Opponents of Minnesota's Marriage Protection Amendment have been trying to revive the "no differences" thesis through op-eds and other writings.
Dr. Kion Hoffman of Cohasset, who has practiced family medicine for 23 years, the past 19 of them in Deer River, and was an adjunct faculty member for the universities of Washington and Minnesota in the rural-training tract of family-practice residency program, reminds them about some of the findings of the new Regnerus study:
"...The problem with much of the previous research is it suffered from three types of bias. The first is sample size. If you don’t have a large enough sample, then differences don’t reach statistical significance and you can say, from a statistical standpoint, the study finds no difference between two groups when there may still be true differences. The second bias is in survey methodology. If you are trying to determine how the children raised by lesbian or gay couples fare, asking their caregivers is not conducive to objectivity. And the third bias of many studies of homosexual parenting is called selection bias. If you recruit your study subjects rather than obtaining a random sample you can introduce significant error. Admittedly, random sampling of this group is difficult because it represents a very small fraction of the general population.This recent study minimized these types of bias. It compared the responses of adult children of intact biological families with those of adult children raised in homosexual families.
Those raised in lesbian households had lower educational attainment, felt less secure and reported worse health and lower incomes. Thirty-one percent reported having had sex forced on them vs. 8 percent of adults raised in intact biological families.
Those raised in gay households with their father were more likely to have received public assistance, to have suicidal thoughts, to have had a sexually transmitted disease, to have experienced forced sex (25 percent vs. 8 percent), to have smoked, to have been arrested and to have had more sexual partners.
The study found many other differences not listed here. It showed important differences between the self-reported lives of adult children of intact biological families vs. those of adult children raised in homosexual households. Adult children of gay and lesbian households, in general, were not as healthy emotionally, physically or socially.
The marriage amendment would not change our current state law. It only would add to our state Constitution so a judge may not change marriage law against the will of the people of our state.
The marriage amendment does not prevent homosexuals from having committed relationships.
As a family-practice physician, I advocate for the health of families, and I would recommend we vote “yes” for the marriage amendment." -- Duluth News Tribune
Check out this local report on Bishop Michael Hoeppner of the Catholic Diocese of Crookston's efforts to pass the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment:
"To hold marriage as a unique relationship between one man and one woman is not discrimination by any sort, because that's a unique union that a union between two people of same gender cannot be."
As the debate rages over the HHS birth control mandate and other attacks on religious freedom by the government, a bipartisan group of more than 120 state legislators in nine states have launched caucuses focused on protecting religious liberties at the state level.
Organizing their efforts is the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP), which will provide resources and expertise to state lawmakers who wish to enact state-specific religious freedom laws.
Dr. Angela McCaskill gives her first interview to ABC 7:
"...Signing that petition is a right that I have as a citizen of the state of Maryland. It simply means that I want to see this very sensitive issue put on the ballot as a referendum in the state of Maryland,” McCaskill said.
Her attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, says McCaskill will not express her personal view on the matter. He says she will do that in the voting booth.
Gordon says McCaskill “is considering all options, and not ruling out taking legal action,” hoping to get reinstated at Gallaudet.
After learning of McCaskill’s signature on the petition – published by The Washington Blade – an anonymous faculty member filed an official complaint with the University. Now, McCaskill says she feels bullied and she wishes this conflict never happened.
“I feel bad for our students because they go to the university and they look to us for guidance and I feel that we have failed them,” she said. “It’s been very hurtful… because I have nothing but love and support for everyone. And to have this tarnishing my name, my reputation, my character, it hurts.”"
Apostle Dallin H. Oaks of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints renews the church's opposition to same-sex marriage and renews the commitment to strong, healthy marriages which best serve the needs of children:
Is there a business case for supporting same-sex marriage? The numbers say no. Some business leaders took out a full-page ad in Sunday’s Seattle Times endorsing Referendum 74’s same-sex marriage law, but Preserve Marriage Washington points out that protecting marriage is good for a state’s business climate. Several surveys of state economic indicators show that the majority of top performing states are ones that have protected marriage as one man and one woman.
“The facts show that states where the people have voted to preserve traditional marriage are the top performing states economically,” said Joseph Backholm, Chairman of Preserve Marriage Washington. “Rejecting Referendum 74 will not hurt Washington’s economy. If anything, it will help the economy. Research shows that states where voters rejected redefining marriage are the top performing states economically.”
