Tag Archives: ADF: Brian Raum

“Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum told TAS that Washington, D.C. demonstrates the disconnect between voters and government officials on the marriage question. With California’s Proposition 8 and over a dozen similar ballot initiatives, the people have repeatedly affirmed the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman (though polls in a few states have recorded pluralities in favor of same-sex marriage). Based on this history, Raum said it is important to let the initiative process go forward.”

Thomas Messner writes at The Foundry, the blog of the Heritage Foundation: “According to Brian Raum, Senior Legal Counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, ‘Marriage didn’t violate the Human Rights Act when the HRA passed 32 years ago, and it doesn’t now. That is simply a political argument meant to prevent the people from voting.’ Raum states that ‘[m]arriage pre-existed the Human Rights Act by centuries in the district. They have co-existed for a generation without conflict . . . . The HRA has never required the redefinition of marriage or the recognition of non-marriages. Opponents of the referendum have twisted a law to impose their agenda without the people’s consent.’”

Heritage Foundation Blog: According to Brian Raum, Senior Legal Counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, “Marriage didn’t violate the Human Rights Act when the HRA passed 32 years ago, and it doesn’t now. That is simply a political argument meant to prevent the people from voting.” Raum states that “[m]arriage pre-existed the Human Rights Act by centuries in the district. They have co-existed for a generation without conflict . . . . The HRA has never required the redefinition of marriage or the recognition of non-marriages. Opponents of the referendum have twisted a law to impose their agenda without the people’s consent.”

Melissa Giaimo reports in the Washington Times: “Without intervention by Congress or the courts, the legislation passed by the D.C. Council last month is set to go into effect early next month — the end of the required congressional review period. ‘Unless the clock is stopped, people will effectively be declined an opportunity to vote on this issue,’ said Brian Raum of the Alliance Defense Fund, who is serving as counsel for the referendum supporters.”

Hope Hodge writing in The American Spectator: “As the Alliance Defense Fund’s Brian Raum pointed out, the ruling essentially invalidates the marriage statutes that have existed since the district was formed. And the potential misapplications from here on of the human rights law are legion–ballot initiatives on anything from the age for buying tobacco to educational standards for teachers could run afoul of broadly interpreted discrimination standards.”

Michael Neibauer reports in The Washington Examiner: “After the procedural hearing at the Moultrie Courthouse, Raum contended that the court had the equitable authority to suspend a statute. Elections board General Counsel Kenneth McGhie disagreed, but he declined to explain further.

‘Unless the clock is stopped, the people will effectively be deprived of their right to vote on this issue,’ Raum said.”

Catholic News Agency: “Marriage didn’t violate the Human Rights Act when the HRA passed 32 years ago, and it doesn’t now. That is simply a political argument meant to prevent the people from voting,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum said in a statement.

Mike DeBonis writes at the Washington City Paper‘s City Desk blog: “The lawyers for the referendum proponents—Steven H. Aden, Austin R. Nimocks, and Brian W. Raum—are all affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian conservative legal advocacy group founded in 1994 by a group of politically active evangelicals (including Focus of the Family’s James Dobson). Aden is based in D.C., while Raum (who testified at a BOEE hearing) and Nimocks are from Scottsdale, Ariz.”

OneNewsNow: “‘The people of [the District of Columbia] certainly have the right to retain the traditional definition of marriage,’ says the [Brian Raum], ‘but the board has decided to squelch that right — and we will be filing an appeal with the DC Superior Court on behalf of the proponents of the referendum.’”

Michael Neibauer reports in The Washington Examiner: “But Raum responded that court precedent, namely Dean v. District of Columbia, already bars all same-sex marriages in D.C. The 1995 D.C. Court of Appeals decision, certain to be at the heart of his appeal, held that the Superior Court clerk’s decision not to issue a marriage license to a gay couple was right and did not violate the Human Rights Act.

‘There’s no principal difference between retaining marriage as between one man and one woman in the District and the District refusing to recognize same sex marriages from other states and other countries,’ Raum said. ‘Both are the same. Neither of those two things violate the [Human Rights Act].’”

“Referendum proponents will file an appeal Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court, said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents supporters of a ballot measure on the issue.”

