In this issue:
- The Fight to Defend Marriage Now Shifts Primarily to the States
- Second Washington State Judge Rules for Same-sex “Marriage”
- Cheney Appears to Break With Bush, GOP on Marriage Amendment
- San Francisco Files Suit to Force Same Sex Marriages
- Analysis Provides Hopeful Outlook for Federal Marriage Amendment
- Other News Items of Interest
- Please Contribute to Defend Marriage
The Fight to Defend Marriage Now Shifts Primarily to the States
Dear Defender of Marriage,
I am pleased to take Richard Wilkins' usual space in this newsletter
and talk to you about what is happening on the state level in
the fight to defend marriage. As you know, Defend Marriage is
a project of United Families International and is one of a number
of activities and projects we have underway in the United States
and around the world to promote and defend marriage and the
family.
It is now clear that we are not likely to get a federal amendment through this Congress. We do expect that the House of Representatives will still vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment before they adjourn in early October. That vote will be very useful to put incumbents clearly on record on this critical issue before they face their constituents at the polls in November.
In passing by a comfortable margin H.R. 3313, the bill to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over marriage, the House leadership has laid the groundwork for an amendment vote. In the process they have already given voters a good idea where many congressmen stand on protecting marriage.
But even if the House passes a marriage amendment, it is unlikely that there is enough time left to force a vote on it in the Senate. We all recall how in July the Senate could not overcome the procedural hurdle of invoking cloture to actually get to a vote on the amendment. With literally only a handful of legislative days left before Congress adjourns and a heavy workload to accomplish in that time, it is just not going to happen in the Senate this year.
That should not mean that marriage supporters should simply sit back and wait until next year to try again. Instead, we should be shifting our focus to the state level. Depending on the outcome of a number of legal challenges filed by anti-marriage organizations, voters in as many as 11 states may have the opportunity to defend marriage at the polls on Election Day.
It now looks certain or likely that state constitutional marriage amendments will be on the ballot in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah. It is possible that measures also will be on the ballot in Michigan and Ohio as well, depending on the outcome of lawsuits. (For a quick rundown of the status of the various state initiatives, click here.)
If you live in any of these states, I hope you are already actively working for passage of these constitutional amendments. We are gearing up to support you in this effort, making specific suggestions on what you can do to help pass these amendments.
If you do not live in one of these states, but have some connections to them, you can still help in passing these amendments. If you have friends, family, work associates or others you know in these states, I hope you will contact them and let them know the importance of passing the constitutional amendment in their state. Again, in the coming weeks we will be giving you some suggestions about specific things you can do.
Another reason I wanted to take this opportunity to write to you was to let you know that our efforts to support these state amendments are being organized primarily through the state United Families chapters around the country. Our Defend Marriage Project will continue to focus on the federal constitutional amendment effort and help out at the state level, but the UFI chapters will take the lead in the states. .
All of us must understand that what happens to the constitutional amendments in these states affects how easy it will be to get a federal amendment passed. If most or all of them pass, it sends a strong signal that the majority of Americans are determined to protect marriage. On the other hand, if a number of them fail it will make it that much harder to get Congress to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
No matter where we live, it is clear that all of us committed to defending marriage have a very real stake in these state constitutional amendment votes. I hope you will join us in doing whatever you can to help make sure that all of them pass in November.
Sincerely,
Sharon Slater
President
P.S. You can help defend marriage even more by forwarding this newsletter on to others who would be interested in receiving it.
Second Washington State Judge Rules for Same-sex “Marriage”
A second judge in Washington State has ruled that the state’s Defense of Marriage Law specifically limiting marriage in the state to the union of a man and a woman violates the state constitution. The Thurston County judge joins a King County Judge who handed down an identical ruling several weeks ago.
Judge Richard Hicks recognized in his opinion that state law was very clear in prohibiting same-sex marriage. But, citing what he called “the democracy of conscience," the judge claimed that the constitution prohibits the government from granting rights to one class of people and denying them to another. Article here.
Cheney Appears to Break With Bush, GOP on Marriage Amendment
Although the Republican Party platform and President Bush strongly endorse a constitutional amendment to defend marriage, Vice President Dick Cheney continues to express a view that appears opposed to an amendment. While stressing that the President sets policy for the Administration, Cheney, who has a lesbian daughter, said recently in response to a question about his views on same-sex “marriage” that "freedom means freedom for everybody. People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to."
He reiterated the statement he made in the Vice presidential debates of four years ago that he felt the issue should best be handled by the states. Articles here and here.
San Francisco Files Suit to Force Same Sex Marriages
The City of San Francisco has filed a law suit challenging California’s ban on same-sex “marriage.” All sides agree that this action begins the decisive legal battle that will result in a California Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the state’s ban. Among other claims in its filing, the city maintains that the language in Proposition 22, passed overwhelmingly by the voters in 2000 declaring that in California marriage is only between a man and a woman, only applies to same-sex “marriages” performed outside the state and does not dictate for the state. Article here.
Analysis Provides Hopeful Outlook for Federal Marriage Amendment
Writing in the National Review Online, Stanley Kurtz, one of the most consistently perceptive analysts of the politics surrounding the same-sex “marriage” issue, comments that “The Federal Marriage Amendment can win. Anyone who believes it can't simply hasn't thought through the complicated chess game that is the battle over gay marriage.”
He contends that one reason the overwhelming majority opposition is not translated to automatic support for a federal constitutional amendment is that many people believe that the federal and various state Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs) are adequate to protect marriage. Citing the backlash that occurred in states such as Hawaii, Vermont and Massachusetts when courts attacked the institution of marriage, Kurtz says the same thing will happen at the national level once the federal courts follow suit. “Once people decide that gay marriage is about to be forced on them against their will, they are galvanized into action” he concludes. Article here.
Other News Items of Interest
- The Kansas City-based Infozine offers a useful “50-State Rundown On Gay Marriage Laws as of 08/26/04” here.
- In its article “GOP hardens stand against gay marriage” the Boston Globe reports on the tough platform plank adopted by the Repubilican Party in support of marriage at its convention in New York here.
Please Contribute to Defend Marriage
Please consider making as generous a contribution as you can to defend marriage and the family. Defend Marriage is a project of United Families International (UFI), 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 with 4 cents, i.e. $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.
Thank you in advance for your generous support!
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Phone: (480) 632-5450 • FAX: (480) 892-4417