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NOM BLOG

Marriage Connects More Than Just Men and Women; it Creates the Fabric of Society

September 11, 2013 at 1:57 pm

At the heart of the marriage debate are two very different views of marriage. The view of most same-sex ‘marriage’ advocates is that marriage primarily satisfies the desires of the adults involved. On the other hand, the historical view is that marriage is a public good, not solely designed towards the satisfaction of adult desires. It is the place that children do best, and have the best chance of growing into the responsible citizens every society needs. In short, marriage is the fabric of society.

Today in the Public Discourse, Andrew T. Walker discusses marriage as it relates to community and kinship:

The needs and goods of the political community define the reciprocal nature of natural marriage. The political community needs marriage because it is, according to James Q. Wilson, “a socially arranged solution for the problem of getting people to stay together and care for children that the mere desire for children, and the sex that makes children possible, does not solve.” Marriage also gives order (goods) by fashioning bonds of community that foster connection to family, neighborhood, and society.

When speaking about the uniquely child-centered nature of marriage, we need to be equally adamant that marriage is a socially-centered institution. While marriage is a good in itself, marriage’s ontological nature is intimately linked to its social purpose.

If we grant kinship’s centrality to marriage, same-sex relationships not only fail as to what constitutes a marriage, but same-sex relationships also fail the kinship test. Redefining marriage to include same-sex relationships enacts a legal fiction that the organic contours of society neither intuitively recognize nor posit. Same-sex marriage does not contribute to the kinship model. If natural marriage bestows life in way that is socially-oriented and centrifugal, then we might say that same-sex marriage is centripetal. In same-sex marriage, the emotional, non-generative unions of adults become the center.

We Must

September 11, 2013 at 8:00 am

Marriage Supporter,

I need your help! With summer concluding, we are now actively engaged in raging legislative battles in several states, and in Congress, to defend marriage and preserve religious liberty. Now is the perfect time to make a generous donation to NOM, not only providing us with the resources we need to prevail, but actually doubling your donation thanks to a generous donor who is matching all contributions dollar for dollar through the end of the year!

Won't you please make a generous donation today to help NOM defend marriage and our precious religious liberties?

So far, we're at $150,000. I'm hoping that by the end of the week, with your help, we will be at $200,000. That means $400,000 that is being deployed to preserve marriage and religious liberty in the states and at the federal level.

I want to thank all of you who have been able to give. Your generosity continues to encourage all of us here at NOM.

If you haven't yet be able to donate to our matching gift campaign — now is the perfect time...

From coast to coast, and even out to Hawaii, God's design for marriage continues to be under attack. But we can win and you can make a particular difference by giving this week.

As you know, this week Congress returns to Washington...and NOM is deeply engaged in several issues that have national implications. In the nation's capitol we must push for a federal marriage amendment, while at the same time holding our elected officials accountable, showing them that the people of this great nation believe in true marriage.

We MUST support Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a marriage champion, who has put forward a proposal calling for a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U. S. Constitution; and get the elected representatives from every state which has manifested the will of the people by passing a state Constitutional Marriage Amendment to join in as co-sponsors of the bill!

We MUST get Congress to use its power to determine the source of the crimes committed in releasing NOM's confidential tax return to our political opponents, including a group headed by President Obama's national campaign co-chair. We know that the IRS and the Justice Department will not act to hold the perpetrators accountable, so Congress must intercede to demand answers.

And we must continue working with allied organizations and friends at the state level to promote and protect marriage there.

Yesterday, Governor Abercrombie of Hawaii announced the he was calling a special, emergency session of their legislature to consider a bill redefining marriage. This is a new, urgent fight that we must take on. We're also working hard in Illinois and New Jersey to fend off same-sex 'marriage' in those critical states.

On the flip side, it is expected that this fall the Indiana legislature will vote to put a marriage amendment on the ballot for the people to vote on in November 2014. This will be a major step in the process, but already corporations and big-name activists are lining up to oppose the people's right to vote. We must support our allies in Indiana and provide assistance to them now.