Lillian Kwon reports in The Christian Post: “Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum plans to join in the motion. ‘We’re confident that the arguments the U.S. government is making are correct,’ Raum told The Christian Post. ‘Hopefully, the court will dismiss [the case] . . . The plaintiffs say DOMA violates the Constitution and no federal court found that to be the case so far,’ he added.”

Family Research Council: “‘The District’s Human Rights Act was never intended to suggest maintaining marriage between anything other than a man and woman,’ said Brian Raum, an attorney for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, who specializes in fighting same-sex marriage.”

Gary Emerling reports in the Washington Times: “‘This referendum would do nothing more than maintain the status quo of what marriage has been and is in the District of Columbia – a union between a man and a woman,’ said Brian Raum of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which is working with referendum supporters.”

Adam Serwer writes at Tapped, the group blog of the American Prospect: “Proponents of the referendum included Bishop Harry Jackson, often the religious right’s point man on such issues in communities of color, as well as Brian Raum, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group founded by James Dobson, among others. Local leaders for the anti-gay marriage side like Rev. Patrick Walker were also present. Gay marriage opponents made a number of arguments: they raised the specter of children being exposed to homosexuality, argued that District voters were disenfranchised by the City Council, and made the usual religious arguments against gay marriage.”

WTOP.com: “Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund and a referendum supporter, focused his attention on Dean v. D.C., a 1995 case that barred the D.C. court clerk from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. The referendum would not authorize discrimination, Raum said: ‘This is a public policy issue that the people should decide.’”

Christian Post: “‘The people of the District of Columbia should have the right to determine how marriage will be recognized in their district,’ said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund.
Raum contended before the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics that a referendum would not violate the District’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against minority groups, including gays and lesbians.”

Jennifer Mesko writing at CitizenLink: “The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics held a hearing today on whether the new law can be put to a public vote. A decision will come later. ‘The issue before us is not whether same-sex ‘marriage’ is good or bad policy, but who gets to decide this critical moral and social issue,’ argued Brian Raum, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘The people should decide.’”

Washington City Paper: After gaveling the hearing to order this morning, the board heard approximately 90 minutes of testimony from proponents of the referendum. They heard first from Brian Raum, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, a “legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.”

The Washington Post‘s D.C. Wire blog reports: “But Brian Raum, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, is arguing ‘the people should decide,’ and the that Human Rights Act does not extend to same-sex marriage. ‘The issue before us is not whether same-sex marriage is good or bad policy, but whether who gets to decide this critical moral and social issue?” Raum said. ‘The proponents believe the people should decide.’”

lliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum will be available for media interviews after testifying before the Board of Elections at a hearing Wednesday. Raum will join pastors and others in support of allowing citizens of the District of Columbia to vote on whether to accept or reject the decision of the D.C. City Council to recognize same-sex “marriages” from other jurisdictions.

Philip Shishkin writing in the Wall Street Journal: “Some conservatives fear that this lawsuit is part of a Trojan-horse campaign to make gay marriage a reality nationwide over the will of voters. They see the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court here in March, as an important one. ‘It’s very significant because the ramifications are extraordinary,’ says Brian Raum, an attorney at the conservative Alliance Defense Fund.”

Kenneth Lovett and Glenn Blain report in the New York Daily News: “Same-sex marriage in New York is expected to inch closer to legalization Tuesday when the Assembly takes up the controversial measure . . . ‘Any time people have had the opportunity to vote, they voted to maintain the traditional definition of marriage,’ said Brian Raum, of the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Lillian Kwon reports in the Christian Post: “‘The people of California want marriage to remain as the union between one man and one woman; they made their voice clear last November at the polls,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum in a statement released Friday. ‘Yet this lawsuit begs the court to nullify the voices of more than 7 million California voters, as well as put an end to the federal law on marriage.’”

. . . ” this lawsuit begs the court to nullify the voices of more than 7 million California voters, as well as put an end to the federal law on marriage. We are pleased to be able to represent ProtectMarriage.com”

Family Restoration Blog at Regent U. by Prof. Lynn Marie Kohm: “The people of California made their voice clear at the polls; they want marriage to remain as the union between one man and one woman. But this lawsuit is asking the court to nullify the people’s voices, as well as the federal law on marriage,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum.

