Home
|
Contact Us
|
NOM BLOG

Marriage Amendment to be Introduced in MN Senate!

April 26, 2011 at 4:10 pm

In Minnesota, a marriage amendment is being announced right now which would put the issue before the people of the North Star State in 2012. It will shortly be introduced officially in the MN State Senate.

Here is more from the press release just published:

MN State Senators Warren Limmer and Paul Gazelka

“The proposed constitutional amendment asks voters to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman in Minnesota. This issue constantly comes up during legislative sessions and it’s time for the people to decide. Allowing a small number of politicians, or activist judges in St. Paul to decide the definition of marriage would not be acceptable. We propose an early passage in the legislature this year, followed by a year discussion in our communities statewide in order to be prepared to vote in next year’s General Election,” said Senator Limmer.

“It’s time to empower Minnesotans with a choice on an issue that has been brought up numerous times in the legislature. This constitutional amendment puts the definition of marriage in the hands of the voter. There are a variety of perspectives on this issue, we are simply trying to give people the chance to express their opinion at the polls,” added Senator Gazelka.

“This amendment has been put to the voters in numerous states. On issues like this, I believe that it is best to let the people decide rather than a small group of legislators in St. Paul. By putting this definition of marriage on the ballot, we can ensure that this decision will accurately reflect the values that Minnesotans believe in,” said Senator Hann.

Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting development!

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Minnesota, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (19)

Even Ted Olson Agrees: Abandoning Clients Is Wrong

April 26, 2011 at 2:53 pm

The LA Times:

But the firm's abrupt withdrawal surprised some veteran Washington lawyers, who said they were not aware of a major law firm ever dropping a case because of bad publicity.

"I don't know of anything comparable to this. You have to be willing to stand your ground," said Theodore Olson, a partner at Gibson Dunn who served as Bush's solicitor general prior to Clement. Olson is one of the lawyers for the opponents of California's Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, DOMA, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Video: Some Indiana Students Want to Take Away Your Chick-Fil-A

April 26, 2011 at 2:40 pm

Not content with a personal or communal boycott, some activists are attempting to prevent all students from eating at Chick-Fil-A.

Without the University's intervention, apparently they do not believe they can stop students from eating there:

This all sounds like all the more reason to "Eat Mor Chikin!"

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

Law Prof Steve Sanders on the Demonization of Paul Clement

April 26, 2011 at 2:11 pm

Steve Sanders, a proponent of SSM writing at the University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog, registers some serious doubts about the wisdom of targeting DOMA's defender:

...as a lawyer who recently worked in the Supreme Court and appellate practice group of a major national law firm, I've found myself uncomfortable with the demonization of Clement and K&S and with the insistence by some gay-rights supporters that defending DOMA's constitutionality is not only legally wrong but morally unconscionable. Those who would label lawyers like Clement as (at best) amoral mercenaries do not understand how the world of public-law appellate litigation works.

... every constitutional lawyer knows there is a basic difference between whether something is sound policy, and whether it violates the Constitution. Clement's job in defending DOMA (he reportedly will continue the representation through another law firm) is about the latter question.

... It's worth remembering that until two months ago, the Obama administration's lawyers also defended DOMA. DOMA may be an easy question as a matter of fairness and equality, but its status as a matter of constitutional law -- particularly whether it should get heightened scrutiny -- is not a slam dunk, and its opponents would be well advised not to confuse the two issues.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off on Law Prof Steve Sanders on the Demonization of Paul Clement

Ben Smith: State of Elite Hypocrisy

April 26, 2011 at 1:23 pm

Ben Smith blogs:

So King and Spalding was muscled into dropping its defense of DOMA [yesterday].

White & Case partner and former American Bar Association President Carolyn Lamm, meanwhile, bragged earlier this month to the Washingtonian of the virtue in representing Libya against terror victims....

Lamm, incidentally, put the ABA on the record in support of same-sex marriage.

