In this issue:
- "States Are Currently the Front Line in Defense of Marriage"
- Gallop Poll Finds Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage At All Time High
- San Francisco Judge Rules California Same-Sex Marriage Ban is Unconstitutional
- President Bush Reiterates Support for a Federal Marriage Amendment
- Same-Sex Marriage Also Controversial Among Some Indian Tribes
- Marriage Around the sates
- We Need Your Financial Support to Help Us Defend Marriage
States Are Currently the Front Line in Defense of Marriage
Dear Friend States Are Currently the Front Line in Defense of Marriage;
Tomorrow, April
5th, Kansas will become the 18th state to add an amendment to
its state constitution defining and defending marriage.
In the past couple weeks, several other states have either completed the process to put marriage amendments on their ballots in 2006 or have made substantial progress towards that goal. Petition drives are kicking off in several other states in the near future.
Even in Massachusetts, the only state performing legal same-sex marriages, marriage defenders are considering a new campaign to put an amendment before the voters. That amendment would be a straight definition of marriage. It would differ from the amendment that passed the legislature last year in that it would not enshrine civil unions in the state constitution.
All told, eight to ten additional states could be voting on marriage amendments next year. But unless you happen to live in one of these states, it may seem that the only thing happening is that activist state judges are continuing to chip away at traditional marriage. A case in point is the recent decision by a San Francisco judge declaring California’s prohibition on same-sex marriages to be unconstitutional. It certainly made national news.
What is less likely to make the national news, but is ultimately much more significant, are the results of a recent national poll showing that opposition nationwide to legalizing same-sex marriage is substantial and growing.
A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallop poll found that 68% of respondents now oppose legalizing same-sex marriage. This number compares to 55% percent who opposed legalized same-sex marriage in a Gallop poll last year. Similarly, 57% of the respondents favor passing a federal constitutional amendment compared to 48% in last year’s Gallop poll.
How can we account for this growing opposition? Certainly, we must give some credit to the homosexual activist groups themselves and their allies as well as to activist judges, such as Richard Kramer, the San Francisco judge who ruled that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying in California was unconstitutional. The continued in-your-face approach of many of these homosexual activists and their supporters is certainly fueling this backlash.
So, too, is the fact that more and more Americans are waking up to the threat to our democratic system posed by these un-elected activist judges who are arrogantly usurping powers and prerogatives that rightly belong to the elected representatives of the people.
But I think the complete explanation for these surging poll numbers is more complex. The tone and emphasis of the successful efforts to pass these marriage amendments have focused more on why it is essential to our children’s future to defend traditional marriage rather than merely opposing same-sex marriage.
As a result, millions of Americans who never before thought about the importance of marriage in our society have had to think about it before casting their vote on these state amendments. Obviously, most of those people have come down on the side of defending marriage.
As more states consider marriage amendments over the next year and a half, I am optimistic that this majority of Americans who oppose same-sex marriage will continue to grow.
But there is also an important lesson here for all of us who already understand that it is essential to defend marriage-- the more Americans know about the importance of marriage, the more likely they are to be willing to defend it. The political activity over the past year is not the only way to educate them. It merely served as a catalyst and demonstrated that a campaign that is “pro” marriage and not “anti” anything or any group works with most Americans.
Each of us has friends, family, co-workers and others who we can educate personally if we will just take the time and opportunity to do so.
The poll results are encouraging. The pro-marriage amendment campaigns in the states in the coming months will help increase the majority support for marriage.
Let each of us participate in this national marriage education effort no matter where we live.
Sincerely,
Sharon Slater
President
P.S. You can help defend marriage even more by forwarding this
newsletter on to others.
News Items of Interest
- Gallop
Poll Finds Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage At All Time High
A CNN/USA Today/Gallop poll taken between March 18-20 found that public opposition to same-sex marriage has increased in the past year, hitting an all time high for this poll. 68% of respondents in the poll opposed same-sex marriage compared to only 55% who opposed it last year. Only 28% favored same-sex marriage and 4% had not opinion. The poll also found growing support for a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage, with 57% favoring it and only 37% opposed. Last year, the support for an amendment was 48% and 46% opposed. Article here.