And in Ohio and Oregon, plus potentially a handful of other states, we know that opponents of true marriage are preparing to launch ballot initiatives that would repeal already enacted Constitutional amendments in those states. We can't wait until next year to start the critical task of fundraising, or we will end up being badly outspent by our opponents.

Supporter, marriage needs your help! Now is the perfect time to make a generous, much-needed donation to NOM, providing NOM with the resources we need to defend marriage and religious liberty wherever it is threatened!

Won’t you please make a generous donation today to help NOM do what it
must to defend and our precious religious liberties?

While we're aiming for $1 million dollars before the end of the year, help us reach our interim goal of $200,000 by the end of this week. The $50,000 we're hoping to raise this week will be doubled, giving us an urgently needed $100,000 that can be immediately used for the cause of marriage.

We must respond to and take advantage of these new developments. Please stand with us today by making a generous donation right away to support our critical work.

Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Marriage Emergency in Hawaii

September 10, 2013 at 5:32 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

It is time to take action and let your voice be heard in the halls of power in Honolulu. Send a message to your legislators today urging them to reject redefining marriage as proposed by Governor Abercrombie.

Yesterday, Governor Abercrombie announced that he was calling a special session of the legislature to vote on legalizing homosexual 'marriage.' The special session will begin October 28th.

Please send a message to your State Senator and Representative asking them to protect true marriage then forward this message on to as many friends and family as possible. The voices of marriage champions like you need to be heard quickly and firmly if we are to stop the redefinition of marriage in the Aloha State.

There are already a lot of misrepresentations being made to the people of Hawaii about this battle. For example, Governor Abercrombie claims that he has the votes to pass same-sex marriage. We have heard this before. In Illinois they claimed they had the votes, but when it got to it, they didn't and never even brought the bill up for a vote. So don't believe claims that we've already lost — in fact, we've only just begun to fight! Claiming victory before the battle has even begun is an old political trick to dishearten us, and we won't fall for that gambit.

In his comments announcing the special session Governor Abercrombie made several other outrageous claims. For example, he claims with a straight face that marriage can be redefined "without violating the religious principals of anybody in this state." That would be laughable if it weren't such a serious issue. All you need to do is look at the landscape littered with the remnants of liberty forcibly stripped from people of faith who stood in the public square for true marriage — bakers and florists sued, innkeepers fined and forced to exit the wedding industry, photographers punished, people threatened with loss of employment, small businesses targeted and threatened, and religious charities forced to close, among many other examples. Make no mistake about it, Hawaii: when marriage is redefined, people who disagree are kicked to the curb, their views trampled by the power of government.

Further, the Governor claims that there have been no complaints or lawsuits in Hawaii — yet. But that's because marriage has not yet been redefined! Just look around elsewhere. In Vermont, Christian inn-keepers were fined for declining to host a same-sex wedding AND ordered to cease hosting weddings altogether.

Recently, the New Mexico state Supreme Court ruled that Christian photographers must compromise their beliefs and offer their services against their will by photographing same-sex ceremonies. Never mind that same-sex couples can easily find other photographers who are happy to participate in these ceremonies. Instead the court said the price of citizenship is having to compromise your faith. Most recently in Washington State, the Attorney General is suing a Christian florist for declining to use their talents to arrange flowers for a same-sex 'marriage' ceremony, while a baker in Oregon was driven out of business for declining to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because it violated their deeply held religious beliefs. This is what the future looks like in Hawaii if marriage is redefined.

Believe it or not, neither of these claims by the Governor were his most egregious statement. Because the Governor thinks he can trick you into remaining silent, he arrogantly claimed, "Everything that can possibly be said has been said, every issue that could possibly be worked on has been..."

Well, not quite, Governor Abercrombie. Not everything has been said because the Governor and the legislature have not heard from you. Apparently Mr. Abercrombie has forgotten when the people of Hawaii arose to speak about marriage back in 1998 and approved a Constitutional Amendment designed to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Now is the time for the Governor and the legislature to hear from you again. Please make the time to send them an urgent message telling them to protect marriage as one man and one woman, and reject the redefinition of marriage. Tell them not to listen to false promises that "all is well" and to look at the truth in other states. When marriage is redefined, individuals, small businesses, charities and churches are damaged.