. . . Alliance Defense Fund attorneys submitted a motion to intervene Friday in a lawsuit that seeks to eliminate the California amendment as well as the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Ronald L. Caravan writing in The Valley News: Both suits were filed by the Alliance Defense Fund and New York attorneys associated with that organization . . . Interviewed by CNS News in January, ADF attorney Jim Campbell noted that “the public policy of New York is that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.” . . . ADF senior counsel Brian Raum, who argued the Lewis case, stated, “Our position from the beginning has been that the legislature has the exclusive authority regarding the definition of marriage, and the definition of marriage in New York is clear—it’s between a man and a woman, and the (state’s) highest court has already said that.”

CitizenLink: “New York state and local officials shouldn’t recognize the laws of foreign jurisdictions when they conflict with state law,” said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for ADF. “These officials have overstepped their authority in order to forward the agenda of special interest groups.”

Jeremy W. Peters reports in the New York Times: “Lower courts have already sided with two government entities that revised their policies to honor the marriages, but those decisions were appealed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian group that is waging multiple legal battles in New York to stop state and local entities from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples who were wed in places, like Massachusetts and Canada, where the ceremony is legal.”

“. . . attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund in lawsuits against officials who have attempted to recognize out-of-state same-sex ‘marriages’ in contradiction to state law.”

Legal Commentary on Proposition 8 and the Right to Marry: “Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Brian W. Raum will testify before the Delaware Small Business Committee on S.B. 27, a proposed amendment to the Delaware constitution that would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions.”

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Brian W. Raum will be available for media interviews Wednesday following his testimony before the Delaware Legislature on legislation which, if enacted, would amend the Delaware Constitution to protect the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Counsel Jim Campbell and ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum will be available for media interviews Friday following Campbell’s oral arguments in favor of a Christian doctor terminated by the city of Minneapolis for having ties to a pro-family organization.

“. . . the federal Defense of Marriage Act makes them ineligible to file joint tax returns. Now Ritchie, Bush and more than a dozen others are suing the federal government, claiming the act discriminates against . . . and is unconstitutional . . . ”

The Poughkeepsie Journal: Another attorney who has initiated court cases in several states seeking to preserve current marriage laws, said most judges – and most voters – apparently do not share Hebel’s view that gay marriage will be accepted any …

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed documents Wednesday seeking to appeal separate lawsuits against New York officials for attempting to recognize out-of-state same-sex “marriages” in contradiction to state law.

One News Now: “. . . ADF senior counsel Brian Raum . . . ‘Our position from the beginning has been that the legislature has the exclusive authority regarding the definition of marriage, and the definition of marriage in New …

“New York very clearly does not permit same-sex marriage, that was articulated by the Court of Appeals in the Hernandez case and to recognize [same-sex] marriage in another jurisdiction is in direct conflict with that,” Mr. Raum said.

Carlsbad Current-Argus: Unmarried couples would get the same rights and privileges as their married counterparts under a bill recommended Wednesday by a Senate Committee.The Senate Public Affairs Committee voted 5-4 to recommend passage of Senate Bill 12, also known as …

WV Department of Health and Human Resources had temporarily placed the child with a same-sex couple, but that couple now seeks to to adopt rather than place the child in a family with a mom and dad . . .

The Republican-American reports on New Jersey’s recent Ocean Grove Camp Meeting involving a church that refused to allow a lesbian couple to use its oceanside pavilion for a civil unions ceremony: Last week, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, …

ADF attorney Brian Raum: “As the rights of same-sex couples increase, the tendency is to have it conflict with the First Amendment rights of religious organizations.”

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4738 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND STATEMENT November 5, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF: Marriage amendment victories demonstrate voters don’t want activist courts Constitutional amendments on marriage prevail in Arizona, California, Florida SCOTTSDALE, …

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports: A state appeals court heard arguments today on whether New York can give equal benefits to same-sex couples married in other jurisdictions . . . Brian Raum, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, argued that …

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4705 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY October 14, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media after hearing on NY same-sex ‘marriage’ benefits State officials challenged for illegally redefining ‘spouse’ …

Michael Foust has this report on the Baptist Press discussing the Connecticut Supreme Court’s marriage ruling.  It includes this: Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum, whose organization filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Family Research Council, criticized the …

ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum: “This decision demonstrates–as did the recent decision from the California Supreme Court–the dire need for states to enact constitutional amendments to protect marriage from ongoing judicial attack.”

