NOM BLOG

Monthly Archives: September 2011

URGENT: Last Chance to Stop SB48 -- Sign the Petition Today!

http://www.nomblog.com/14253/

Dear Marriage Supporter,

I need your help. Almost four years ago, many of you helped the National Organization for Marriage collect signatures to give the people of California the right to vote on marriage. Today, the volunteers at Stop SB 48 have given Californians another critically important opportunity to decide what is taught to your school-age children.

There are just a few days left to stop SB48 -- the bill signed into law by Governor Brown earlier this year that would force schools to teach students (even kindergartners!) about homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism as part of a social science curriculum.

Please click on the button below and follow the instructions to print and sign the petition right away, and then return it to StopSB48 campaign offices within the next 7 days.

The StopSB48.com coalition has done a great job gathering the needed signatures and are almost there! Still, they need our help, and we’re asking you to make this a priority. It takes a little over 500,000 valid signatures to put SB48 on the ballot, and StopSB48.com reports they are getting closer every day as bags of signed petitions are pouring in to the Stop SB 48 offices. But elections officials will be going through these petitions with a fine tooth comb, and it’s important that there be need plenty of extra signatures to make sure we don’t come up just short.

Please visit StopSB48.com right now to get started:

  1. Click here to download the petition (make sure Page Scaling is set to "none" when you print the petition)

  2. Click here to download instructions

  3. Sign the petition

  4. Ask 5 friends to sign the petition

  5. Return the signed petitions to Stop SB 48, 660 J Street, Suite 250, Sacramento, CA 95814 within the next 7 days.

Please do whatever you can today to help spread the word. Take petitions with you to church on Sunday. Forward this email to family and friends. We’re on the verge of success, but can’t do it without your help.

Thank you for your support of this historic effort.

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
NOM California PAC

NOM Launches Billboards Holding Senators Accountable For Their Vote To Redefine Marriage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2011
Contact: Mary Beth Hutchins (703-683-5004) x. 105


"You're Next" Campaign Serves Notice That Senators Will Follow Weprin To Defeat

New York, NY—The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today announced that it has launched a billboard campaign in the districts of state Senators Mark Grisanti, Stephen Saland, James Alesi and Shirley Huntley to hold them accountable for their vote last June to redefine marriage in New York. NOM previously ran billboards in the district of Roy McDonald.

The new billboards say of the individual state Senator, "You're Next" in reference to the defeat of David Weprin in the 9th Congressional District. NOM funded a major independent expenditure campaign in the Weprin race, making his vote to redefine marriage a decisive issue in his defeat in a district Democrats have held since the early 1920s.

"Just like David Weprin discovered earlier this month when he faced voters after redefining marriage, Mark Grisanti, Stephen Saland, James Alesi, Roy McDonald and Shirley Huntley will soon discover that the people of New York will not sit idly by while the institution of marriage is redefined without voters having any say in the matter," said Brian Brown, president of NOM. "NOM and our Let The People Vote" coalition will not rest until these legislators are turned out of office and the people of New York are allowed to vote on the definition of marriage."

NOM has committed $2 million to the "Let the People Vote" effort, including $40,000 on the billboard campaign. Previously NOM funded mailers into the districts of the state Senators, organized rallies in four cities that drew over 15,000 demonstrators and helped defeat David Weprin in the recent 9th Congressional District special election.

The billboards urge people to visit the www.LetThePeopleVote.com website. The "Let The People Vote" coalition was formed to bring together many diverse religious and ethnic communities around the central issue of traditional marriage to demand that New York voters, just like voters in 31 other states, be given the right to decide the definition of marriage.

For more information visit www.LetThePeopleVote.com

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Maggie's Column: The Curious Moral Authority of Gay Men

NOM boardmember Maggie Gallagher's latest column:

In North Carolina, a group called Faith in America is starting a billboard and newspaper ad campaign against "religion-based bigotry," aka Christian sexual ethics.

Of all the things I have observed from my perch on the front lines of America's culture wars, the most curious is the phenomenon of the crucial moral authority of the gay man in our newly unfolding society.

Many Americans, especially conservatives, feel the need to find some gay person to defend, who will in turn defend them, reassure them that they are good persons, not intrinsically "anti-gay." Where did gay men get this moral authority?

Continue reading at RealClearPolitics.

Officials Admit U.S. Census Inflated Figures for Same-Sex Households by Over 160%

The Los Angeles Times reports that the U.S. Census Bureau, in their initial reports, vastly overestimated the number of same-sex households in the United States:

The 2010 census overestimated the number of households with same-sex married couples by more than 160%, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Tuesday.

