Please Join Me In Defending Marriage Here In Utah!
Dear Utah Defender of Marriage,
I write you today as the Chairman of Defend Marriage and as
a concerned fellow Utahn. As you may know, on November
2nd Utah will vote on Amendment 3 – a state constitutional
amendment designed to protect marriage.
Amendment 3 is sound and should be adopted. But passing Amendment 3 may be more difficult than originally expected.
Amendment 3 consists of two simple sentences. The first defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The second states that “no other domestic union” shall be “recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect” as a marriage. The first sentence of Amendment 3 states what marriage is, while the second sentence explains what marriage is not. Both sentences are necessary and valuable additions to the Utah Constitution.
The second sentence has been criticized for “going too far.” It does not. The second sentence simply prevents Utah from being forced to recognize “marriage substitutes” (such as Vermont “civil unions”). Indeed, without the second sentence, the effort to preserve marriage in Utah could (and would) be effectively nullified by “domestic unions” from other states that have been “given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect” as marriage. The second sentence insures that the preservation of marriage in Utah is not a hollow gesture.
Opponents of Amendment 3 have mounted a well-financed campaign to distort the legal impact of the proposed amendment. This campaign, although founded on outright misrepresentation, has been surprisingly successful.
Opponents claim, for example, that the second sentence of Amendment 3 will deprive same-sex partners and others of the protection provided by Utah’s Cohabitant Abuse Act. This is pure nonsense – as anyone who takes the time to read the Act will find. The Cohabitant Abuse Act protects any “cohabitant,” defined as any person who “resides or has resided in the same residence as the other party.” Utah Code Annotated §30-6-1(2)(e). Amendment 3 does not change – or affect in any way – this statutory definition of “cohabitant.”
Accordingly, Amendment 3 cannot possibly impair the protection accorded any Utahn by the Act. Nevertheless, this argument, widely touted by opponents, has misled many citizens – including some public officials (who, I will charitably conclude, did not bother to pick up the Utah Code).
Such deception must not be permitted to continue. That is why I am asking for your help.
In addition to serving as Chairman of Defend Marriage, I have assumed responsibilities as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of a Legal Advisory Committee for a political issues committee devoted to promoting Amendment 3. This committee is called Yes! For Marriage. One of the first actions of Yes! For Marriage was to analyze the objections raised by the opponents of Amendment 3.
This detailed analysis demonstrates that – like the objection founded on the Cohabitant Abuse Act – the opposition to Amendment 3 lacks merit. The purported “legal defects” in Amendment 3 are spurious. The only plausible objection to Amendment 3 is that it effectively defines (and protects) marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
We have posted the Yes! For Marriage analysis of Amendment 3 on our site. A summary of this analysis is set out below.
I am astonished that major newspapers in Utah, as well as the three candidates for Attorney General, have accepted the patently false campaign mounted by the opponents of Amendment 3. Did the newspapers or their editorial boards read the Cohabitant Abuse Act? Did the candidates bother to check the authority cited for any of the opponents’ claims? Apparently not.
Nevertheless, the actions of these newspapers and candidates have made a strong impression on the minds of many Utah voters. This strong – and false – impression must be countered. So, I am asking you to take action:
- First, educate yourself on Amendment 3. Read summary of the legal analysis below and the longer document at the link above. The analysis is written for non-lawyers and you will readily see why the opponents of Amendment 3 are wrong.
- Second, educate others. The defenders of marriage in Missouri were successful because they created an extremely effective network of people who educated their friends, family, work associates, neighbors and others about the Missouri amendment and then got them to turn out on Election Day to vote.
- Third, consider doing even more.
Defend Marriage is a project of United Families International
(UFI), which is presently organizing chapters around the country
– including Utah. These chapters will support the whole
range of UFI activities as well as work on specific issues,
such as Amendment 3 in Utah.
If you are willing to become more involved by writing a letter to the editor, putting up a lawn sign, organizing a neighborhood meeting, handing out literature, or in any of a number of other activities, please e-mail me at defenders@defendmarriage.org. I will pass your name on to the people organizing the Utah UFI chapter and they will get in touch with you directly. - Finally, make a financial contribution. An effective campaign on Amendment 3 will be expensive. It takes money to print literature, send educational mailings to voters, run media advertisements and do the other things we must do to win. Please make as generous a contribution to support marriage in Utah as you can. The section below explains how you can designate your contribution specifically to support the Utah effort.
Utah is one of about a dozen states that will have constitutional amendments to protect marriage on the ballot in November. It is vitally important to the national effort to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that as many of these states as possible pass marriage amendments by as large a margin as possible. States which have acted to preserve marriage in their state constitutions will recognize the need to safeguard those protections with a federal amendment.
The most significant political and policy statement any free people can make is to amend their Constitutions, the basic documents by which they govern themselves. In Utah, we have the opportunity to make a significant statement about the importance of marriage, not just to the people of our state, but to the nation and the world.
Please join me in whatever ways you can to support marriage by passing Utah Constitutional Amendment 3.