We're no longer talking about an oppressed minority being given "equal rights." Instead, those who redefine marriage have become the oppressor, crushing liberty, choice and tolerance for other views in the process.

Please act today to contact your legislators, and then forward this email to as many friends and family as possible so your voices can be heard together.

Faithfully,

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Hawaii, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

The Battle over Marriage in our Military

September 10, 2013 at 4:15 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

In recent days, you might have read the news about the latest battlefront in the fight for marriage: a battlefront, this time, where real soldiers are involved.

I'm talking about the National Guard in Texas and Mississippi, whose leaders are choosing to obey those states' marriage laws instead of a Department of Defense directive that would have the entire DOD recognize same-sex 'marriages.' The contention over that directive from Defense Secretary Hagel is just the latest fallout of June's fateful Supreme Court ruling against Section III of the Defense of Marriage Act.

When marriage is redefined, it impacts the entire society, but especially people of faith and communities of believers — and this is just as true in military society as in the civilian world.

If you haven't seen it already, please take time to watch this video that NOM's Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance produced earlier this year, highlighting the very real threats to our military chaplains that stem from the push to redefine marriage.

The Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance (MADA) is just one of the ways NOM continually endeavors to dismantle the lies of the same-sex marriage lobby and the complicit media — lies we've all heard time and again:

"It doesn't affect your marriage."

"Marriage equality won't bring about any threats to religious liberties."

"No one is telling you what to believe, just that you can't impose your beliefs on others."

We hear these lies every time there's a new push for same-sex marriage. And every time marriage is redefined, we see the opposite becomes true:

Parents' rights to raise their own kids with their values are challenged;
religious and charitable organizations and businesses are faced with lawsuits and sometimes forced to close;
and the simple belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman is treated like bigotry or racism in the public square, in the media, and sometimes even in the courts!

This is why we'll never stop fighting to reveal the truth about this radical agenda, and to give your values the voice they need and deserve in the halls of power and in the public square.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us.

Sincerely,

Brian S. Brown

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Military, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

When Do Commodified IVF Practices Turn Into Human Trafficking?

September 10, 2013 at 2:47 pm

From redefining marriage to intentional single parenthood, we're seeing the prioritization of adult desires over the needs of children with increased frequency. The voices of children are silent, either because they're too young to articulate their own needs ...or they can't speak up about those needs at all.

As a society, how often do we consider the rights of donor-conceived people? The human beings who are literally 'manufactured' so that adults can end up with exactly what they want for themselves. Shouldn't birth be less about adults, and more about the life of the new person?

Alana Newman, founder of Anonymous Us

We’ve created a class of people who are manufactured, and treat them as less-than-fully human, demanding that they be grateful for whatever circumstances we give them. While fathers of traditionally conceived human beings are chased down and forced to make child support payments as a minimal standard of care, people conceived commercially are reprimanded when they question the anonymous voids that their biological fathers so “lovingly” left.

The crimes against the donor-conceived bend time and space. The adults that betray us do so before official personhood, which is the loophole through which this new form of human trafficking is made possible. Is gamete-selling all that different from baby-selling?

Today, human rights do not apply to the donor-conceived child because her humanity has been deconstructed and she is a product to please adults, a thing to service others and be consumed. She does not have a father like other people, nor a mother. She only has donors and “intended” parents. If she complains about the discrepancy, the world will ask her threateningly, would you rather not exist?

She fears what they’ll do if she answers honestly. -Alana S. Newman for MercatorNet

Today, IVF is even becoming a commodity in the stock market, which – by only a degree of separation – means in a very real way embryos are being monetized and commodified. Not much of a stretch to view many of these practices as legitimate human trafficking.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Children, Ethics, Parenting, Same Sex Marriage, Science | Comments Off

The Growing Trend of Intentional Single Fatherhood

September 10, 2013 at 1:55 pm

Winnipeg Free Press examines the growing trend of single men who have decided they want children, and the fact that those children will be intentionally denied of a mother - during their upbringing and throughout their lives - is all but irrelevant.