The 2010 census first reported that there were 349,377 same-sex married-couple households and 552,620 same-sex unmarried-partner households across the country.

On Tuesday officials said they had revised the count to 131,729 same-sex married-couple[s] and 514,735 same-sex unmarried-partner households.

In other words, the actual number of same-sex households in America is tiny - only 0.773%.

Of course, these revised national numbers also change the landscape on the state level.

In Minnesota for instance, the StarTribune reports:

The original census data counted 4,325 same-sex couples who identified themselves as married and living together in Minnesota -- three times higher than the revised figure [~1,300]. The original census data also counted 13,718 same-sex couples living together in Minnesota, regardless of marital status, while the revised estimate is now only 10,207.

And in New Jersey, the Star-Ledger reports:

"...the U.S. Census Bureau said a statistical snafu inflated earlier totals, and there are actually fewer gay and lesbian couples living together in the Garden State than previously estimated.

The Census now says there were 16,875 same-sex couples living together in 2010, down from original estimate of 24,112 released two months ago. Notably, the new figures drop the number of married same-sex couples living together in New Jersey to 4,447 down from nearly 11,000."

Or, take a look at California, via the Sacramento Bee:

In California, the Census Bureau said, 0.726 percent of households are same-sex couples, markedly lower than the 2000 census figure for the state.

Again, less than one percent.

School Disciplines Teacher Who Suspended Student Over Views on Homosexuality

CitizenLink with an update on the story of a Texan student disciplined for expressing his views about homosexuality in the classroom:

A teacher at a Fort Worth, Texas, high school has been placed on paid administrative leave after suspending a Christian student who said in class homosexuality is wrong.

On Sept. 20, Kristopher Franks’ German class at Western Hills High School was discussing the German view of homosexuality and religion. One student asked what the German word is for “lesbian”; another, 14-year-old freshman Dakota Ary, told a friend he’s a Christian who believes homosexuality is wrong. For that, Franks sent him to the principal’s office with an in-school suspension for “possible bullying.”

When Ary’s parents heard about it, they contacted Liberty Counsel, a Christian law firm. Their lawyers spoke with the school, which then reversed Ary’s suspension and disciplined Franks.

...The incident wasn’t the first for Franks, who lawyers said earlier this month displayed a photo of two men kissing and told his class that since homosexuality is becoming more prevalent, they should just accept it.

Illinois Bishops Create New Defense of Marriage Department

From the press release:

Passage and enactment of the state’s new civil unions law has prompted Illinois’ bishops to create a Defense of Marriage department within the Catholic Conference of Illinois.

CCI’s Director of Government Relations Zach Wichmann heads the new department, with each diocese appointing advocates who seek to promote the Church’s love and solicitude toward marriage, families and children, and defend against public policy encroachments.

... [Wichmann] warned that initiatives to redefine marriage in Illinois civil law are likely on the horizon. Lawmakers in New York state this summer passed and the governor signed into law a measure legalizing same-sex marriage. The governor of Maryland is expected to push a same-sex marriage proposal next year. Illinois may not be far behind, Wichmann noted.

“The outcomes of these proposals will have implications in many areas of civil and religious life,” Wichmann said. “The Catholic Church will strive to prevent negative consequences to society, public ministry and children.”

Major British Survey: Only 1.5% of Brits Are Gay

The UK Daily Mail:

The Office for National Statistics’ new Integrated Household Survey [collected] the views of 420,000 people.

Homosexuals make up only 1.5 per cent of the population, the survey found. One per cent said they were gay or lesbian, while 0.5 per cent said they were bisexual.

...Gay lobbyists and politicians have long claimed that 10 per cent of the population is homosexual. But the figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Integrated Household Survey show this is a wild exaggeration

Mayor Bloomberg's Money May Fund Sen. Grisanti to Flip Sides, Run as Democrat in '12

When a politicians betrays his voters, whom else won't he betray?

Geoff Kelly reports:

In the buildup to New York State’s legalization of same-sex marriage, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged his help—that is to say, his money—to any Republican state senators who would cross their leadership and vote yes.

... In [Sen. Mark] Grisanti’s case, the timing of [Mayor Bloomberg's] fundraiser adds an intriguing wrinkle: By the next day, October 14, Grisanti must decide if he’s sticking with the Republican Party or returning to the Democrats, from whence he came. There has been much speculation that he might do so in order to retain his seat: The 60th District is heavily Democratic and likely to remain so even after redistricting; Grisanti’s vote on same-sex marriage caused much consternation among conservatives...

