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Category Archives: Virginia

Victory is Just Hours Away

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

In just a few hours, the polls will open in Virginia and voters will make their decision on electing their next Governor. The race is very close between Ken Cuccinelli, a principled pro-marriage, pro-life champion, and Terry McAuliffe, the discredited former chief of the Clinton Administration. Turnout is key and every vote counts.

Please vote tomorrow, and vote for Ken Cuccinelli, along with his running mate, E.W. Jackson for Lt. Governor.

The importance of this race goes far beyond the borders of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It will help set the tone for the 2014 midterm elections, and will be closely watched and analyzed by candidates, consultants and party leaders on both sides of the aisle.

Electing a pro-marriage champion like Ken Cuccinelli would be a great blessing. It would make it easier for other conservatives to attract support from national party leaders and donors. Though he appears to be narrowly behind, Cuccinelli could pull ahead with a strong turnout of conservatives.

Please do not let anything prevent you from getting out to vote tomorrow for Ken Cuccinelli and E.W. Jackson, and urge all your friends, neighbors and colleagues in Virginia to do the same.

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Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

Support Ken Cuccinelli - a True Champion for Marriage and Life

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

NOM is honored to support Virginia's Attorney General — Ken Cuccinelli — in his campaign for Governor of the Commonwealth. Cuccinelli is facing off against Clinton crony Terry McAuliffe, an ardent pro-abortion, pro-marriage-redefinitionist. The election is one week from today — on November 5th.

Many of the polls show that McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli by 7-8 points, but that's a close race in an election like this. It all comes down to turnout. Historically, turnout in an "off" year election consists of older, more conservative voters who can be expected to support Cuccinelli in larger numbers.

But whether Ken Cuccinelli was ahead by 7 or 8 points, or behind by 70 points, NOM would be proudly supporting him regardless. Why? Because Ken Cuccinelli is a man of principle.

Won't you please stand with NOM by supporting Ken Cuccinelli with a gift of $25, $50, $100, $500 or more today?

I've had it with politicians who tell us one thing when they are being interviewed or completing a candidate questionnaire, but then when the pressure is on can't be counted on to keep their word.

Ken Cuccinelli is a trusted leader who will stand for the truth of God's design for marriage no matter the season. He knows that children have the best opportunity to thrive when they are raised in a loving home by a mother and a father. He knows that marriage as the union of one man and one woman has served society well for thousands of years. And he respects the voices of Virginia's voters, who overwhelmingly approved the state's marriage amendment back in 2006.

Terry McAuliffe? He was against gay marriage...before he was for it. Or was he? He attacks Ken Cuccinelli for supporting true marriage, but then refuses to answer reporters' questions about his own position. All he can manage to say are platitudes such as "it's not my priority" ... "It's not something I am going to focus on" ... and, "the state constitution is not going to change on my term."

I thought we were done with "Slick Willie" back in the 90's.

I also want to commend the principled leader running alongside Cuccinelli for the office of Lieutenant Governor — E. W. Jackson. Dr. Jackson is a not only a man of faith, he's a brilliant and highly regarded conservative leader. He is a Baptist minister who studied at Harvard Divinity School, and holds a law degree from Harvard Law School. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Massachusetts. He's an accomplished author and lecturer, and has been a conservative leader for decades.

This drives the left batty, because Dr. Jackson is also African American. The left can't stomach the idea of an African American conservative, especially one who is as knowledgeable and persuasive as Dr. Jackson.

This importance of this race for governor in Virginia stretches beyond the borders of the Commonwealth itself. It will help set the political tone as we head into the crucial mid-term elections of 2014.

If Ken Cuccinelli is able to pull out a victory with our help, it will be impossible for the media to make the claim that only moderate or liberal Republicans like Chris Christie can win election. But if Cuccinelli is not successful and Christie is, the media spin will be unrelenting. We'll have months of hearing from media such as the New York Times and people like Karl Rove — who lost virtually every election he was involved with in 2012 — about how the GOP must "moderate" its views on social issues like marriage and life if Republicans are to win.

Please join us in rewarding principle and send a true conservative leader to the governor's office in Virginia. Please give generously to Ken Cuccinelli by donating online today.

Thank you.

Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

Paid for by the National Organization for Marriage. Not authorized by any candidate.

A Small But Important Victory

According to reports, “The Richmond City Council gave itself at least another month to think over a proposal to allow spousal health benefits for non-married partners of employees.”