At 42, [Trey Powell] is a new addition to the ranks of men who intentionally seek the role of single father. While some opt for adoption, others yearn to have children with genetic ties and are willing to invest $100,000 or more to make that happen.

There are no firm numbers of how many men have taken this route. It's clearly still a rarity, although Growing Generations, a leading for-profit surrogacy agency in Los Angeles, says its caseload of single men has risen steadily and totalled about 25 cases last year.

"We tell people to budget $125,000 to $150,000 for a single baby, and $150,000 to $175,000 for twins," said Stuart Bell, co-owner of Growing Generations.

Those figures include compensation of $8,000 to $10,000 for the egg donor, and at least $25,000 for the surrogate mother who gives birth after being impregnated with an implanted embryo.

Though male clients have the option of enlisting an egg donor on their own, Bell said most make their choice from a pool of women recruited by Growing Generations. The clients aren't told the names of the possible egg donors, but see videos of them and learn extensive details about their health, education and genetic history.

Like Trey Powell, [Alan] Bernstein is gay and grew into adulthood never expecting that fatherhood would be a realistic and enticing option.

Read the full article here.

By NOM Staff | Posted in California, Children, Marriage, Parenting, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Minneapolis Mayor Tries to Force Same-Sex Marriage on Neighboring States

September 10, 2013 at 1:19 pm

Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak is launching an ad campaign encouraging Wisconsin same-sex couples to come to his town to 'marry'. The campaign, which will start running in Milwaukee and Madison area publications, is already being called a shameless attempt at self-promotion, with the mayor simply using marriage to raise his own profile.

Keep in mind, Wisconsin voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 that protects marriage as husband and wife in their state. And as Wisconsin Family Action President Julaine Appling reiterates, "Our law would not recognize any validity to those (same-sex) marriages performed in any other state."

With Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele standing by his side at the Milwaukee LGBT Center, [Mayor R.T.] Rybak showed off a poster that said, "Hey Milwaukee! I want to Marry You in Minneapolis."

Rybak has already taken his ad campaign to Chicago and plans a visit to Colorado.

He gibed [Wisconsin] Gov. Scott Walker for not seeing the economic benefits of allowing same-sex marriage. Rybak pointed out that wedding ceremonies benefit local hotels, caterers, florists and bakers.

...Tom Evenson, a spokesman for Walker, said in an email, "This issue (same-sex marriage) was decided by Wisconsin voters through a constitutional amendment in 2006, long before Governor Walker took office."

In 2006, Walker, then the Milwaukee County executive, supported the amendment that banned same-sex marriage, according to news accounts. -TwinCities.com

Interesting to hear Mayor Rybak's remarks about caterers, florists, and bakers. Maybe he missed these stories:

Oregon Bakers Who Declined Same-Sex Ceremony Forced to Shut Down

Washington State AG Sues Florist For Refusing to Provide Flowers to S-S Ceremony

Christian Wedding Vendor in Maryland Forced to Shut Down Over SSM

Vermont Innkeepers Pay $30,000 for Refusing Lesbian Couple

Wedding Photographer May Be Required to Photograph Same-Sex Commitment Ceremonies

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

Revitalizing Marriage Requires Sacrifice, Effort

September 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

The National Review Online’s (NRO) Kathryn Lopez interviewed Hilary Towers, a developmental psychologist, about “how we can better support and protect marriage as a culture and in communities.” The resulting article, “A Guide to Saving Marriage,” provides some surprising and many insightful results.

A recurring theme from Towers is that successful marriages demand hard work: “Young people, in particular, deserve to hear the truth about what to expect from a vocation to married life at this time in history. It can be the most fulfilling, joyful part of your entire life, and yet it is so very hard! At some point (and for many couples, extended periods of time), it will hurt if you’re doing it right. It will hurt because a part of yourself will be continually dying in order to give life to your spouse, to keep the marriage alive and thriving.”

Towers continuously challenges the status quo, or so-called conventional wisdom, including the two most common views of divorce, “either as two impetuous adolescents in adult bodies who argued too much and made the best choice to move on, or as two unfortunate souls who simply ‘fell out of love.’” Instead, she believes there is a third, more accurate view for the prevalence of divorce and its negative impact on culture, particularly our children: spousal abandonment.

