FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 17, 2012
Contact: Anath Hartmann or Elizabeth Ray (703-683-5004)
“The people of Maryland will decide this issue if they have to, just as voters
in 31 other states have done.”—Brian Brown, NOM President
Washington, DC—The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today called on the Maryland Senate to reject legislation passed by the Assembly to redefine marriage and pledged to work with allies in Maryland to qualify a referendum to the ballot giving voters the right to overturn redefining marriage if necessary.
“The people of Maryland do not support same-sex marriage,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “We call on the Maryland Senate to reject this legislation. Failing that, we are committed to work with allies to ensure that the people of Maryland will decide this issue just as voters in 31 other states have done, which is to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
Voters in 31 states have already voted on the definition of marriage, and in every state they have decided to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman. This includes deep blue states like California, Wisconsin and Maine.
“Legislators who vote to redefine marriage will be held accountable to their constituents,” Brown pledged. “Those Republicans in the Assembly who abandoned principle and traded their votes will be held to account. Upwards of 80% of Republican voters oppose same-sex marriage. Democrats, too, will have to answer to their constituents, including the upwards of 70% of African Americans who oppose redefining marriage.”
NOM and allies will continue to oppose the legislation as it heads to the Senate. Should legislation redefining marriage be signed, supporters of traditional marriage would need to collect approximately 56,000 signatures of registered voters to prevent it from taking effect until voters decide the issue at the November 2012 statewide election.
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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), eray@crcpublicrelations.com, or Anath Hartmann,ahartmann@crcpublicrelations.com, at 703-683-5004.
Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, President. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).
43 Comments
Marylanders will have the final say, and they will correct this error in November.
Thank you, NOM!
The Constitution will have the final word.
@Ken Cauld
You're right. With an amendment that defines marriage between a man and a woman.
@Ken,
Your opinion of what is constitutional and not is influenced by your position and ignores the right of the state to control sexual freedoms and the right of children to know their parents. People, not judges, should balance these rights with rights for those called gays and lesbians.
@Zack, that amendment will never happen, you can wake up know.
@Jason, huh? States control sexual freedoms? Making it up as you go along? And not understanding the balance if power shows who slept in school.
Excellent, Zack
@Ken Cauld
Actually it's very possible. It requires a simple majority by the legislature and then approval by the people via referendum.
So it's entirely possible.
@Ash
Thank you
A federal constitutional amendment requires 2/3 vote of both house and senate, then 3/4 of the states ratify in a set time period.
WOW...we are going to be spread so thin...it really feels like the tide is turning against us, even though we had so many wins in the past. The "meme" out there is that marriage is the civil rights wave of the future...it's going to get harder and harder to fight. Sad.
Just think - 3 1/2 short years ago there was just 1 state (MA) that allowed all its citizens to get married to the person that they choose, regardless of the race, religion or sex of their chosen partner.
Now we have 6 (and possibly 8). Up from 6.5 million citizens to 35 million today.
The acceptance of marriage equality has been breathtaking.
Even if the legislatures suddenly decided to not to impose SSM I would favor a referendum anyways. Sadly we go through this every year. The sodomites bribe the liberal Dems with money and they become their puppets.
Last year a message was sent by the people of Maryland saying no to this. Yet one year later the voices are being ignored. Allowing the citizens to make marriage between one man and one woman prevents future legislatures from undoing this.
The best part of voting in a constitutional amendment is that only we the people can change it. Legislatures and judges cannot overide the will of the people.
@George
Iowa once the GOP takes the legislature will overturn their same-sex marriage law and probably amend it via voter initiative....New Hampshire is poised to repeal it and they have enough votes to override a veto. Washington is getting an initiative to overturn its law and so will Maryland. Minnesota and North Carolina are amending their constitutions with Indiana soon to follow and hopefully more on the way.
"Now we have 6 (and possibly 8). Up from 6.5 million citizens to 35 million today.
The acceptance of marriage equality has been breathtaking."
6 out of 50 states. 35 million out of 310 million.
That qualifies as breathtaking? Whatever.
Passing by a vote of 72-67 in an approximately 2-1 Democratic chamber in a heavily Democratic state is a joke for the liberals. It doesn't bode well for the liberals in the November vote.
To the happy SSM extremists, I can only say, wait until the people vote.
Yeah, SSMers brag when they twist the arms of politicians, but are repulsed by the idea of the people voting. Well, we all know why, and we'll see why when Marylanders decide this issue in November.
I'm thankful that even a few delegates who caved insisted that their vote in favor was contigent on the law not going into effect until January.
Maybe gays and lesbians should vote which rights religious people should have ... other than our sexuality is your belief a choice So sexuality is a human right above all vote but religion not. The last is a shelter for myths, bigotry and hate. More people has been killed or denied primary resources to live in the name of some god then by any other cause.
@Mary, have hope! We need to challenge the "civil rights" and "equality" language the other side presents. They actually support the segregation of gender in marriage. That's not equality! That's the old "separate but equal" mentality that was deemed unconstitutional regarding black and white schools.
We support gender-integration, which is true diversity and absolutely essential for the future of humanity.
Just stick to these truths we hold to be self evident. Marriage corruption supporters are seeking to redefine the very nature of their depravity in order to lend an appearance of acceptability to that which they know to be unacceptable. If these miscreants truly believed their proclivity to be a civil right they would not be working this hard to attach their activity to language that is related to its moral opposite.