If Grisanti makes the switch, control of the Senate would be split, 31 senators on each side of the aisle, with four independent Democrats caucusing separately—a breakoff faction that Grisanti could join.

...In the meantime, imagine how it will frustrate some Republicans around here if Grisanti rakes in a couple hundred thousand dollars at one fundraiser, then defects to the Democrats the next day—taking with him all that campaign money, some of which might have filtered to other local GOP candidates and their operatives.

Special Election Democrat Candidate Says She Won't Let Iowans Vote on Marriage

Iowa Politics tried to elide the difference but ... only Cindy Golding says she will support a marriage amendment that allows the people of Iowa to decide. Liz Mathis, the Democrat, says no way she'll trust the voters on this:

Both candidates in the high-profile Iowa Senate District 18 race were reluctant Wednesday to answer questions about same-sex marriage, a hot topic likely to be on the minds of voters in the special election that will determine control of the Iowa Senate.

Liz Mathis, a former television news anchor from Robins [...] officially became the Democratic candidate in the race Wednesday night.

Cindy Golding, a businesswoman from rural Cedar Rapids who’s the Republican candidate in Iowa Senate District 18, told IowaPolitics.com that Iowans deserve to have a vote on the issue, but declined to shed light on her personal beliefs about same-sex marriage.

Stopping the Manhattan Conspiracy, NOM Marriage News

NOM National Newsletter

My Dear Friends,

Will pro-gay-marriage millionaires divide and conquer the GOP?

You and I know that marriage is not a partisan issue. Pro-marriage leaders like Democratic Sen. Rev. Rubén Díaz in New York, or Maryland Delegate Emmet Burns, are demonstrating that every day.

But you and I also know that advocates of gay marriage have relentlessly sought to marginalize, stigmatize and suppress the voice of Americans who believe that to make a marriage you need a husband and wife.

An enormous amount of money and brainpower is now directed at muting or silencing the remaining bastions of pro-marriage voices: faith leaders—and the GOP.

Mayor Bloomberg is one voice for this new effort. He's now worried that Mark Grisanti, one of the four New York Republican senators who (after the seductive promises of Republican billionaires) decided to abandon the views of their constituents and vote for gay marriage, may decide to take the hundreds of thousands he's helping raise for him and defect to the Democratic Party.

Gay-marriage advocates from Bloomberg to Tim Gill to Ken Mehlman look across the pond and see that the party of Margaret Thatcher, the "Conservative" Party in Great Britain, is now threatening to pass a gay marriage bill.

Could the same thing happen to the party of Ronald Reagan?

Not while you and I live and breathe and exercise our God-given ability to act!

But the point person for this quiet new effort has now emerged: Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced that she would co-sponsor the bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act— becoming the first Republican to sign on to Manhattan Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-NY) legislation.

The Manhattan conspiracy against the Manhattan Declaration principles—respect for life, marriage and religious liberty—has now begun!

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen is the very first Republican defector on DOMA. She's abandoned marriage. And in order to please gay leaders, she has actually signed onto an even worse bill—a bill which would put Catholic Charities and other religious adoption agencies out of the business of helping care for foster children under the federal foster care program.

Life, marriage, and religious liberty will hang or fall together. An American society which treats Bible-believers as haters and bigots is not an American society which will stand up for founding principles.

And actually, Ileana appears to know this—she seems pretty nervous about her stance, given that she is not personally talking at all. She's referring reporters to the Log Cabin Republicans, who put out a press release speaking on her behalf.

We sent out an urgent email alert this week asking you to write to Rep. Ros-Lehtinen and let her know: Repealing DOMA is a bad idea for America and a losing issue for Republicans!

So far, more than 2,000 of you have answered our call. And hundreds of you have written to NOM to thank us and to pledge your financial and personal support.

Thank you. Without you NOM is nothing. Together, standing firm on behalf of God's truth and common sense, we cannot be defeated!

Thousands of you have responded to the launch of NOM's new Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance.

And the press is taking notice!

Here's an interview in National Review with Maggie, NOM's co-founder, on the launch of MarriageADA.org:

"GALLAGHER: Marriage ADA's goal is an America where people on all sides of the gay marriage debate feel free to participate peacefully in the democratic process without fear of threats, harassment, or retaliation. I know that Frank is not the only one, because I'm getting e-mails from others who've faced similar threats. The goal of too many gay marriage advocates is to isolate, intimidate, and silence Americans who believe that marriage is the union of husband and wife, because children need their mom and dad. Marriage ADA is a response to these tactics of branding civil, thoughtful participation in democracy as hatred and bigotry.