Bride and Groom

She describes the cycle: “A couple is married with children. One spouse is frequently…from a home where one parent abandoned the other. Their level of conflict is within the range of normal. There are no red flags that the marriage is floundering until around the time when an adulterous relationship begins, and at some point is revealed.” She goes on to point out that the family of the offending spouse then encourages—tacitly if not explicitly—to abandon the marriage, thereby perpetuating a cycle of abandonment.

Cohabitation before marriage? Towers tells Lopez that it makes the eventual nuptials more unstable, “…cohabitation before marriage is associated with higher divorce rates, a greater proneness to infidelity…Cohabitation is the common thread of instability that runs through each of the alternatives to a lifelong, monogamous married life.”

Pornography and same-sex marriage are also covered in K-Lo’s eye-opening interview with the developmental psychologist, who unequivocally states that the former has no redeeming value to a marriage, “The verdict is [in] on pornography: Nothing good can come of it. Its sole effect is to destroy happiness and love.”

And on same-sex marriage, Towers is equally clear, “This debate isn’t about whether gay people deserve to be married. It’s about what marriage is. As Ryan Anderson says, one can’t really be in favor of a ‘square circle.’” But she explains the need to speak the truth in love to those with same-sex attractions saying, “…We love you as daughters and sons of God; that we respect your right to be treated with dignity and respect. But in the recent words of Washington, D.C.’s Cardinal Wuerl, marriage is a ‘human community that predates government. Its meaning is something to be recognized and protected, not reconstructed.’”

You can read the whole interview here.

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

Australia Votes to Reject Rudd and His Promise of Same-Sex Marriage

September 9, 2013 at 3:33 pm

Same-sex marriage has proven to be anything but a vote winner in elections not just across U.S., but internationally as well. Australia's opposition crushed the governing Labor party in yesterday's elections and the people voted Tony Abbott into office, who has made clear that he supports marriage between one man and one woman, over the incumbent SSM-pushing prime minister Kevin Rudd.

International News:

“It is clear that changing the definition of marriage is not something that defined the way Australians voted despite Labor’s high-profile campaigning on it and strong support for it in the media,” ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said.

“Australia has an opportunity now to move on from this debate but if same-sex marriage activists persist in the new Parliament, it should go back to the people again for the ultimate conscience vote in a referendum,” Mr Shelton said

“Mr Rudd’s bullying of a Christian pastor on Q&A in the final week of the campaign made Australians feel uncomfortable with the consequences for freedom of speech and freedom of belief should the law on marriage be changed,” Mr Shelton said.

“It should not be up to politicians to decide to normalise this sort of treatment of fellow Australians who will always believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Australia, Law | Comments Off

Oregon Bakery Owners' Decision Aligned with State Constitution

September 9, 2013 at 3:09 pm

Before the owners of "Sweet Cakes by Melissa" were forced to close their very successful Oregon bakery, voters in their state had approved a referendum to define marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. In other words, same-sex unions were not even legally recognized in Oregon.

Why then would Aaron and Melissa Klein be harassed to the point of closing their business just for declining to support a ceremony that was technically illegal in their state anyway? NewsBusters has more:

Following a voter-approved referendum in 2004, Oregon's constitution (Article XV, Section 5A) has stated that "... only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage."

For some reason, that doesn't seem to matter in the "Sweet Cakes" controversy over Aaron and Melissa Klein's refusal earlier this year to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple's (not legally recognized) "marriage." The turned-down couple has filed a civil-rights complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Department of Labor and Industry. In the meantime, the Kleins, who have experienced ongoing harassment and threats against anyone and everyone who might refer business to them, have closed their storefront business and are operating it out of their home. Aaron has taken employment elsewhere.

No press coverage that I have seen has raised the seemingly valid issue of how the Kleins can be forced to do something in support of a ceremony, i.e., same-sex "marriage," which is not legally sanctioned and could construed to be an illegal act.