Emily Jane Goodman, a NY State Supreme Court Justice, has this commentary in the Gotham Gazette discussing New York’s Marriage Litigation. She mentions Briam Raum of ADF.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4678 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY September 16, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS:  (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom   ADF attorney available to media after hearing on firing of Christian psychologist Psychologist lost city contract because of …

“In 2007, Davis attempted to express his faith by speaking and distributing religious tracts in a common area of SCCC. The college’s assistant dean . . . told Davis to stop preaching and leave the campus, or face arrest.”

Brian Raum: “This is not about discrimination. This is about the future of marriage being decided by the legislature and the people . . . The governor is not above the law.”

San Diego is quickly earning a reputation as the ground zero of the Christian marriage movement.

The AP reports on Newsday: State lawyers defended Gov. David Paterson‘s move to recognize out-of-state gay marriages, asking a judge on Thursday to dismiss a Christian legal group’s claim that the governor overstepped his authority . . . The Scottsdale, …

Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum will appear before the court on Thursday on behalf of N.Y. legislators and taxpayers.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4634 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY August 6, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media following hearing in lawsuit against N.Y. governor Hearing concerns N.Y. governor’s directive ordering state …

Fox News reports: Opponents believe the New York Civil Liberties Union and others are using the health care fight as just another stepping stone to legalized gay marriage. “It’s evolved from [health care] to more of a demand for recognition,” …

Alliance Defense Fund and ProtectMarriage attorneys are calling the California Supreme Court’s rejection of a lawsuit against the state’s proposed marriage amendment an appropriate decision on a frivolous lawsuit.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of a licensed counselor who was fired after referring a person seeking counsel with a same-sex relationship to a colleague.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4606 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY July 14, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media following hearing in lawsuit against N.Y. governor Hearing concerns N.Y. governor’s directive ordering state …

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4567 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY June 20, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media following hearing in same-sex “marriage” recognition lawsuit Appellate hearing in ongoing lawsuit against Westchester …

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4563 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND STATEMENT June 19, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF ready to defend Tenn. marriage amendment free of charge ADF attorneys will offer to again defend state officials if …

n defense of marriage in New York, attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed their opening brief in a New York appellate court Monday to prevent officials from illegally recognizing same-sex “marriages” conducted outside the state.

The Bakersfield Californian reports: County Clerk Ann Barnett released figures Friday showing her office lost $18,000 in the past year performing civil marriage ceremonies . . . “The bottom line is that (Barnett) has the discretion not to perform wedding …

This article appears on the ADF web site. It reports: “What the governor’s memo fails to mention is that the Martinez case is only one of several similar cases about same-sex “marriage,” and does not establish the law in New …

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Tuesday in New York state court on behalf of lawmakers and taxpayers to halt implementation of Gov. David Paterson’s directive ordering state agencies to recognize same-sex “marriages” from other jurisdictions.

The AP reports: A Christian legal organization said Friday it will sue to stop New York Gov. David Paterson‘s directive to provide rights and benefits to gay couples legally married elsewhere that are now provided to heterosexual married couples. The …

The NY Times reports: Legal challenges to Gov. David A. Paterson’s plan to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions are likely to come thick and fast. But they face an uphill fight, legal experts said on Thursday, given New York’s …

“Same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere will be recognized in New York in response to a state court ruling this year, Gov. David Paterson’s spokeswoman said Wednesday.”

OneNewsNow reports: . . . Measure 36, the amendment to Oregon’s constitution declaring that marriage may only be the union of one man and one woman, was ruled constitutional last week by the Court of Appeals for the State of …

An Oregon appeals court ruled Wednesday that Measure 36, the state’s constitutional amendment affirming marriage as the union between one man and one woman, is constitutional.

The court reasoned that it could not hear the case because the lower court’s decision had yet to “finally determine the action.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed an appeal Monday on behalf of a group of New York taxpayers in an effort to stop officials from illegally recognizing same-sex “marriages” performed outside the Empire State.

But opponents are not giving up so easily. Both rulings are being appealed, and the Alliance Defense Fund has gone to court . . . [it] “should not be something that bypasses the democratic process,” said Brian Raum . . .

ADF Attorney Brian Raum “said that the talk of ‘inclusivity’ in schools by homosexual groups is a veiled threat.”