For example, nine of the ten “best states for business” according to a survey of 650 business leaders by Chief Executive Magazine have voted to preserve traditional marriage.
According to Moody’s Analytics, nine of the top ten states for job growth have voted to protect traditional marriage.
Eight of the top ten performing states for “creating jobs, economic development and prosperity” do not have same-sex marriage, according to a study published by the National Chamber Foundation.
“Voting to reject Referendum 74 will not keep Washington from attracting new businesses. The neighboring states competing for jobs – Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, and Montana – all have voted to protect marriage,” said Backholm. “The states that are doing best are those that have preserved marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Companies in these states are not having difficulty recruiting employees or thriving in a ‘global marketplace.’”
"...Last week President T. Alan Hurwitz said in a statement that given McCaskill’s job description, signing the petition was an act that “some feel is inappropriate.” On Tuesday morning, Hurwitz released another statement to clarify that he wants McCaskill to return to campus after her paid administrative leave, resolve this matter and continue as chief diversity officer. McCaskill is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Annapolis."
The beginning of his statement reads:
“I am sending this communication to indicate forcefully that Gallaudet University would like to work with its Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Angela McCaskill, to enable her to return to the community from her administrative leave.
As many know, Dr. McCaskill exercised her right to sign a petition concerning legislation on gay marriage. Because of her position at Gallaudet as our Chief Diversity Officer, many individuals at our university were understandably concerned and confused by her action. They wanted to know ‘does that action interfere with her ability to perform her job?’
I placed her on paid administrative leave as a prudent action to allow the university -- and Dr. McCaskill - the time to consider this question after the emotions of first reactions subsided. While this has become an issue beyond our campus, as President of Gallaudet University, my number one concern is our university community - our students, faculty and staff and so many others who support us. I act on their behalf, not with any agenda other than their well-being as all of us work to prepare these university students for the future. While I expect that a resolution of this matter can be reached that will enable Dr. McCaskill to continue as our Chief Diversity Officer, this will require that she and the University community work together to respond to the concerns that have been raised."
Only 21 days remain in this campaign, so you need to ask yourself: how important is it to you to uphold God's definition of marriage?
Make no mistake about it: this is one of the most urgent questions facing Christians, marriage supporters, and people of faith during this election cycle.
Right now, thanks to a 2-for-1 million dollar matching grant challenge, we have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve the God-ordained, historic understanding of "one man and one woman" marriage. And we've been offered this gift just in time to spoil election night parties for every homosexual marriage lobbyist in the nation!
Remember: when you donate right now, your contribution to protect marriage from Obama will be tripled—NOM will receive an additional $2 for every $1 you give. This means NOM has the potential to raise $3 MILLION to defeat homosexual marriage...in this election!
However, if we fail to take advantage of this million dollar matching grant, and if we fail to meet our election budget, President Obama will be re-elected and his radical homosexual lobbyists will re-define marriage from the West Wing of the White House.
Marriage could also be re-defined in many states from Minnesota to Maryland. School children will be taught in public schools that it's perfectly normal for men to marry other men.
So this is not the time to sit on your hands. Donate $25 or even $2,500 right away to maximize the effectiveness of your contribution by tripling it, while there's still time.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that the Ely, MN-based publication, "The Ely Shopper", which has been around for 80 years, is facing a boycott over the owner's public support of the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment (Ely is up in the iron-range part of MN up north of Duluth, right next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness):
The Ely Shopper has been around 80 years and, according to its website, it's is the place to place an ad: "Whether you are a person selling your old boat and motor, a club announcing your next meeting or a downtown business announcing this week's sale."But when the owner of the Shopper, Delia Whitten, came out against gay marriage just weeks before Minnesota voters weigh in a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as strictly a man-woman thing, a dustup was sure to follow.
A new "Boycott the Ely Shopper" Facebook page had registered 155 "likes" by Monday evening, two days after being launched. Whitten did not answer calls to her home number and hasn't returned messages yet to DatelineMN left with a co-worker who promised to text her our number. A staffer at the office said only Whitten could answer a question about how many people have asked to be removed from the Shopper's mailing list.
