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Roy McDonald Drops Out of State Senate Race; Backs Kathy Marchione

September 28, 2012 at 10:00 am

Roy McDonald's not talking tonight. But what he said the day after the primary, might have been foreshadowing to today's announcement.

"I'm fed up with politics," Sen. McDonald, R- Saratoga, said Sept. 14.

McDonald withdrew from the race Thursday, issuing a statement at about 11:30 this morning saying,
"After discussing the issue with family, friends, campaign staff and trusted advisors, I've decided that I will not actively campaign in the General Election on the Independence Party line."

McDonald implied that he's stepping aside for the good of the party, "I will be supporting all Republican candidates - including Kathy Marchione - in the General Election."

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

No More

September 27, 2012 at 1:15 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Sean Fieler is a good man. An investor and philanthropist, he supports dozens of good causes, including NOM's work to protect marriage.

But he knows his support for NOM and for marriage could make him a target for gay activists, just like we saw happen recently to Dan Cathy, the owner of Chick-fil-A.

Sean could have kept his support for marriage private.

Instead, drawing inspiration from Dan Cathy, Sean decided to become one of the first signers at KeepTheRepublicAndMarriage.com and "out" himself as a public supporter of marriage.

Sean said no more to intimidation of good Americans. He refuses to be silenced or intimidated:

Gay marriage activists are successfully using fear and intimidation to silence the majority of Americans who want to preserve marriage as God created it, the union of one man and one woman. To stop this cycle of fear and intimidation, we need courageous Americans to step forward and make their support public.

Every American has the right to hold their own beliefs, including pro-marriage Americans like you and me.

That's why I'm calling on YOU to join with Sean and trumpet your public support for NOM's work in defense of marriage by signing KeepTheRepublicAndMarriage.com.

Our Founding Fathers fought to bequeath to us a republic where everyone would enjoy the right to exercise their liberty to speak their mind, organize, and support causes they believe in, without fear of harassment and intimidation.

When Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman what type of government the American people were going to have, he said, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."

As proud Americans we know our challenge today is to keep the republic. And to do that in 2012 means keeping marriage and securing our right to publicly protect this sacred institution!

Please join me, Sean, and countless others who refuse to be silenced and intimidated. Sign up at KeepTheRepublicAndMarriage.com and add your name to the list of brave Americans fighting to keep the republic and what it stands for.

Together, united, we are strong enough!

By Brian Brown | Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments (16)

Ilean Ros-Lehtinen Completes Her Evolution, Calls for End of Legal Marriage

September 27, 2012 at 1:00 pm

The lone Republican in the House of Representatives who supports same-sex marriage now says she thinks government should stop licensing marriage altogether:

"...The government should not be in the business of defining marriage, just as the government should not be in the business of forcing individuals to enter into binding contracts with private companies, or to regulate inactivity.

And that is what we are all here for tonight.

This is what we all are working so hard for;

To remind everyone that the principles of conservatism and those of the Log Cabin Republicans are in perfect harmony." - Gay South Florida

Perfect harmony?

Dr. Jennifer Morse and Maggie Gallagher have both explained why sound political reasoning supports the conclusion that it is right for government to protect the institution of marriage.

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

Fr. Pontifex Video: "Although the Church Says No to Gay Marriage it Still Says Yes to You"

September 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Fr. Claude Burns offers a unique take on presenting the Catholic church's view on sex and marriage:

"The topic of homosexuality and the issues around same sex marriage are very charged in our culture right now. The goal of this video is to communicate what the Church teaches about this topic. However, as the title would suggest, the underlying sentiment throughout the whole presentation is that the Church is a refuge of love for all of humanity. Those that would say that the Church is "anti-gay" are either misinformed or deliberately distorting the truth to push their own agenda. For all those who watch this video please understand that the lasting message of "Yes To You" is to let you know that right where you are, with all of your questions, challenges and struggles that the Church indeed says yes to you. You are welcomed and you are loved. We are all in this together."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Catholic Church, Marriage, Media, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (8)

"Unstoppable" Tasmanian Gay Marriage Bill Stopped!

September 27, 2012 at 11:30 am

Gay marriage advocates in Australia had argued that Tasmania's impending legalization of gay marriage should influence Australia's deliberations.