Sincerely,
Richard G. Wilkins
Chairman
Please Make a Generous Contribution to Help Us Defend Marriage In Utah
By passing Amendment 3, Utahns have an opportunity to strengthen the protection of marriage in Utah and at the same time make a powerful statement to the nation and the world on the importance of marriage. Opponents to Amendment 3 are mounting a campaign of misinformation and distortion to try to mislead the voters into voting against it. They have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat this amendment and will raise and spend much more before Election Day.
Please make as generous a contribution as you can to support our efforts to make sure Utah voters have the truth about Amendment 3. Because Defend Marriage is a project of United Families International (UFI), a 501 (c )(3) organization, your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
If you would like to designate your contribution to UFI to go entirely to the Amendment 3 campaign in Utah, you can easily do so by making a contribution that ends in 7 cents, i.e. $25.07, $173.07, $1,000,000.07 and so on. That will flag it to be applied entirely to this campaign. You can easily and securely make a contribution online or print out a form to mail in a contribution.
Thank you in advance for your generous support!
The Legal Effect of Amendment Three - Summary Analysis
Amendment Three, a proposed amendment to the Utah Constitution provides:
Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.
The amendment contains a single concept in two parts. The first sentence explains what legal marriage is in the state and the second describes what it is not.
Contrary to the claims of the “Don’t Amend Alliance,” Amendment Three is actually a simple and straightforward response to a very real legal problem—the effort to gain a redefinition of marriage through court decrees and to enforce the new definition in other states. Amendment Three will not affect arrangements made by private individuals and organizations. It will not invalidate existing rights or prevent extension of benefits to individuals based on criteria other than a sexual relationship.
Common Law Marriages
Utah’s statute recognizing common law marriages specifically requires parties to hold themselves out as “husband and wife.” Utah Code Annotated §30-1-4.5. This does not contradict Amendment Three which provides that the legal definition of marriage in the state is the “union between a man and a woman.” Amendment Three does not say anything about the distinction between statutory and common law marriage and thus cannot be read to abolish common law marriage or any of its rights or protections.
Cohabitant Abuse Act
The Cohabitant Abuse Act includes four independent factors by which a person can be identified as a “cohabitant” for purposes of qualifying for a protective order in the event of abuse. The final factor is that the individual “resides or has resided in the same residence as the other party.” Utah Code Annotated §30-6-1(2)(e). A same-sex couple living together is covered by this portion of the definition regardless of whether they are given any legal status as “spouses.” In addition, the act provides in subsection (2)(b) that a “cohabitant” includes any person “living as if a spouse of the other party.” The “as if” language makes clear that, even if a cohabitant is not a spouse, he or she is a person covered by the act. This does not give that person any legal recognition that would be prohibited by Amendment Three; it merely identifies a covered cohabitant.
Health Insurance and Other Benefits
Amendment Three will have no effect on private employers who choose to offer benefits to same- or opposite-sex partners of their employees. Not one private employer or organization would be affected in any way by Amendment Three. The language of the amendment is clear. It provides that a legal status (“domestic union”) cannot be recognized by the State of Utah “as a marriage” or “given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.” Since private entities have never been able to define marriage for legal purposes, they cannot give “legal effect” to a relationship “as a marriage.” Private individuals and organizations can give benefits to married couples. Private individuals and organizations are also free (both now and after the passage of Amendment Three) to give any other benefits to other individuals or relationships as they see fit.
Future Legislative Extension of Benefits
Amendment Three will have an effect on future legislatures, but not the one that the “Don’t Amend Alliance” claims. Amendment Three would prevent the legislature from creating a “substitute” for marriage. But, the amendment would have no effect on a legislative decision to extend identified benefits to unmarried persons. For example, while the legislature could not establish a “domestic partnership” that (like marriage) allowed partners to make reciprocal medical decisions, the legislature could provide that any person can appoint any other person to make medical decisions on their behalf.
Wills, Trusts and Other Legal Instruments
Amendment Three merely prevents the creation of a new status for unmarried couples. It does not have any effect on individual choices regarding whom to name as a beneficiary in a will or a similar legal document. Those decisions have never been affected by the definition of marriage or the lack of an alternative status. Now (and after the amendment is passed), a person can leave property to anyone that person wishes whether or not he or she is married to that person. This understanding of the amendment is strengthened by the fact that Utah Code Annotated §30-1-4.1, which was enacted by the same legislature that approved Amendment Three, said that Utah’s definition of marriage and prohibition of quasi-marital statuses will not “impair any contract or other rights, benefits or duties that are enforceable independently of this section.”
Court Powers
Utah courts would be prevented by Amendment Three from creating a new status for unmarried couples or ordering the legislature to do so (as the Vermont Supreme Court did in 1999). Otherwise, the powers currently provided to courts would be completely unaffected by the amendment.
Amendment Three is a simple and narrow response to threats to marriage in Utah or some other state. It ensures that our state constitution cannot be used as a lever to redefine marriage against the will of the people of the State.
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