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Defend Marriage Newsletter
January, 2006

In this issue:


2006 is Shaping Up to be a Big Year for Marriage!

Dear Friend of the Family,

It is already clear that 2006 will be another important year in the struggle to defend marriage in the United States.

We made good progress in 2005, but it was an “off year” in the election cycle for most states. Only two states, Kansas and Texas, had marriage constitutional amendments on their ballots last year. Both passed easily, bringing to 19 the number of states that have passed amendments to define marriage as only the union of a man and a woman.

This year, it appears that at least 6 more states will vote on marriage amendments. Several additional states could join them, depending upon the success of efforts to qualify amendments in their legislatures or through grassroots petition drives.

It also seems certain that at least several other states will put amendments on their ballot in 2007 or 2008. (See below for a summary of the situation in various key states.)

This means that by the end of this year it is likely that at least half the states will have adopted marriage amendments. By the end of 2008, that could easily grow to at least 30 states, close to the 38 states that are required to ratify a federal marriage amendment.

It also is very likely that Congress will vote on the federal marriage amendment early in the upcoming session. The Constitution Subcommittee has reported the amendment to the full Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to consider it soon after the conclusion of the Supreme Court confirmation process for Judge Samuel Alito. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter has pledged to report the amendment to the Senate for a vote, probably within the next few months.

The confirmation of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court also is clearly an important element in the effort to defend marriage. Several days into his confirmation hearings it is even clearer than before that he is a conservative jurist who understands the proper and limited role of the courts in our system of government. His confirmation will move the court back towards its proper and limited role. This means that the court with Judge Alito on it will be much less likely to find a “constitutional right” to same-sex “marriage” than the current, more activist court would be.

While we can take some satisfaction in the fact that the momentum in the fight to defend marriage is still largely with us, it is clear that this fight will get more difficult in the months and years ahead.

The homosexual activists and their anti-marriage allies are desperate to stop this momentum in defense of marriage. They have now filed lawsuits in seven states challenging state laws protecting marriage. They succeeded in getting a bill legalizing same sex marriage through the California legislature, a bill that fortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed.

The outrageous and dishonest tactics they used to try to defeat the Texas marriage amendment, their deceptive campaign to try to block the Alito confirmation and their effort to intimidate pro-marriage petition signers in Massachusetts are examples of what we can expect to see more of in the future.

This will be a pivotal year in the fight to defend marriage. I hope all of us resolve to redouble our efforts to preserve this vital institution.

We will keep you informed on what you can do to help.

Sincerely,


Sharon Slater
President

Summary of the Status of Marriage Amendments in Key States

These states will definitely have state marriage constitutional amendments on the ballot this year:

  • Alabama
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee

These states likely will have marriage amendments on the ballot this year:

  • Arizona: A ballot initiative petition drive is well underway and is expected to generate enough signatures to place an amendment on the ballot this year.
  • Florida: The deadline for submitting signatures in a ballot initiative effort is February 1st and should be successful.
  • Idaho: An amendment failed in the state senate last year by only three votes. A modified amendment is being introduced this year and is likely to pass, which would put it on the ballot in the fall.
  • Virginia: An amendment passed both houses of the legislature last year and is expected to pass again in the current legislature to put it on the ballot.
  • Wisconsin: The state senate has passed an amendment and the house is expected to pass it in the next few months, putting it on the ballot this fall.

These states are likely to have amendments on their ballots in 2007 or 2008

  • Indiana: An amendment has passed the legislature once but must pass a second time to go before the voters, probably in 2008.
  • Iowa: A lawsuit by homosexuals challenging the state’s marriage law has spurred efforts to get an amendment through the legislature where it has been blocked in the Senate. It must pass in two successive legislatures and would go before the voters in 2008.
  • Massachusetts: A record number of signatures were gathered to begin the process of putting an amendment to define marriage. Two successive legislatures must also approve it to go on the November, 2008 ballot.


Status Uncertain

  • California: One effort to gather enough signatures on an initiative petition to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot this year failed. However, at least one other effort may be mounted to put an amendment before the voters this year. If not, it appears certain that an amendment will be on the ballot in 2007 or 2008.

News Items of Interest

National News
  • Massachusetts Signatures Validated, Some Signers Harassed

    The Massachusetts Secretary of State has certified that backers of a new state constitutional amendment submitted more than 123,000 valid signatures, nearly twice as many as needed to move the amendment to the state legislature. This is by far the largest number of signatures ever collected for a proposed amendment in the history of the commonwealth. The state legislature must now approve the amendment in two successive legislatures before it goes on the ballot. At the same time, homosexual activists have carried on a campaign to harass those who signed the petition and other petitions that were being circulated. The names of over 143,000 signers of the marriage petition, along with some personal information, are being posted on a homosexual Web site and some signers have reported being harassed as a result. Amendment opponents have also filed suit to block the amendment. Articles here and here.
     