The national convener of Australian Marriage Equality, Alex Greenwich, for instance, said that the vote in the lower Tasmania meant that the move towards redefining marriage equality in Tasmania was ”unstoppable”.

But as we know, nothing in the marriage fight is inevitable.

Now both Australia and Tasmania have defeated gay marriage:

Gay marriage advocates have vowed to keep campaigning as numbers mount against them in the first attempt at pioneering state-based same sex marriage.

The numbers for reform in Tasmania were lost tonight when the eighth voice against the bill was declared in the 15 member state upper house, the Legislative Council.

... Already struggling for numbers in the council, the Same Sex Marriage bill fell after key undeclared MPs raised constitutional doubts. -- Sydney Morning Herald

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

Minnesota for Marriage Financial Report Shows Contributions Increasing!

September 27, 2012 at 11:00 am

This is a critical time for the four state campaigns fighting to protect marriage to increase their funding:

Today, Minnesota For Marriage released its latest finance report outlining that the committee has raised $1,195,652 for the period January 1, 2012 through September 25, 2012.

MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

“Our latest report reveals that our 2012 donor contributions nearly doubled in only two months’ time since the July report,” said John Helmberger, Minnesota for Marriage Chairman. “These numbers reflect what we are hearing from the majority of Minnesotans who understand that marriage is the unique union of one man and one woman and that children need their mothers and fathers. Since around the time of the State Fair, these folks have been taking a more public role in protecting the definition of marriage in Minnesota.”

“Many choose to engage by volunteering—we are continuing to work with the tens of thousands of new supporters and volunteers who signed up at the State Fair. Others show their support by putting a VOTE YES yard sign in their lawn—we have distributed nearly 50,000 since the Fair with another 25,000 nearly entirely spoken for. Still others have given generously to support the efforts of the Minnesota for Marriage campaign as it works tirelessly to defend marriage.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Marriage, Minnesota, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Brian Brown and Gov. Boby Jindal On the No Wiggins Iowa Bus Tour!

September 27, 2012 at 10:45 am

Our president Brian Brown sent us this photo of him with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal after their appearance together for the "No Wiggins" bus tour now taking place in Iowa:

Here's video of Gov. Jindal's remarks:

Here's how the local press covered the stop:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal urged roughly 65 Iowa conservatives clustered in a small downtown park to make sure they vote this November in “what may be the most important election of our lifetimes.”

... Marshalltown was the 11^th stop on the four-day, 17-city “No Wiggins” tour, which concludes Thursday in Orange City.

Iowans for Freedom, backed by conservative groups that include the National Organization for Marriage and Patriot Voices, a group founded by former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, are urging Iowans to vote “No” on a Nov. 6 ballot measure that will decide whether Wiggins retains his seat on the Iowa Supreme Court.

Wiggins is the fourth of seven Iowa justices who took part in a unanimous 2009 decision that legalized same-sex marriage in this state. The three previous justices were ousted following a similar campaign in 2010.

“This is after all the elites said this could never be done,” Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said in Marshalltown remarks shortly before Jindal. He urged Iowans to “do this again” and promised that “we will do anything we can to help you.”

Find out more about the tour at NoWiggins.com.

“Paid for by National Organization for Marriage, 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, Brian Brown, President. Not authorized by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or ballot issue committee.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Events, Iowa, Law, Marriage, Politics, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (31)

AP: What's Missing From Gay Marriage Ads? Gay People [Video Fixed!]

September 27, 2012 at 10:00 am

The Associated Press reports on the lack of gay people in gay marriage ads in all four states:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Debating Marriage, Maine, Marriage, Maryland, Media, Minnesota, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (9)

Archbishop of Baltimore Lori to Address Fundraiser of Several Hundred Marriage Activists

September 27, 2012 at 9:00 am

The Washington Post:

"...Lori, who leads the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic diocese, is listed atop an invitation for the event sponsored by the Maryland Marriage Alliance, the leading organization opposed to Question 6 on the November ballot.

Several hundred people are expected to attend the gathering at an historic Catholic seminary in Baltimore, but it is closed to both the general public and media, according to a spokeswoman for the Maryland Catholic Conference, a member of the anti-same-sex marriage coalition.

“There’s no glitz or glamor in this event,” said Catholic Conference spokeswoman Kathy Dempsey. “We’re not trying to impress anyone.. . . We just hope this event will energize and organize our faith communities.”