"I hope, by creating community, to inspire more Americans to stand up for their rights to preach, teach, and live the idea that to make a marriage you need a husband and a wife. There are too many of us to stigmatize if we stand together."

This week the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance is featuring another brand-new interview with another American hero: Jerry Buell, the 2010 Teacher of the Year in Florida who was disciplined by a public school district for posting to his private and personal Facebook account his personal objections to gay marriage in New York.

Hundreds of Americans, even many who disagree with Mr. Buell's views on gay marriage, turned up to express support for fundamental American civil rights: to speak, to donate, to vote, to write, and to organize without fear of losing your job. (And yes, I believe this applies whether you are for or against gay marriage—no loving, decent, law-abiding American citizen should be afraid to engage in this important public debate!)

See Jerry and his wife on the next Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance video:

And guess what? Jerry won! In face of the disinfectant of sunlight, the diversity police backed down! After all, the taxpayers who fund them don't support bullying.

And here's what I want you to do this week: Thank a hero. If each of us can only do one thing, we can at least do that.

Thank Jerry for standing tall for the right to express personal views in your personal time.

Remember, they want us to feel alone, so we can be isolated and stigmatized—so that we will back down.

When we stand together, there are too many of us to punish for exercising our core civil rights in the United States of America!

How bad can it get if we do not speak truth, even in the face of power?

Here's a look from Great Britain, where a Christian café owner was told by local police in Lancashire that a video screen showing all the verses of Bible in sequence was a criminal violation, after a "customer" called the Bible "homophobic."

That's right: Displaying all the verses of the Bible was criminal violation of "Section 5 of the Public Order Act," which makes it a crime to:

"(a) use[] threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or

"(b) display[] any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby."

In a supposedly free and democratic country, it's already come to that. That the police can even imagine that they have this power is a very chilling sign, regardless of how the case actually plays out. It's already come to that, even though a new report in Great Britain shows that the majority of the British people continue to oppose gay marriage.

That’s because in Great Britain, political elites can succeed in freezing out the will of the people. When all party leaders agree that gay marriage is good, the people have no political vehicle to record their opposition. Shutting down political debate has been a key factor—another reason why we are so determined to make sure that Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hears from you!

In Great Britain, it is still a defense to this alleged crime of violating "Section 5 of the Public Order Act" that an individuals comments were "reasonable."

But of course the gay marriage movement, even in this country, is dedicated to the idea that all disagreement with its views is inherently "unscientific" and "unreasonable."

We are fortunate to have the strongest free speech tradition of any nation on Earth. But the tree of liberty must be nurtured, if it is to survive and eventually thrive. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

In addition, we need respect for rational debate, even where we disagree. In this context I wanted to report to you a little piece of good news from the scientific community. In spite of the pressures to be politically correct, a major social science journal has just published a study of "religiously mediated" change in the behavior and self-orientation of religious people who experience same-sex attraction.

From the press release:

"Psychologists Stanton L. Jones (Wheaton College, IL) and Mark A. Yarhouse (Regent University) have just published in the respected, peer-reviewed Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy the final results of their longitudinal study of individuals seeking sexual orientation change through involvement in a variety of Christian ministries affiliated with Exodus International.

"The results show change to be possible for some, and the attempt not harmful on average. These results stand in tension with the supposed professional consensus; more information is available at www.exgaystudy.org."

Managing sexual desire can be hard for any of us; it's always easier to amend our standards to match our sexual behavior than vice versa, as too many straight guys in politics show us over and over again.

But faith in human freedom and human reason should be bigger than any given political debate. In this context it is heartening to discover that the majority of motivated religious individuals in this sample who sought to bring their sexual behavior to conform to their religious ideals succeeded—some by changing their self-reported sexual orientation, even more by exercising the difficult virtue of chastity.

Even those who disagree with us about gay marriage (or Christian sexual ethics) should feel good about this this scientific verification of the possibility of free will triumphing over desire. We are all more than our instincts, sexual or otherwise.

The whole American tradition of respect for the rights of human beings is grounded in this vision that through the rational exercise of our God-given desire to find truth, we can succeed—both as individuals and as a community.

Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention recently told me that he was re-reading all the books which influenced his youth, including Witness, the great autobiography of the former Communist who became a crusader for freedom, Whittaker Chambers.

Chambers's autobiography is moving precisely because he decided to stand against Marxism and stand with the great truths of what we then called Western Civilization—faith in ordered liberty, reason, democracy, and above all, moral truth governed by a just and loving God—even though he strongly suspected that Communism would be the winning side.