And there you have the state of elite opinion.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off on Ben Smith: State of Elite Hypocrisy

NOM Apologizes for Driving Up Unemployment Rate

April 26, 2011 at 1:11 pm

The National Organization for Marriage has been accused of many things by our opponents in recent years, but here’s a new charge that may actually be true.

It now appears that NOM is responsible, in however small a fashion, for keeping the unemployment rate high in some notable sectors.

You see, NOM's string of victories in blue states may bear some responsibility for the executive directors and senior staff at state level “marriage equality” organizations to resign or be fired.

It started with Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California in California, who could never recover from his monumental defeat in the Proposition 8 campaign in California, of which NOM was one of the chief supporters and leading organizations to qualify the initiative. Kors stepped down in March of this year.

Next up was the Executive Director of Equality Maryland, Morgan Meneses-Sheets, who was fired two weeks ago after failing to pass a gay marriage bill through the Maryland Legislature. It was supposed to be a “given” that gay marriage would pass in Maryland this year. A given, that is, until NOM got involved.

Shortly after Meneses-Sheets was fired, Equality Maryland's Development Director Matthew Thorn resigned in protest over the firing.

Most recently, Kathy Kushnir, the Executive Director of Marriage Equality of Rhode Island (MERI) --the leading group advocating for gay marriage in that state-- resigned after failing to even get the gay marriage bill out of Committee in another state that was, we were told, a slam dunk for them this year.

All the while, as our opponents keep talking about the march of history, tout biased polls, and tell themselves that their victory is inevitable…secretly, the Executive Directors of other states' “marriage equality” organizations are updating their resumes...

And to those who are looking to fill these vacancies, it might be good to double-check their retention rate.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Humor, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (11)

Sen. Diaz Releases Statement Highlighting Hateful Comments Directed At Him

April 26, 2011 at 12:50 pm

The attacks on NY State Senator Ruben Diaz continue, after he announced a pro-marriage rally to be held in The Bronx on Sunday, May 15th. He writes about some of them:

I'm a little surprised about how widely my position to support New York State's definition of marriage between a man and a woman has been covered in articles, discussed on tv, blogged, posted on facebook pages, and tweeted. I am an ordained minister, and as such, this is what I preach and this what I believe.

The media coverage has resulted in growing support from my constituents, religious leaders, and thousands of New Yorkers who don't want the marriage law changed.

It has also brought out some disturbing responses and threats from hateful people who oppose my position against homosexual marriage. For the sake of transparency, I'm going to share some of these hate-filled comments I have received and read over the past day or so.

Emails I have received through my rubendiaz.com website include two from Leo Medina from Jackson Heights: "YOU ARE DESPICABLE. YOU NASTY BREEDER! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO HELL! EAT S*** AND DIE!" and "you are a disgusting excuse for a human being, and you will get what you deserve".

... Comments that responded to an article about me on the Village Voice include one from Scott Rose who wrote: "Hopefully, Ruben Diaz will very shortly die of natural causes." CornetMustich wrote: "Great, get the coffin ready for this clown, and send him and it to Vatican City..." Stanley J wrote: "Will someone who is eg [sic.] dying of cancer and doesnt have any relatives make his wish come true. Over his dead body."

He then includes many, many more examples of hatred directed at him.

He concludes:

One of the things that I thought makes the United States special is that we can disagree and still get along. Unfortunately, the growing hatred of many people in New York's homosexual community toward me does not demonstrate that.

It makes no sense to me as a minister and as a Senator because I have never preached hatred toward anyone, and I denounce those who do. My strong position against homosexual marriage is the very same as the positions held by rabbis, ministers, imams and priests.

I'm not sharing this information to appear to be a victim for sympathy sake, but I do want to put this in perspective.

I feel a great sympathy for the people who are targeting me with so much hatred.