As we have reported, a group of African-American religious leaders are calling on black voters to turn their backs on President Barack Obama over his endorsement of gay marriage through a new $1 million project called God Said. Here is their first ad:
Gallaudet University's chief diversity officer is scheduled to discuss her views about being placed on leave for signing a petition to put Maryland's same-sex marriage law on the ballot for voters to decide.
Angela McCaskill, of Upper Marlboro, is scheduled to speak in Annapolis on Tuesday. J. Wyndal Gordan, an attorney for McCaskill, says she is not "anti-gay."
He says she only signed the petition because she believes the issue should be settled by the democratic process.
Voters will be deciding whether to allow same-sex marriage in Maryland in November.
Gallaudet is the nation's leading university for the deaf and the hard of hearing. McCaskill was placed on leave last week.
The Knights of Columbus are actively contributing to the fight to protect marriage in the four states voting on marriage this November, including Minnesota:
"...the group is trying to make its mark in Minnesota, and has directly given more than $130,000 to the fight.
The Minnesota chapters so far have given at least $31,000 to pro-amendment groups. The national headquarters has given another $100,000. But the group's 43,500 Minnesota members could prove far more valuable. In a race shaping up to be decided by a razor-thin margin, a committed bloc of thousands of energized, like-minded voters could make all the difference.
Craig Larson, state deputy of the Minnesota Knights of Columbus, said local Catholic leaders specifically asked the Knights to take a front-and-center role in the amendment fight.
"They are part of the grass-roots team, there's no doubt about that," said Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which is working to pass the measure. "We are grateful for the support of the Knights of Columbus." -- Star Tribune
"...Marriage is a sacred institution that is recognized in every culture around the globe. Marriage between one man and one woman was established by God for procreation. This union creates a family, and it is necessary for the healthy development of children, who need both a mom and a dad in the home.
The black American community already is plagued with problems related to children growing up in single-parent households. For example, a boy who lacks a father in the home is more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior unless he has a positive male role model to help shape him. The homosexual agenda, which attempts to redefine family and marriage, will erode the very foundation of our society. It will place our youth on a dangerous trajectory toward a bleak future in which mothers and fathers don’t matter, values don’t matter and children are placed at risk.
Evidence shows that the lack of intact families in our society leads to social, psychological and emotional problems for children. Why would Mr. Obama want to make homosexual “marriage” equal to traditional marriage when children already face a multitude of issues? The president and others want to legitimize and normalize homosexual “marriage” and shove it down the throats of those who disagree because he is the leader and he said so."
Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. has joined a number of Pacific Northwest businesses in expressing support for gay marriage.
The Seattle-based company sent out an email Thursday morning to its 56,000 employees, saying “is our belief that our gay and lesbian employees are entitled to the same rights and protections marriage provides under the law as all other employees.”
The letter was signed by Nordstrom executives and brothers Blake, Pete and Erik Nordstrom.
Referendum 74, to be voted on next month, asks voters to either approve or reject a law passed earlier this year allowing gay marriage in Washington state. That law is on hold pending the November vote.
"...The problem with much of the previous research is it suffered from three types of bias. The first is sample size. If you don’t have a large enough sample, then differences don’t reach statistical significance and you can say, from a statistical standpoint, the study finds no difference between two groups when there may still be true differences. The second bias is in survey methodology. If you are trying to determine how the children raised by lesbian or gay couples fare, asking their caregivers is not conducive to objectivity. And the third bias of many studies of homosexual parenting is called selection bias. If you recruit your study subjects rather than obtaining a random sample you can introduce significant error. Admittedly, random sampling of this group is difficult because it represents a very small fraction of the general population.This recent study minimized these types of bias. It compared the responses of adult children of intact biological families with those of adult children raised in homosexual families.
“The facts show that states where the people have voted to preserve traditional marriage are the top performing states economically,” said Joseph Backholm, Chairman of Preserve Marriage Washington. “Rejecting Referendum 74 will not hurt Washington’s economy. If anything, it will help the economy. Research shows that states where voters rejected redefining marriage are the top performing states economically.”
The black American community already is plagued with problems related to children growing up in single-parent households. For example, a boy who lacks a father in the home is more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior unless he has a positive male role model to help shape him. The homosexual agenda, which attempts to redefine family and marriage, will erode the very foundation of our society. It will place our youth on a dangerous trajectory toward a bleak future in which mothers and fathers don’t matter, values don’t matter and children are placed at risk.
