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Defend Marriage Newsletter
September 13, 2005
www.DefendMarriage.org

In this issue:

Thank You Governor Schwarzenegger for
Defending Democracy (and Marriage)!

Dear Defender of Marriage;

Sharon Slater, President The adoption by the California Legislature last week of Assembly Bill 849, which would have legalized same-sex marriage in that state, reflects several new lows; but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s prompt promise to veto it certainly was not one of them.

The Governor admittedly has sent mixed signals during his tenure about his position on same-sex marriage. He said he would veto this bill primarily because he has procedural and constitutional objections to the legislature’s action rather than how it would undermine the institution of marriage. But in this case, at least, his veto will serve both objectives because the people of California themselves have directly, legally and emphatically defined marriage in California.

The people did this in 2000 when they passed a statute by ballot initiative, Proposition 22, which defines marriage in California the union of a man and a woman. Under California’s Constitution an initiative statute such as Proposition 22 cannot be overturned by the legislature. It can only be overturned by a direct vote of the people.

Of course, the majority in the California Assembly and Senate who voted for AB 849 understood this but they went ahead and did it anyway. So, in addition to undermining the institution of marriage, these legislators also demonstrated their contempt for the constitution and the clear expression of the will of the people they were elected to represent.

The homosexual activists and their supporters in the legislature knew that the Governor would almost certainly veto this bill on these grounds and, if he did not, it would almost certainly be struck down by the courts. But they were after a public relations victory and they got it.

It is essential that we not fool ourselves. Even though it will not become law, passage of AB 849 by the legislature has seriously undermined our fight to protect marriage. Unlike the situation in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage was imposed by four activist judges, this is the first time that a state legislature in this country has voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Homosexual activists and their allies are touting this every chance they have and will continue to do so.

Our response must be to redouble our efforts nationally and in every state where marriage is threatened. Most importantly, we must make certain that the majority of voters and policy makers understand what is truly at stake here. When we defend marriage we are really defending and promoting strong families, which have proven to be by far the best place to bear and rear children. This is why strong families have always been the essential foundation of all healthy societies.

California, for better or for worse, is often considered to be a trendsetter for the rest of the nation. What almost happened to the institution of marriage there last week should be a sobering wake up call to all of us.

Our California chapter, United Families California , has been actively and effectively involved in fighting to defend marriage in that state and will continue to do so. But, no matter where we live, these recent events show that all of us still have much work to do to defend marriage in our country.

Sincerely,

Sharon Slater

P.S. United Families International and our Defend Marriage Project regularly file amicus briefs in important court cases affecting marriage. Our latest amicus brief, filed in the appeal of the federal court decision on the Nebraska marriage constitutional amendment, is posted here.

News Items of Interest

  • California Legislature Passes Same-Sex Marriage,
    Governor Promises Veto

    By a one-vote margin, the California Assembly on September 6th passed AB 849, legislation which would have legalized same-sex marriage in that state. The next day, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would veto the bill. While the bill had earlier passed the state senate by a 21-15 vote, the one vote margin in the Assembly virtually assured that the legislature could not override his veto. Homosexual activists immediately launched a massive grassroots pressure campaign to try to change the governor’s mind. Their allies in the legislature also are holding off sending Governor Schwarzenegger the bill until the last possible day, September 23, to give the pressure campaign the maximum time to work. Articles here and here.

  • Massachusetts Marriage Amendment in Trouble

    The amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that narrowly passed the legislature sitting as a constitutional convention last year is expected by all observers to be defeated when it comes before the legislature the second time on September 14. Amendments must pass two successive legislatures before going to a vote of the people. The compromise amendment defined marriage as only the union of a man and a woman, but also placed civil unions with all the rights of marriage in the constitution. The compromise did not please either side, and pro-marriage forces, including Governor Mitt Romney, have abandoned that amendment and will begin gathering signatures for a new and simpler amendment that only defines marriage. In a related development, leaders on both sides of the issue joined in criticizing a homosexual couple who announced they were posting the names of all petition signers on a Web site in an effort to intimidate potential signers. Articles here and here.

  • Rep. Musgrave Decides to Hold Off on Introducing Federal Marriage Amendment in the House

    Colorado Representative Marilyn Musgrave has decided for now not to introduce the Federal Marriage Amendment in the current Congress. Musgrave, who was narrowly re-elected to her second term, was the target of a more than $2.5 million negative advertising campaign by so-called “527” groups in her last election and is considered to be one of the 10 most vulnerable Republican House incumbents. In an interview she said that she wanted to wait to see how the same-sex marriage issue plays out at the state level before deciding when to re-introduce her amendment. Article here.

  • New Study the Latest to Show Married Parents Best for Children

    A new study published in the journal The Future of Children is only the latest in a long series of scientific studies which find that children raised in a family with their two married parents are better off emotionally, socially and economically compared to children in any other situation. The authors of this study reported in this journal, which published jointly by the Brookings Institution and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, note that it is only recently that we have enough data over a long enough time period to show the impact on children from the increasing number of divorces over the past several decades. Article here.

  • Texas Governor Issues E-mail Endorsement of Marriage Amendment

    Texas Governor Rick Perry has sent 10,000 e-mails calling on Texans to support the state marriage amendment on the November ballot. The governor said “That marriage is the union between a man and a woman is a truth known to each one of us already, and any attempt to allow same-sex marriages is a detriment to the family unit and hurts our state and nation." His endorsement of Proposition 2 was forwarded by a pro-amendment group. Article here.

  • Cherokee Court Issues Injunction on Same Sex Marriage Registration

    The Cherokee Tribal Court has issued an injunction barring a same-sex couple from filing their marriage license with the tribe. The tribe had issued the couple a license and they were married in 2004. Since then, a legal battle has ensued, with the tribe moving to clarify that only marriages between a man and a woman are legal and recognized. Article here.

  • California Supreme Court Rejects Expedited Consideration of Same-sex Marriage Case

    The California Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Bill Lockyear’s request that the court expedite its consideration of the decision by a lower court in San Francisco that California’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Maintaining the regular appeals schedule means that the high court is not likely to hear the case before the end of 2006. Article here.

We Urgently Need Your Financial Support to Help Us Defent

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 to the Defend Marriage Project 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 in what we will be able to do.

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 to the Defend Marriage Project, simply make 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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United Families International PO Box 2630 Gilbert, AZ 85299-2630
Phone: (480) 632-5450 • FAX: (480) 892-4417

    
         
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