They will all be in my prayers.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (11)

Economist: New Lawsuit Charges Gender Bias Against Egg Donors

April 26, 2011 at 12:33 pm

In the wake of a new lawsuit, The Economist asks, "Competition for eggs is fierce, is it fair?":

...donations of eggs, unlike those of sperm, take a lot more than a porn magazine and a plastic cup. Before arriving at a clinic to make donations, women have to inject themselves for three weeks with medication. They are called in to give blood samples and undergo vaginal ultrasound tests. Then, on the day of donation, they undergo an uncomfortable extraction procedure which involves a very long needle and punctured ovaries. In the best cases, it takes a day to recover; in the worst, they end up in hospital. Ms Kamakahi argues that any price that does not take that extra commitment and suffering into account is a price that is restrained.

Ms Kamakahi’s lawyers argue that the industry’s agreement to keep prices low constitutes a “conspiracy in restraint of trade”, in breach of antitrust law. They say that the anticompetitive pricing arrangements mean that, while Ms Kamakahi and other egg donors have been prevented from earning their due, the clinics have been reaping extra profits. The lawsuit puts revenues from the egg trade at $80m a year.

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Parenting | Comments Off on Economist: New Lawsuit Charges Gender Bias Against Egg Donors

Sen. Diaz Takes on the Village Voice's Incitements to Hatred

April 26, 2011 at 11:47 am

NY's State Senator Ruben Diaz, who is bravely organizing support for marriage in the Empire State, writes an Open Letter to the Editors of the Village Voice:

When I read Steven Thrasher's column, Ruben Diaz Sr.: Gay Marriage Over My Dead Body, I realized that your point was not to explore the beliefs of people opposed to homosexual marriage, but to vilify my principled and vocal defense against attacks on marriage as we know it.

When I read the comments posted online that followed your article, I considered that you or your editors have espoused an "at all costs" approach to achieving your goal of passing a gay marriage bill. One reader, Wayne writes: "....as you wish, Mr Diaz.....I can arrange your final resting place in a local dump."

Would the authors and editors at the Village Voice have been so quick to tolerate any comments hoping for the demise or imminent death of one of their favorite political leaders? Or perhaps their purpose really was to draw out and encourage criminal acts by your readers.

... It's so sad to see people in journalism abuse their positions, but it's outrageous to see how the editors of the Village Voice use their editorial discretion to facilitate and encourage homicide.

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

Video: Rick Santorum Stands Up for Marriage on Fox News

April 26, 2011 at 11:45 am

Rick Santorum was on FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace this weekend:

Related: Santorum Makes Headway?

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off on Video: Rick Santorum Stands Up for Marriage on Fox News

NY Sen. Ruben Diaz Plans Huge Pro-Marriage Rally in NYC May 15th

April 26, 2011 at 11:33 am

New York Senator Ruben Diaz is planning a huge pro-marriage, pro-life rally (English translation of the announcement here) in New York City on May 15th.

Starting at 12PM on that Sunday the rally will march from 149th Street and Third Avenue to the Bronx County Courthouse at 161st Street and the Grand Concourse to end in prayer.

In 2009 about 20,000 people showed up for a similar rally.

We hope that our pro-Marriage friends in the area show up in support!

LGBT activists, meanwhile, are worried about their ability to stage a counter-rally because May 15th is also the date for the annual AIDS walk. Steven Thrasher writes, "[Y]ou have to admit there's political genius in his date selection."

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in New York, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (18)

NOM Praises Motion to Vacate Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

April 26, 2011 at 10:50 am

WASHINGTON - The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has praised a motion filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco to vacate the decision in Perry v Schwarzenegger finding a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

“NOM welcomes the filing of this motion to vacate this unprecedented, unconstitutional and irrational ruling seeking to impose same-sex marriage on America,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “The American people have a right to expect that their federal courts are conducted transparently and are free of bias. Unfortunately, Judge Walker’s failure to disclose that he is in a 10-year committed relationship with another man makes a mockery of the judicial process and under federal law should result in vacating his ruling.”

