In this issue:

• A letter from Richard Wilkins, "The Political Battles to Defend Marriage Must Be Joined!"
• How Your Contribution Helps Us Bring a Unique Perspective to the Defense of Marriage.
• Defend Marriage Asks Sen. John Kerry to Clarify His Opposition to a Marriage Amendment.
• Massachusetts Roundup
• Congress Watch
• Selected News Items of Interest

The Political Battles to Defend Marriage Must Be Joined!

Dear Reader;

It has been clear for some time that the fight to defend marriage would be political. "Politics," after all, is simply the process by which law (including constitutional law) is created. "Politics," moreover, unquestionably includes electoral politics.

Amending the Constitution has become an issue in the campaign for President of the United States. It will also, no doubt, be a major issue in many other federal and state races. The position of every candidate for public office in 2004 - from the President on down - should be of concern to all Americans.

Even though the President does not have a legal role in the amendment process, the Presidential "bully pulpit" renders the President the single most influential elected official in the county. Both President Bush and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry say they oppose legalizing same sex marriage. But similarities end there.

President Bush supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Senator Kerry opposes such an amendment, saying that marriage should be left to the states. Oddly enough, however, Senator Kerry was one of only a handful of senators who voted against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 - an Act that, in the opinion of most scholars, inadequately attempts to preserve the very "right" the Senator now supposedly endorses.

The logic of Senator Kerry's stance is hardly clear. He supports amending the Massachusetts Constitution to reverse a state court decision mandating same-sex marriage. But, unless the U.S. Constitution is amended to defend marriage, the prerogative Senator Kerry identifies - the right of the people to define marriage - inevitably will be usurped by federal courts.

Defend Marriage has asked Senator Kerry to explain his anomalous stance. We think that, in light of his "support" for marriage in Massachusetts but opposition to DOMA, he owes American voters a detailed and coherent explanation. We will let you know how he responds.

Also, in Massachusetts and squarely in the political arena, Governor Mitt Romney has filed emergency legislation to appoint a special counsel to ask the Supreme Judicial Court to stay its decision legalizing same sex marriage until the people can vote on a constitutional amendment to define marriage. (See the item below.) Time is short and he is not getting much support so far from other elected officials; so another major political battle appears to be shaping up in the Bay State.

In the coming months Defend Marriage will be focusing on many questions, including the politics of the effort to defend marriage. This is a "political" - that is, lawmaking - effort that we can and must win. But to win, we must focus efforts on both the state and national levels.

Please help in this vital cause.

Sincerely,

Richard G. Wilkins
Chairman

How Your Contribution Helps Us Bring a Unique Perspective to the Defense of Marriage

Defend Marriage brings a unique and very important perspective to the fight to prevent the legalization of same sex marriage. We make our case in defense of marriage and the family, and in opposition to same sex marriage, entirely on the basis of social science research, the lessons of history and good old common sense--and that case is overwhelmingly conclusive. Most significantly, we also find that our approach often is the only one that is persuasive enough with many people to get them to support a constitutional amendment to defend marriage. And without getting these people committed and involved we have little chance of success.

But we need your financial support to reach more of these people, so we ask you to please make as generous a contribution as you can. Defend Marriage is a project of United Families International (UFI) (LINK to ufi website), a 501 (c )(3) organization, so your contribution is tax deductible. If you would like to designate your contribution to UFI to go entirely to the Defend Marriage Project, you can easily do so by making a contribution that ends in 4 cents, $25.04, $173.04, $1,000,000.04 and so on.

That will automatically flag it to be applied entirely to Defend Marriage. You can easily and securely make a contribution online or print out a form to mail in a contribution. Click here.

One final thought: The other side is spending millions of dollars undermining marriage and trying to change forever the way our children and future generations view the critical institution. How much is it worth to you to defend marriage for the sake of your children and future generations?