Victory in VAThat’s the quote, but the truth is they gave themselves another month to think over a proposal that would redefine marriage in the City of Richmond if and when the Commonwealth of Virginia did the same.  Don’t be fooled, this seemingly innocuous proposal is not about benefits but about the definition of marriage. 

The proposed ordinance would simply be playing politics and using the bully pulpit to promote a radical agenda, inviting out-of-state influences and special interests into Virginia during a critical Gubernatorial election season.

But what gave the Council pause?  It was the noble effort of a small coalition of local faith leaders led by Bishop Darryl Husband, Bishop Leon Benjamin, and Pastor Michael Hirsch. These men stood up for marriage in front of City Hall and delivered the resounding message that marriage is the union of one man and one woman because that's the way it best serves society, and especially our society's most precious members, our children. They delivered this message boldly and clearly, and they were heard!

But you were heard as well!

NOM asked our supporters to speak truth to power on this issue, and rallying them to call, email, and visit City Council members expressing their opposition to the proposal - and hundreds of you responded!  Thank you to all who stood strong for marriage in this small but important skirmish.

By What Authority?

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Three members of the Richmond City Council have introduced an ordinance that would recognize same-sex 'marriages,' in violation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia!

This is the latest in a string of nationwide efforts by the same-sex 'marriage' lobby to circumvent the law and impose a genderless marriage regime on the American people against their will.

We can't let this happen in Virginia! Virginians made it crystal clear that they believe man is between one man and one woman when they approved the State Constitutional Amendment in 2006 by a 57 percent majority.

Please stand with us today and demand that the Richmond City Council obey the law of the Commonwealth and the express will of the people!

Here are three things you can do to protect marriage in Virginia:

First, no matter where you are in Virginia, send a message to the City Council urging them to uphold the express will of the people of Virginia and reject Ordinance #2013-154.

Second, if you are anywhere near Richmond, attend the meeting of the City Council Committee on Government Operations where the ordinance is being crafted. Details are below.

The Richmond City Council Government Operations Committee will meet on Thursday, September 26th to discuss this matter. The meeting will take place from 3:00-5:00PM at the Richmond City Hall (900 E. Broad Street), in the large conference room on the second floor.

You do not have to reside in Richmond to speak. Any member of the public may testify.

I hope you will make an effort to attend this meeting and tell the Richmond City Council that it has NO AUTHORITY to undermine the express will of the people of Virginia who voted in 2006 to pass an amendment to our constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman!

Third, you can call the members of the Government Operations Committee and urge them to scrap this ordinance rather than even bring it before the full Council for consideration. Their names and contact info are as follows:

  • Cynthia Newbille, Committee Chair — (804)-646-3012

  • Ellen Robertson, Committee Vice-Chair — (804)-646-7964

  • Jonathan Baliles, Committee Member — (804) 646-5349

  • Kathy Graziano, Committee Alternate — (804)-320-2454

When you speak with these Councilpersons' offices, or if you testify at the meeting on September 26th, here are a couple of points to mention:

  • The proposed ordinance (2013-154) is a toothless law and a waste of taxpayer time and money. The Council should be spending its time serving their constituencies and not toying with a radical agenda pushed by a powerful special interest lobby.

  • Since the ordinance is incumbent on Virginia state law changing to allow same-sex marriage, the only reason it is being proposed now is to make a media event of the issue, and to put pressure on public officials and judges to ignore the will of Virginia voters who passed the Virginia Marriage Amendment by a strong majority in 2006.

  • The City of Richmond does not have the authority or purview to surreptitiously undermine the law of the entire state in the way, when voters throughout the entire State believe marriage is solely the union of one man and one woman!

Remind the Council, too, that everywhere marriage is redefined, society suffers: people of faith are stigmatized in the public square, bullied at their businesses and places of work, and religious organizations and individuals are forced to violate their conscience or shutter their doors. This cannot be allowed to happen in Virginia.

So please, consider attending the important meeting on September 26th, and taking action today to email and call the City Council. When you've finished, please use the buttons below to forward this email to your family and friends — or share it on Facebook and Twitter — so that the values and beliefs of Virginia's pro-marriage majority are heard loud and clear in Richmond!

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Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

Christian Post: Black Bishop Encourages Christians to Leave Democratic Party Over Rejection of Traditional Family

The Christian Post:

"A black Virginia bishop is calling for Christians to leave the Democratic Party over what he describes as a "cult-like devotion" to abortion and what he terms as a "rejection" of the traditional family.