  • One California Ballot Initiative Falls Short

    • The signature gathering campaign by one of two coalitions trying to put a state constitution marriage amendment on the ballot in California this year has fallen short of gathering the number of signatures required. The group, ProtectMarriage.com, had tried to gather the nearly 600,000 signatures required through volunteers, considered to be particularly difficult to do in a large state such as California where most successful initiative drives rely on professional signature gatherers. The other coalition pushing for a state constitutional amendment, led by the Campaign for Children and Families, is still raising money for a professional-based signature gathering effort and did not know if it could qualify an amendment in time for this fall’s election. Article here.

  • Iowa Same-sex "Marriage" Lawsuit Energizes Amendment Push

    A lawsuit filed by six Iowa same-sex couples challenging the state’s marriage law has energized the push to put a state constitutional marriage amendment before the voters. The Iowa house passed an amendment last year but it has been stalled in the Senate. However, Senate leaders vowed to try to bring it to a vote this session. An amendment must pass in two successive legislatures and would go before the voters in 2007 at the earliest. Article here.
     
  • Cherokee Court Permits One and Only Same-sex "Marriage"

    The Appeals Tribunal of the Cherokee Nation, the highest tribal court, has rejected a request for an injunction against a lesbian couple marrying under tribal law. At the time the two lesbians applied for their license, the tribe did not have a law banning same-sex "marriage." The tribal council has since enacted a law that bars recognition of same-sex unions. Article here.

International News

  • Same-sex "Marriage" is a Major Election Issue in Canada

    The issue of legalizing same-sex "marriage" has been one of the most divisive social issues in recent Canadian history and it is playing a prominent role in the federal elections now underway in that country. Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper, whose party has recently taken the lead in opinion polls, has pledged a true free vote in Parliament on the issue of legalizing same-sex "marriage." Such a free vote could effectively repeal the existing same-sex "marriage" law passed by Parliament last summer which made Canada only the fourth nation in the world to legalize same-sex "marriage." Harper has said that he does not favor invoking the “notwithstanding clause” on the same-sex "marriage" issue. This provision allows the government to temporarily suspend court rulings and it has become another issue in the campaign. Article here.
  • Latvian Parliament Adopts Marriage Protection Amendment

    The Latvian Parliament has overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the nation’s constitution that defines marriage in that country as only the union of a man and a woman. The measure must be signed by the country’s president, who did not support it but is expected to sign it. The move was taken because of concerns of many Parliamentarians that policies and actions of the European Union, which the Baltic nation recently joined, could give homosexuals a claim to rights in Latvia that virtually all Latvians reject. Homosexual advocacy groups are protesting to the European Union Parliament. Article here.  

Significant Commentary on Marriage

  • Is Same-sex "Marriage" Leading to Legalized Polygamy?

    • Noted researcher and marriage policy analyst Stanley Kurtz looks at the implications of official recognition of a polygamous relationship in the Netherlands for the eventual legalization of polygamy in that country and in other political jurisdictions that legalize same-sex "marriage." The “trio,” a man and two women, were issued a “cohabitation contract” under Dutch law. Kurtz notes that obtaining legal cohabitation status was the initial tactic used by homosexual couples in the Netherlands several decades ago in their campaign to legalize same-sex "marriage" in that country. His article, “Here Come the Brides,” appeared in the Weekly Standard and is available here.

  • A “Stunning Indictment” of Psychology

    In his commentary piece in The Washington Times, “Is Psychology in Denial,” Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a widely respected critic of the social activism bias in several mental health related professional associations, reviews a recent book that delivers what he concludes is a “stunning indictment of the mental health professions.” The book, Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm, by two eminent psychologists, Dr. Rogers Wright and Dr. Nicholas Cummings, “documents and critiques the ascent of social activism over open-minded scientific inquiry and quality care in the current mental health establishment” Throckmorton says. He notes that these are not disgruntled members of the profession’s rank and file. Dr. Cummings is a past president of the American Psychological Association, and both claim to be "lifelong liberal activists." Throckmorton specifically cites the opposition of many of the social activists in these professional associations to therapy to treat homosexuals who want to change their sexual orientation even though it has proven successful in many cases. Article here.

We Urgently 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 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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