...Lori, who leads the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic diocese, is listed atop an invitation for the event sponsored by the Maryland Marriage Alliance, the leading organization opposed to Question 6 on the November ballot.

Several hundred people are expected to attend the gathering at an historic Catholic seminary in Baltimore, but it is closed to both the general public and media, according to a spokeswoman for the Maryland Catholic Conference, a member of the anti-same-sex marriage coalition.

“There’s no glitz or glamor in this event,” said Catholic Conference spokeswoman Kathy Dempsey. “We’re not trying to impress anyone.. . . We just hope this event will energize and organize our faith communities.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Catholic Church, Marriage, Maryland, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Pope Tells French Bishops Defense of Marriage is Prophetic

September 27, 2012 at 8:00 am

Strong and passionate words from the pope:

Against the backdrop of an effort to recognize “gay marriage” in France, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of French bishops that the truth about marriage and the family is vital to society and must be promoted in bold and creative ways.

He said marriage and the family “must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is in fact injurious to human coexistence as such.”

The family is the “foundation of social life” but it is “threatened in many places by a faulty conception of human nature,” the Pope said Sept. 21. The defense of the family and of human life promotes “values that allow the full development of the human person created in the image and likeness of God.” It is “not at all backward-looking but prophetic.” --CNA

By NOM Staff | Posted in Catholic Church, France, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

AP Fact Check: Same-Sex Couples Already Have Visitation Rights

September 26, 2012 at 5:30 pm

The AP fact checks a claim being made by gay marriage activists in Washington and finds it to be false. Hopefully other news outlets in Washington set the record straight and counteract the misinformation being spread by our opponents:

A second pro-Referendum 74 television ad from Washington United for Marriage implies that same-sex couples’ hospital visitation rights are at risk if voters don’t back the state’s gay marriage law.

The ad started airing Friday in Seattle and Spokane markets on broadcast channels and statewide on cable channels.

... ANALYSIS: Same-sex couples do already have hospital visitation rights under the state’s first domestic partnership law that passed in 2007, granting couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies, and organ donations and inheritance rights when there is no will.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civil Unions, Law, Marriage, Media, Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (14)

Minnesota Amendment Supporters Put Up 25 Billboards in Urban Areas

September 26, 2012 at 4:30 pm

MinnPost:

A group supporting the marriage amendment says it is putting up about 25 billboards on major roads in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Duluth and Rochester.

Minnesota for Marriage says one of them is in St. Paul, visible from eastbound I-94, near Cleveland Avenue.

On the billboards are pictures of couples and families with the words "Marriage = One Man + One Woman" and "Vote YES."

The group is supporting a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman. Gay marriage is already illegal in the state, but supporters want it put into the constitution to make it harder for the courts or legislators to change.

The pro-amendment group says it will unveil other forms of advertising in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

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

4 Minnesota Churches Vandalized With "Jesus Was Gay" Posters

September 26, 2012 at 3:15 pm

The press report buries the fact that the message posted at these churches involved homosexuality and four out of the five churches publicly support the Marriage Protection Amendment:

Police are searching for the person responsible for vandalizing multiple churches in Buffalo, Minn., over the weekend.

The Buffalo Police Department responded to incidents at several local churches between Saturday and Monday, with four of those incidents involving placement of handwritten posters containing inflammatory messages.

Police found damage to church buildings at five locations. Police say nothing in the posters left behind referenced the upcoming marriage amendment vote, but most of the churches targeted define marriage as between a man and a woman.

... Rob Jarvis, pastor of Hosanna Lutheran, said he found a poster depicting Jesus as being gay.

“It was (the suspect’s) idea of Jesus and then describing homosexual acts, and things like that,” Jarvis said, as his church’s doors were busted out 24 hours later.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Law, Marriage, MarriageADA, Minnesota, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (19)

NOM Adds $250,000 to Washington State Marriage Battle

September 26, 2012 at 2:00 pm

The Petri Dish:

The National Organization for Marriage has written its first sizable check to the campaign to repeal Washington's gay marriage law.

NOM contributed $250,000 to Preserve Marriage Washington on Sept. 20, according to information posted on the state Public Disclosure Commission web site.

That is the single largest contribution to Preserve Marriage Washington, the coalition working to defeat Referendum 74 in November. It gives Preserve Marriage nearly $876,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to date though the group has spent a little more than a third.