attend church, according to research by sociologist Amy Burdette at Florida State University and her colleagues."

Maggie Gallagher
By Maggie Gallagher | Posted in Culture, Divorce, Marriage | Comments (1)

Why New York's Divorce Rate will Fall

May 24, 2011 at 11:34 am

Want to lower your state's divorce rate?  Make passing gay marriage your top priority while the economy tanks, sending the next generation of young families fleeing the state.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (7)

NYT Op-Ed Promotes Boycotting Heterosexual Weddings This Summer

May 24, 2011 at 11:00 am

Going to any wedding this summer? Rich Benjamin isn't, at least if they are between a man and a woman:

I’m boycotting all heterosexual weddings.

... I call on all gay people to join my boycott of straight weddings this summer, regardless of where their straight loved ones stand. Yes, our boycott may bruise some feelings. But then again, our inability to participate in this institution is hurtful and bruising, too.

In recent years, many straight people have admirably pledged not to get married until gay people have the right to do so nationwide. I can’t ask friends like Zach to cancel their weddings, but I expect them to at least understand why I won’t attend. Straight friends and family need to accept their wedding invitations as collateral damage to exclusionary marriage laws. They should feel the consequences of this discrimination as sharply as we do.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (6)

School Teaching Kindergartners That There Are More Than Two Genders

May 24, 2011 at 10:00 am

From an alert from the Pacific Justice Institute:

Redwood Heights Elementary School will be teaching children in grades kindergarten through fifth that there are more than two genders. The two days calendared for this are entitled "Gender Spectrum Diversity Training."

... Another document from the school advises parents: "When you discuss gender with your child, you may hear them (sic) exploring where they (sic) fit on the gender spectrum and why."

... The activities and reading list include: Grades K-1: "Boy, girl or both? Which Outfit, Which Hairdo? (Reading) My Princess Boy."Grades 2-3 "What is gender? (Reading)10,000 Dresses." Grades 4-5: "Three dimensions of gender. (Reading/Song) All I Want to be is Me."

... "Though to many this may seem extreme, based upon some of the bills now pending in the Capitol such as SB 48, this will be the new normal in California's K-12 public schools," [attorney Kevin] Snider continued.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Children, Parenting | Comments (39)
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