He had enough faith, in other words, to stand for what is right, but not enough faith to believe than in the end truth cannot be defeated by untruth.

The laws of nature, and of nature's God, cannot be gainsaid by any merely human power, whether it is the will to evil, or merely the will to self-deception, or even ignorance of the truth.

Major powers in society can conspire to preach and teach an untruth, and conspire to suppress voices standing for truth—but in the end the project will fail. It will crash against the rock that truth does exist, human nature does exist, and children do need their mother and father.

I'm so proud and humbled to be standing with you in defense of these great truths—winning victories that no one predicted were possible, until you stepped forward to make them happen.

Faithfully,

Brian Brown

Brian S Brown

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

P.S.: As we stand with you for the truth about marriage and human nature, we rely on you for support. NOM needs people willing to give what they can, whether that is $100 or $20 or a monthly donation of just $5. Know that when you give to NOM, you are preserving and protecting marriage not only for yourself, but for your children and grandchildren as well. Thank you for all you do!

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Video: Woman Finds Out Her Fiance Has Donor-Fathered Over 74 Children

MyStyle:

The newest installment of Style Exposed explores the emotional, uncharted and unregulated world of sperm donors and their offspring.

In this provocative documentary, you'll get to know Ben—a man who learns his donation has produced more than 74 children (with more on the way)—and two half-sisters from different parts of the country who are meeting face-to-face for the first time.

Ben also admits that 15-20 of his biological children have made an effort to contact him:

The comments posted in response are especially revealing:

Belinda: "... I now believe there is a reason God designed children to have 2 parents."

ILikeBeingMarried: "Few times in my life have I been shaken up so much by a tv show. Why do we allow sperm donors to father so many kids? ... The whole sperm donor thing outside of marriage is just plain dangerous."

Go Green: "Now that everyone is seeing the importance of going "green", why not take it a step further and ADOPTING! To me it's a little selfish to want a baby so badly that you'd spend so much money for the procedure... risk you and the baby's health by giving birth at the age of 38-45... then risk your children marrying their own siblings because now there are 75 kids who don't know that they are related!"

Democrat Challenger Emerges to Pro-SSM NY Sen. Saland

MidHudson News:

A Democratic candidate has emerged to challenge Republican State Senator Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie in next year’s election.

Terry Gipson is currently a Rhinebeck Village Board member.

“I can’t sit idly by and wait for someone else to step up to the plate,” Gipson said. “And as a member of the middle class, I can’t put up with more of the same.”

Video: Religious Freedom Under Attack at Vanderbilt

FOXNews reports:

Related: Autonomy of Some Student Groups at Vanderbilt In Doubt After Gay Complaint.

Lesbian Couple from Miami Sue New York Clerk for Delegating Same-Sex License

The New York Times tells the story of an upstate New York clerk involved in a "test case" lawsuit filed by two lesbian women who flew in from Miami for a marriage license and are now saying that the clerk's choice to delegate that task to someone else in the office is unacceptable:

Rose Marie Belforti is a 57-year-old cheese maker, the elected town clerk in this sprawling Finger Lakes farming community and a self-described Bible-believing Christian. She believes that God has condemned homosexuality as a sin, so she does not want to sign same-sex marriage licenses; instead, she has arranged for a deputy to issue all marriage licenses by appointment.

But when a lesbian couple who own a farm near here showed up at the town hall last month, the women said they were unwilling to wait.

Now Ms. Belforti is at the heart of an emerging test case, as national advocacy groups look to Ledyard for an answer to how the state balances a religious freedom claim by a local official against a civil rights claim by a same-sex couple.

... Ms. Belforti is one of several town clerks who have said the state’s Marriage Equality Act, the measure approved in June that legalized same-sex marriage in New York, violates their religious beliefs. Two clerks resigned in July rather than comply with the law.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, who made same-sex marriage a priority of his first year in office, has expressed little sympathy for clerks who object to the law. “When you enforce the laws of the state, you don’t get to pick and choose,” he said this summer. And the State Health Department issued a memorandum to clerks that refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples would be a misdemeanor.

Pagan Federation, Unitarians, Quakers and 2 Other Groups Call for SSM in Scotland

BBC News Scotland:

The Unitarians, Quakers, Metropolitan Community Church, Pagan Federation and Liberal Judaism are backing members of the Scottish Youth Parliament in their campaign on the issue. Ministers are currently holding a consultation on same-sex marriages.

At the moment gay couples can have a civil ceremony but it cannot take place in religious premises. Civil partnerships can only be registered by civil registrars.

The Scottish Youth Parliament and many gay rights campaigners want that to change.