Federal law compels a judge to recuse himself from hearing a case whenever “his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” At a minimum, the law requires the judge to “provide full disclosure on the record of the basis of disqualification.” Additionally, the law requires recusal whenever he has “an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” In the Perry case, Walker did not disclose that he is in a long-term, committed relationship with another man, as required by law. This fact was only revealed in a recent news interview after he retired from the bench. Further, since Walker’s ruling, if implemented, would allow him to marry his long-term, same-sex partner, he has an interest in the outcome of the case he decided.

“It is a long-held principle that a judge may not decide his own case, yet that is what Judge Walker has done,” Brown says. “His bias has been apparent from the moment this case landed in his courtroom. Before trial ever began, higher courts had to twice take the extremely rare action of reversing critical decisions he made. The case has been clouded by judicial bias from the start, and it’s time that this mockery of the judicial system be ended. Federal judges cannot be allowed to operate above the law. We call on the federal court to vacate the judgment and restore integrity to our judicial system”

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Press Releases, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (3)

WSJ: "Knave and Spalding"

April 26, 2011 at 10:42 am

From The Wall Street Journal's Review and Outlook blog:

Is it now so politically incorrect to oppose gay marriage that a white shoe law firm will throw over a client rather than defend a law signed by President Bill Clinton? Apparently so, after yesterday's show of invertebrate representation by King and Spalding, the giant Atlanta-based law firm.

...The likely story here is that King and Spalding began to fear a political backlash after activists at the Human Rights Campaign launched a campaign to "educate" (read: intimidate) the firm's clients about "King and Spalding's decision to promote discrimination." Clients include Coca-Cola and other Fortune 500 giants that prefer to avoid hot-button social issues.

That's fair enough, but once a firm takes on a client it is the firmest of legal obligations to see a case through save for a clear conflict of interest. To drop a case under political pressure is especially unethical. Imagine the outcry if a firm of similar standing stopped defending Guantanamo detainees?

Whatever one thinks of Doma, it passed both houses of Congress with huge majorities, and Vice President Joe Biden was among 85 Senators who voted "aye." The law defines marriage as between a man and a woman and says states aren't obliged to honor gay marriages recognized in other states.

Social mores have changed in 15 years, but not so much that gay marriage should be imposed by judicial fiat in a way that further inflames the culture war. The Human Rights Campaign has every right to challenge Doma in court, but it does itself no honor by trying to deny that same right to Doma's supporters by harassing their legal counsel. As for King and Spalding, better not turn your back on its lawyers in a firefight.

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

Steven Giller v. King & Spalding

April 26, 2011 at 10:39 am

More lawyers on the left say Paul Clement was right and King & Spalding were gutless wonders.

Benjamin Wittes notes what Steve Gillers of NYU told National Public Radio this morning:

NYU Law professor Stephen Gillers, a specialist in legal ethics, says Clement was “entirely right,” and that “King & Spalding was scared off by the prospect of becoming a pariah.”

In the New York Times, Gillers goes further–making a similar point to the one I made last night:

But Stephen Gillers, an expert in legal ethics at the New York University law school, said the firm caved in, adding that the “firm’s timidity here will hurt weak clients, poor clients and despised clients.”

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off on Steven Giller v. King & Spalding

Another Former (Clinton) SG Praises Clement

April 26, 2011 at 10:33 am

"I think it’s important for lawyers on the other side of the political divide from Paul, who’s a very fine lawyer, to reaffirm what Paul wrote [in his resignation letter from King & Spalding]. Paul is entirely correct that our adversary system depends on vigorous advocates being willing to take on even very unpopular positions. Having undertaken to defend DOMA, he’s acting in the highest professional and ethical traditions in continuing to represent a client to whom he had committed in this very charged matter."

– Seth Waxman, former U.S. Solicitor General (under President Clinton) and current WilmerHale partner, commenting to Washingtonian magazine on the decision of fellow former S.G. Paul Clement to resign from King & Spalding and join Bancroft PLLC. At Bancroft, the D.C. boutique law firm founded by former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh, Clement will continue to represent the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives in its defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). - Above the Law

NOM
By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)
Home NOM Blog Donate Advocacy Center
Copyright 2011