Bishop E.W. Jackson, a veteran of the Marine Corps and Harvard Law graduate, says the Democrats' enslavement of some Americans, most notably black Americans, is the modern day equivalent of slavery and his focus is to lead an exodus, similar to what Moses did in the Old Testament.

"Let God's people go," Jackson told The Christian Post in a telephone interview.

"Clearly, the Democratic Party is the anti-Christian Party in this nation. They reject the Bible, what Bible-believing Christians embrace and they encourage the growth of what we can a 'non-traditional' family. That is morally wrong and a disgrace to our nation and our Lord," said Jackson."

Bob Marshall For Senate: Does Tim Kaine Agree with Obama on SSM?

The aftershocks of Obama's flip flop on marriage are already hitting swing state Senate races:

Delegate Bob Marshall demanded today (Wednesday) that ex-Gov. Tim Kaine, the Democrats’ presumptive U.S. Senate candidate, tell the public his views about President Obama’s support of gay marriage.

“Tim Kaine needs to make clear to Virginia’s voters whether he agrees or disagrees with the president,” Marshall, Republican candidate for the Senate and author of the 2006 Marriage Amendment to Virginia’s constitution, said.

...Marshall authored the Marriage Amendment to Virginia’s constitution, which voters approved in a referendum, 57% to 43%, in the Nov. 7, 2006, general election. It provides that only a union between one man and one woman is valid and recognized as a marriage in Virginia. Kaine, as governor, vehemently opposed Marshall’s proposal when it was before the Virginia General Assembly and then during the 2006 election campaign. Voters made it part of Virginia’s constitution though opponents outspent proponents nearly 5 to 1 campaigning against it. -- Bob Marshall for U.S. Senate

Victory! VA Senate Approves Bill To Protect Children; Governor Promises to Sign

Good news from the Virginia Family Foundation:

In a monumental victory for religious liberty the state Senate [last] Thursday passed SB 349, a bill that protects private child placement agencies in Virginia from being forced to violate their faith principles when placing children. The Senate passed the legislation 22-18. The House passed an identical bill last week.

Patroned by Senator Jeff McWaters (R-8, Virginia Beach), the bill protects the organizations and agencies that facilitate the majority of child placements in Virginia, helping hundreds of children and families every year. The bill was necessitated after an effort by homosexual rights groups and former Governor Tim Kaine to coerce faith-based agencies into adopting children to homosexual individuals regardless of those agencies faith principles.

Victory! VA House Approves Bill 71-28 to Protect Faith-Based Adoption Agencies

The news broke late last Friday. This via the Associated Press:

Legislation that would allow private adoption agencies to deny placements that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, including opposition to homosexuality, sailed through the Virginia House of Delegates by a wide margin and without debate Friday.

The House passed the Republican-backed bill 71-28 a day after rejecting several amendments offered by Democrats aimed at softening the measure. Earlier Friday, the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee endorsed its version of the bill on an 8-7 party-line vote, sending it to the floor for a vote next week. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock and sponsor of the House bill, says it protects religious freedom.

VA Board of Social Services to Reconsider Adoption Policy

An update from the HuffingtonPost:

The Virginia Board of Social Services will be briefed this week on public comments submitted in response to the proposed regulatory change.

... The board faced pressure from religious groups and Virginia officials. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told the board it lacked the legal authority to enact the regulations, and Gov. Bob McDonnell also came out against the regulations, saying faith-based adoption groups should not have to place children with households led by same-sex couples.

... There are no per se restrictions on gay individuals adopting or fostering children in Virginia. Child-placement agencies are under current law allowed to reject gay single individuals' applications to adopt or provide foster care. The proposed regulations would prohibit that type of discrimination.

Eileen Guertler, director of public affairs and citizen services for Virginia's Department of Social Services, told The Huffington Post in an interview that there are some adoptions to gay individuals every year in Virginia, though she could not provide any figures.

Update: VA Board Votes To Delay Adoption Regs 30 Days, But No Change Is Expected

An update from the Family Foundation of Virginia on the events we have been monitoring in Virginia:

The Virginia Board of Social Services [has] voted to delay the implementation of recently approved adoption regulations under the threat of costly litigation from the ACLU and Equality Virginia (see The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot). In a not unexpected decision, the vote will allow for 30 days of additional comment, beginning September 12. As we noted yesterday, however, with Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli opposing the old proposed regulations on several grounds, opponents will only succeed in dragging out the process longer and perhaps set the stage for a legal action challenging Virginia law.