It seems like a stretch to assert that the 2007 law trumps the language hard-wired into the state's constitution and forces the Kleins to support something the state doesn't formally recognize.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Corporate Ethics, Law, Marriage, Oregon, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Marriage’s Destruction? It’s Lee Marvin’s Fault

September 6, 2013 at 6:35 pm

Cultural movements—both good and bad—almost always can trace their ultimate success or failure to a “tipping point” moment. Sometimes these moments are obvious and celebrated, and in some cases they can be more hidden or obscure.

Writing for First Things’ On the Square about the dissolution of marriage, attorney Wesley J. Smith points his finger at famous actor Lee Marvin for one of those more obscure moments…well, sort of.

Smith poses the question: “How did marriage lose most of its meaning?” And his answer is the infamous 1976 California Supreme Court case Marvin v. Marvin.

The case was precedent setting because Michele Triola Marvin sued Lee Marvin, claiming breach of contract because he had assured her of “life-long support,” but instead broke up with her. The couple had never married, but had lived together for many years and she had legally changed her last name to Marvin. The suit was dismissed by the trial court, but surprisingly was taken up on appeal by the state’s Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Michelle Marvin, “sparked the long march that institutionalized the sexual revolution, transforming what might have been a transitory cultural phenomenon—akin to the Roaring Twenties—into a remade legal and social order.”

Smith also points out, “the Court half-heartedly tried to refill what it had just hollowed-out.” The ruling stated, “Lest we be misunderstood, however, we take this occasion to point out that the structure of society itself largely depends upon the institution of marriage, and nothing we have said in this opinion should be taken to derogate from that institution.”

Despite the courts attempt to sugarcoat their actions, the decision cleared the way for the slow, but sure denigration of marriage by equating virtually any form of cohabitating with the institution of marriage.

You can read Smith’s full article, The Case That Destroyed Marriage, here.

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

Across the Nation

September 6, 2013 at 6:05 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

In the next couple of weeks, NOM will be unveiling a new website, an updated blog, and better news feeds for you to keep informed and equipped in the battle to protect God's ordained definition of marriage. Similarly, we will be reworking the weekly Newsletter as we go through this process.

It's all part of our end of year push to raise $2 million dollars through our matching gift program. To those of you who have already given generously, I say, "Thank you!" Your support is an encouragement to me and the whole team at NOM. If you have not yet been able to take advantage of the $1 million matching gift provided by a generous donor, please consider a sacrificial donation today.

Your sacrificial support allows NOM to defend marriage and all of our religious liberties across the country and in our nation's capitol. Here are a number of opportunities for you to stand for marriage even today.

Marriage Amendment

With Congress returning to work this coming week, now is a good time to write your Representative asking them to sign on as co-sponsor to Rep. Tim Huelskamp's Marriage Amendment. In the long-run we cannot rely on legislators or judges; we must have a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Congressman Huelskamp's proposal already has over 50 co-sponsors, but we need more. Send your Congressman a message today.

New Mexico

Governor Martinez has still not officially intervened to defend marriage and stop the lawlessness that is sweeping across New Mexico. She has repeatedly declared her belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, but she has not yet used the power of her office to stop rogue county clerks from issuing illegal marriage 'licenses.' This week New Mexico's counties officially asked the New Mexico Supreme Court for guidance on the issue, while several legislators filed suit to stop county clerks from issuing same-sex 'marriage' licenses. Now is the time for Governor Martinez to step up to defend New Mexico's marriage law. Please use this link to send a message to Governor Martinez urging her use her power as the chief executive officer of the state to intervene and protect marriage.

IRS

Congress is coming back into session next week and we expect answers from them about the IRS scandal. To date NOM has not received any satisfactory explanations, nor has the perpetrator of this felony been identified, never mind charged with his or her crime. Thousands of folks have sent emails to Chairman Camp of the Ways and Means Committee asking that he use his committee's subpoena power to get to the truth. Now is the perfect time to add your voice as he and other members return to the Capitol this week.