The truly frustrating aspect of this struggle is in knowing that these heathen will not be held to account for their unprovoked assault on the source of our freedom. When push comes to shove they will simply deny their involvement.
SSM is an elite engineered social experiment as communism has been.
Story will show how perverted and self-destroying the ideology promoting SSM is, by putting those countries embracing it in such a poor state as communist countries at the end of 20th century.
Have hope. God is on our side. There is no such thing as 'marriage equality'. A married man and woman can create a child out of the mere act of physical lovemaking, thereby continuing their family tree. Two men or two women can't do that. How do you follow the geneaolgy of a gay couple? We must pray for the hearts of homosexual people to be transformed into the Heart and Truth of God because unbeknownst to them they are snared by the Devil.
Tides turn in battles all the time, Mary.
There will be plenty more turns of the tide in this one.
The most important factor to keep in mind is that the tactics of the marriage corruption movement are based upon a cynical and contemptuous disregard for the will of the people.
That is a very dangerous tactical basis indeed, upon which to fight a political battle in an election year.
Our side has yet to truly take the field and fight as if our lives, our freedom, and our children depended on it.
Which they do.
I would say it's well past time to go on offense here, beginning with a complete political commitment- no matter how much money it takes- to remove the four Republican Judases from office in New York.
This will concentrate the minds of the national Republican establishment wonderfully.
I pray that the sodomite will find the way of the Lord in the truth the Gospel.
@Zach,
Oh, if you use an originalist point of view, gay marriage isn't mandated by the constitution. I understand the living constitution point of view has legal merit, but the rights I have stated should make you question if it is clear as you are saying.
The SSMers have everything, Mary. That's how it is. They have most of the money. They have Hollywood and droves of celebrities on their side. They have massive institutional support from professional associations, the academic world, elite opinion-makers, and the mass media. They have just about every advantage that it's possible to have. Before the election, they will have everything in their favor.
After the election, they will have everything but the victory.
@Jason
Amending the Constitution doesn't mean it is a living document. That came from an idea that it should be adapted to fit the times. The Constitution should mean exactly as it was written.
Apollonia frames it succinctly
“sexuality is a human right above all vote but religion not”
The overthrow of the First Amendment is the goal of the sexual revolution.
See http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/04/3071 for further thought on the sexual revolution.
Its really sad SSm extremists are wasting all that Hollywood money that could go to end poverty and drug addiction. What a waste of money to attack marriage, the people won't stand for that.
Straight people really need to mind their own business and allow law-abiding, tax-paying same-sex couples to marry if they should so choose. This country was founded on the ideals of freedom and personal liberty. Stop trying to hide your personal prejudices against gays under the cloak of "marriage protection" and start putting your efforts against things that REALLY threaten our society like crime and poverty. Giving more people in our country the right to form stable, lasting relationships should be the least of your worries.
M. Jones, what about the BILLIONS of dollars spent by so-called "Christian" or "family" organizations (NOM included) that is being used to demonize and destroy the lives of gay people? That could go to the poor and needy but instead is being used to forward a truly evil agenda of hatred and anti-gay bigotry. Shame on you for being too blind to see the stupidity of your words.
Wait a minute. Isn't it the Senate majority leader that allows bills to come to a vote? And isn't the majority leader a Democrat who opposes same-sex marriage?
That said can't we say the bill is dead on arrival or is that not how the Maryland legislature works?
The Maryland Senate approved it last time,so I guess it is procedurally entitled to a vote despite the Senate president's opposition (I assume he presides in the absence of the lieutenant governor who would go along with O'Malley and would show up if needed).
On with the referendum!
M. Jones:
It's really sad NOM extremists are wasting all that money that could go to end poverty and drug addiction. What a waste of money to attack other people's marriages; the people won't stand for that.
Sheryl,the people won't stand for the attack on marriage constituted by the representation of same-sex relationships as if they were of no lesser worth than (necessarily opposite-sex) marriages.
Where you see an attack on marriage, Louis, I see a validation that it is a worthwhile & meaningful institution.
S.C. your a delusionist, you're deceiving self...
Anyone who sees meaningfulness and worth in SSM or homoesexuality for the matter, is so far gone from reality, they should seriously without a doubt, seek mental therapy.
These forms of relationships produces nothing good for society, but misery and bad health...
Sheryl,its entire worth to society is measured by the extent to which it secures to opposite-sex relationships the preferential treatment that the public interest requires they receive in recognition of the importance of their being opposite-sex.
Some day, Louis, perhaps you will actually provide FACTS instead of just reiterating your opinions about how societies work, & how they are affected by change.
Until then, I shall no longer respond to your comments.
SC, how about responding to my comment @ 38?
Leo,
Your comment is basically the same - a lot of opinion without any facts. Nice touch to claim I'm delusional, too.
When people see a conspiracy everywhere, so they will not accept the findings of mainstream scientific & medical organizations that state that homosexuality is not a mental illness, & that same sex parents as a group are just as good as opposite sex parents, there's not much room for rational discussion.
So bye, bye.
Sheryl,our society exists,let alone works,thanks to there being opposite-sex relationships.That is not a matter of opinion,but of "FACT".No number of people deluded into claiming homosexuality is not a mental illness can change it."Findings" influenced by lobbyists are not science.