... At yesterday’s meeting, a host of representatives from the homosexual lobby spoke in favor of the additional comment period (see Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog). Some of the speakers honestly stated that they believed allowing homosexuals to adopt should take precedence over the religious liberty rights of faith-based organizations.

Virginia SSM Advocates Try, Try, Again to Outlaw Religious Adoption Agencies for Failing to Do Gay Adoptions

The Family Foundation of Virginia:

Today, the Virginia Board of Social Services is scheduled to consider a request by several homosexual activist groups to reopen its decision to protect the rights of private, faith-based adoption agencies.

...Oddly, groups like Equality Virginia and the ACLU that today are advocating for more public comment were silent for nearly two years as the regulations, stealthily proposed by former Governor Tim Kaine, went through the process. After losing the vote (7-2) in April, they suddenly are very interested in more time and another vote. Now they are threatening a costly, frivolous lawsuit if they don’t get their way...

During the earlier comment period, only an approximate 30 of the 1,000-plus public comments were favorable toward adding restrictions on faith-based charities (see Washington Times). In 2002, the last year for which data is available, nearly 80 percent of adoptions in Virginia were facilitated by private organizations, nearly half of which are faith-based.

VA's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli Drops King & Spalding Over DOMA Debacle

The Washington Examiner got the scoop:

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has terminated his office's relationship with King & Spalding, the Atlanta law firm that abrubtly dropped the U.S. House of Representatives as a client for purposes of defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

"King & Spalding's willingness to drop a client, the U.S. House of Representatives, in connection with the lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was such an obsequious act of weakness that I feel compelled to end your legal association with Virginia so that there is no chance that one of my legal clients will be put in the embarrassing and difficult situation like the client you walked away from, the House of Representatives," Cuccinelli said in a letter to Joseph Lynch in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

... The firm had been retained by the Virginia AG's office Sept. 15, 2009. Cuccinelli said the firm was being terminated "effective immediately."

Cuccinelli said he acted because "Virginia does not shy away from hiring outside counsel because they may have ongoing professional relationships with people or entities, or on behalf of causes that I, or my office, or Virginia as a whole may not support. But it is crucial for us to be able to trust and rely on the fact that our outside counsel will not desert Virginia due to pressure by an outside group or groups."

Updates:

Breaking News: Victory for Religious Liberty in Virginia!

WMAL reports the breaking news:

Private and church-run adoption agencies will not be required to serve same-sex couples in Virginia, for now.

Gay rights activists asked the state Board of Social Services to require faith-based organizations such as Catholic Charities to permit gay couples to adopt children.

Wednesday, the board overwhelmingly rejected the request, and voted to stand by current regulations which only allow married couples or single men and women to adopt in Virginia, regardless of sexual orientation.

The board, which consists of five Democrats and four Republicans, voted down the proposed changes 7-2.

Today's vote confirming the rights of religious-based and private adoption agencies took place after the vast majority of public comments were found to be in support of the current regs.

Congratulations to the hundreds of you who responded to our action alert!

Once again, you made the difference.

Of course, the Washington Post doesn't see it as a victory, but at least they ended on a good quote:

“Today’s vote by the board will ensure that Virginia remains in compliance with federal law while allowing private and faith-based organizations to continue providing vital adoption services for the large number of children who need to be placed in safe, loving homes,” [Virginia Governor Bob] McDonnell spokesman Jeff Caldwell said.

Breaking News: VA Social Services Commissioner Opposes New Adoption Regs

From the WaPo's Virginia Politics blog:

Virginia Social Services Commissioner Martin Brown, who was appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell and who also worked for two other Republican governors, George Allen and Jim Gilmore, is advising a state board that it cannot impose proposed regulations that some argue would, for the first time, allow same-sex couples in Virginia to adopt children.... The proposed changes would require private and faith-based groups, such as Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Services, to allow gay parents to adopt or foster children.

The article notes that the State Board of Social Services will consider the issue Wednesday.

"Virginia Debates Adoptions by Gay Couples"

This is a deeply misleading headline, since the actual debate is whether the government of Virginia should put adoption agencies that don't place children with unmarried gay couples out of business.

And it produces utterly strange comments in support of the proposed regs like this one:

“There’s currently over 5,500 children in the foster care system in Virginia that are either in homes or need to be placed in homes,” said Adam Sharp, who chairs the Young Democrats’ Family Caucus.

Let's see, 5,500 children need homes, what should we do? I know: let's put a number of good adoption and foster care agencies out of business. That will really help those kids find homes!