Hawaii

The Governor and the Democratic Caucus in Hawaii are deciding even this week about calling a special session of the legislature to vote on redefining marriage in the Aloha State. The Catholic Church has made its voice heard in objection to this, but we need more folks to send email messages to the legislature urging them to reject this proposal. If you live in Hawaii, please take action today. If you know family or friends in Hawaii, please forward this urgent message to them right away. Let your voice be heard.

Every little bit helps, and with thousands of marriage supporters all across the country, we have the power to effect real change...if you and I act today! Thank you so much for everything you do to defend marriage!

Brian S. Brown

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Featured, Hawaii, New Mexico, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

What Divorce Really Does to Children - in Their Own Shattering Words

September 6, 2013 at 4:20 pm

UK Daily Mail has a heartbreaking article out today on how disintegrating marriages impact children, even well into adulthood. More often than not, divorce rips apart a child's world at a time when he/she does not have a voice or any control over the situation, and that pain can last a lifetime. Another example of adults prioritizing their own desires over the needs of children. And in a way, denying basic common sense that children need and deserve both their mother and father in their lives. Sound familiar?

"If you're divorced, or thinking about it, their testimony will shake you to the core."

I can still recall the sight of my boy dissolving, sobbing, still not believing that his parents would no longer live together.

I remember the message he recorded on his little cassette player, how he begged his dad to come back - and in turn the hackneyed platitudes delivered by the man who never understood, never wanted to understand, what he did to his child.

The children in this documentary seemed like castaways, hungry and thirsty, dying to speak to someone about what happened to them and ask their parents questions still left unanswered.

...I did my best to protect and steer my son through our divorce, but all too rarely are children caught in the middle of a divorce told why it is happening. And while some parents claim such an attitude is to protect them, in reality, of course, it's the adults whose interests and emotions are protected.

Conversations, you see, mess up game plans. They interfere with personal freedom and gratification. And induce guilt, that irksome emotion, for which there is no place in our modern world.

Separation, lone parents, remarriages, and the ensuing step-parents and siblings - the after-effects of divorce are now part of the fabric of 'normal' family life.

Read the full article here and get more info on filmmaker Olly Lambert's documentary, Mum and Dad are Splitting Up, on the BBC.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Children, Divorce, Marriage | Comments Off

Scottish Parliament Hears from Faith Groups

September 6, 2013 at 3:51 pm

Faith groups from around Scotland gathered at the Scottish Parliament yesterday to urge MSPs not to proceed with same-sex marriage legislation that would limit civil liberty and free speech:

Kieran Turner of the Evangelical Alliance said the Bill could drive a wedge between faith-based community projects and local councils.

He said there is a risk that local councils could sever links with organisations that hold to a traditional view of marriage.

John Deighan of the Scottish Roman Catholic Church said the essence of marriage is “that there is a man and a woman at the heart of it, and that is the relationship which gives rise to children”.

Writing in The Scotsman, he also said: “The institution of marriage pre-exists and pre-dates the state ... For the sake of the common good, I urge our parliamentarians not to proceed with this legislation”.

In written evidence to the committee the Evangelical Alliance said it was “disappointed” the Government had made “little substantive effort” to protect freedom of speech or conscience.

John Mason MSP, who is a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee, warned ahead of a recent pro-traditional marriage rally that safeguards are needed for those who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.

The Committee are holding double evidence sessions at earlier start times, in a move seen by critics as pushing the legislation through “in haste”. -Christian Institute

By NOM Staff | Posted in Law, Marriage, Politics, Same Sex Marriage, Scotland | Comments Off

Federal Judge Ignores Will of the People in Ohio

September 6, 2013 at 3:27 pm

Just this week, a survey was released showing 51% of Ohio residents do not want marriage redefined in their state, as opposed to 45% who do. But despite what the people want, a federal judge is forcing the state of Ohio and local officials to recognize the marriage of two men. And the worst part is, this isn't the first time.

USA Today:

The order issued Tuesday involves a man from the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, Ohio [William Ives], who died last month.

[U.S. District Judge Timothy] Black ruled that Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and other state officials cannot enforce Ohio's voter-approved constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. He also ruled that Cincinnati officials cannot accept a death certificate for Ives unless it records his status as married and lists [David] Michener as his surviving spouse.