Massachusetts Round Up

Romney Files Emergency Bill To Stay Same Sex Marriage Decision

Governor Mitt Romney announced on April 15th that he has filed emergency legislation to create a Special Counsel to ask the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to temporarily stay its decision that will require the state to legalize same sex marriage beginning on May 17th. He is asking for a stay of at least 2 years to give the voters a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Romney says his action "will allow me to protect the integrity of the constitutional process" and "preserve the right of the citizens to make this decision rather than having it made for them by the Court."

Romney's news release is available here.

Romney, who appears to be the only high level elected official in Massachusetts still trying to stop same sex marriages, was forced to take this route when the Massachusetts Attorney General, Thomas F. Reilly, refused Romney's request to ask the court to stay its order. The powerful Speaker of the House, Thomas Finneran, who was key to getting the state constitutional amendment through the convention, has signaled that he does not expect the legislature to get involved further in trying to stop same sex marriage. Romney's action is expected to set up another grass roots pressure campaign on the legislature in support of the governor's request. Article here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have not already done so, it takes less than a minute to send Gov. Romney an e-mail of support and appreciation thorough our Web site. This Web page also has a feature that lets you easily refer others to the site to e-mail their support. We know that Gov. Romney appreciates the outpouring of support he is receiving from around the country. Click here.

Defend Marriage Asks Senator Kerry to Clarify His Opposition to a Marriage Amendment

Defend Marriage Chairman Richard Wilkins has asked Massachusetts Senator and Democratic Party nominee-apparent John Kerry to clarify his position in opposition to an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will protect states from being forced to recognize same sex marriages that might be legal in other states. He applauded Kerry for his opposition to legalizing same sex marriage and for his support of an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that would allow the voters, and not unelected judges, to define marriage in the commonwealth as the union of a man and a woman.

Kerry has said he opposes a federal amendment because he thinks defining marriage should be left to the states. Wilkins noted, however, that unless the U.S. Constitution is amended, it appears inevitable that the federal courts will force legal same sex marriage on all the states, regardless of the will of the majority or the provisions in any state's law or constitution. This result would be contrary to Kerry's position that the states should define marriage as they wish.

Noting that this is the most important social issue in the campaign, Wilkins has asked for "a detailed explanation of your position on this critical issue and the strategy by which you believe the prerogative of the people of the states to define marriage can and will be preserved."

Letter text available here.

Congress Watch

Powerful Senators Co-sponsor Marriage Amendment

Three of the most powerful senators have recently co-sponsored Senator Allard's S.J.Res. 30, the Federal Marriage Amendment, greatly improving chances that it will be considered by the Senate in this Congress. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (the 2nd ranking Republican in the Senate) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, whose committee has jurisdiction over the proposed constitutional amendment, have joined as co-sponsors. Currently, 14 senators are sponsoring this legislation. See the entire list here.

In the House, 118 Members of Congress have added their names to H. J. Res. 56, the Federal Marriage Amendment in the House, whose primary sponsor is Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave. For the updated list of co-sponsors, click here.

Selected News Items of Interest

• Catholic Church Begins Voter Registration Drive
  
  In an effort that no doubt will be done in many places around the country, the Boston Globe reports that "the Massachusetts Catholic Conference is beginning its first statewide voter registration drive, in hope of ousting lawmakers who favor gay marriage or otherwise fail to follow the church's moral teaching in the State House." Article here.
   
• Good Overview of the Fight to Defend Marriage Around the Country
  
  The Washington Times in its article "Same Sex Union Battles On Hold" gives an excellent overview of the status of efforts in states and localities around the country to defend marriage and oppose same sex marriage. Article here.
   
• Poll Shows Continued Strong National Opposition to Same Sex Marriage
  
  A national opinion poll recently conducted by the Los Angeles Times found that by a 3 to 1 margin most Americans oppose same sex marriage and that by a 55% to 41% margin they agreed with the statement that "if gays are allowed to marry, the institution of marriage will be degraded." Article here.