- San Francisco
Judge Rules California Same-Sex Marriage Ban is Unconstitutional
Richard Kramer, a San Francisco lower court judge, ruled March 14th that California law that prohibits same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The ruling was widely expected by both sides which agreed that the real legal tests would come in the appeals court and the state supreme court. In his ruling, Kramer largely repeated the reasoning of judges in Massachusetts and Washington who found there was “no rational reason” to prohibit same sex marriages. Article here.
- President
Bush Reiterates Support for a Federal Marriage Amendment
In his press conference on March 16th, immediately following the decision of a lower court judge in San Francisco who ruled that California’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the state’s constitution, President Bush was asked if he was de-emphasizing his support for a federal marriage amendment. He replied that he was not and that “as a matter of fact, the court rulings are verifying why I took the position I took, and that is I don't believe judges ought to be deciding this issue. I believe this is an issue of particular importance to the American people and should be decided by the people. And I think the best way to do so is through the constitutional process. I haven't changed my mind at all.”
When asked what he could do to promote the amendment, President Bush said “the courts are going to promote a lot of the action by their very rulings. People will understand that -- the logic behind the decision I made. And no matter what your position is on the issue, this is an issue that should be decided by the people, not by judges. And the more that judges start deciding the issue, I'm confident the more the people will want to be involved in the issue.”
Transcript of press conference here.
- Same-Sex Marriage Also
Controversial Among Some Indian Tribes
Reflecting to some degree the growing national public debate over same-sex marriage, the issue is also causing controversy among some Indian tribes. A case of two lesbians who were issued a tribal marriage license, which the tribe then refused to recognize after banning same sex-marriage, will be heard by the top court of the Cherokee Nation. The adoption of a same-sex marriage ban by the Navajo Nation is also causing controversy. As sovereign entities, tribes can recognize same-sex marriage or not. Article here.
Marriage Around the sates
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Kansas Poised to Become 18th State to Adopt a State Marriage Amendment
Even the opponents of the marriage amendment to the state constitution expect that Kansas voters will overwhelmingly approve it on April 6th, making Kansas the 18th state to do so. In an unusual twist, amendment supporters raised nearly four times as much money for the amendment campaign as did opponents. Articles here.
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Indiana Legislature Passes Marriage Amendment
With easy House passage on March 23, the Indiana legislature took the first step to putting a state constitutional marriage amendment on the 2006 ballot. The next session of the legislature must also pass the amendment to put it before the voters in 2006. Article here.
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Tennessee Sends Marriage Amendment to 2006 Ballot
By an overwhelming vote of 88-7 the Tennessee House on March 17th voted to put a constitutional marriage amendment on the 2006 ballot. Previously, the Senate had passed the amendment by a vote of 29-3. Article here.
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Massachusetts Marriage Advocates Consider New Constitutional Amendment
Pro-marriage groups in Massachusetts along with Governor Mitt Romney are considering a new constitutional amendment effort. Last year they successfully pushed a compromise amendment through the legislature which defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman and would overturn the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that led to legalized same sex-marriage. However, the compromise amendment also provided for civil unions. The new approach being considered would be a straight definition of marriage similar to what 17 other states have adopted. Article here.
We Need Your Financial Support to Help Us Defend Marriage
We appreciate your generous financial support this year and ask that you continue to support us in the fight to defend marriage. Please consider making a contribution of at least $25 if you can, but any amount you can afford will be helpful. If enough people contribute at least a little, together it makes a huge difference.
You can easily and securely make a contribution online or print out a form to mail in a contribution.
Your contribution will be made to United Families International (UFI), a 501 (c )(3) organization, so it is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Defend Marriage is a project of UFI.
To specifically designate your contribution
If you would like to designate your contribution 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.
Thank you in advance for your generous support!
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Phone: (480) 632-5450 • FAX: (480) 892-4417