Tag Archives: Topic: Marriage

Huffington Post: “We are not surprised that this Hollywood-orchestrated attack on marriage — tried in San Francisco — turned out this way,” said Brian Raum of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group that helped defend Proposition 8 in court. “But we are confident that the expressed will of the American people in favor of marriage will be upheld at the Supreme Court.”

ADF Attorney Brian Raum at National Review Online Bench Memos: No court can change the nature of men and women, or change the truth that the complementary union between husband and wife is different from any other human relationship. And no court should presume to redefine marriage — yet two of three judges in the oft-overturned Ninth Circuit have attempted to do so with Tuesday’s decision in the lawsuit over California’s marriage amendment, Perry v. Brown.

NewsBusters.org (includes video): During an interview with openly gay former Lieutenant Dan Choi, Heilemann asked former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele the following bigoted and offensive question: “Michael I’m curious about whether you think it would be okay in modern America, for there to be some states where black men could not marry white women? If local standards where that were unacceptable.”

News from The Associated Press: Yet legal experts seemed to think the panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals struck down the voter-approved ban on Tuesday purposefully served up its 2-1 opinion in a narrow way and seasoned it with established holdings so the Supreme Court would be less tempted to bite.

LaTimes.com: The narrow California-only approach adopted by the 9th Circuit means the high court might choose to steer clear of the dispute.

American Civil Liberties Union: The American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Perkins Coie appeared in Alaska Superior Court yesterday seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the sex marker on their driver’s licenses.

Stephen J. Heaney at Public Discourse: Personally opposed, but actively supporting…well, it’s complicated.

Christian Concern: Andrea Minichiello Williams spoke to the General Synod today (6 Feb), challenging the Church of England to take a stand for traditional marriage before it is too late.

Defenders of marriage in California will appeal Tuesday’s ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that upheld a district judge’s decision against the state’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage.

No court should undercut the democratic process by taking the power to preserve marriage out of the hands of the people.

The opinion. Maggie Gallagher at National Review Online: Ninth Circuit to 7 Million California Voters: You Are Irrational Bigots Rick Hassen at Election Law Blog: Initial Thoughts on 9th Circuit Prop. 8 Decision How Appealing links to numerous reports. Orin …

Des Moines Register: Gov. Terry Branstadt’s administration said today it is appealing a Polk County District Court ruling that ordered state health officials to issue a birth certificate listing both members of a same-sex marriage as the legal parents of a 2-year-old girl.

Blankfein to Speak Out for Same-Sex Marriage – NYTimes.com (includes video): Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief of Goldman Sachs who has become a lightning rod for Wall Street critics, might seem an unlikely advocate for same-sex marriage. But his credentials — a public figure in a conservative industry — could make him a powerful voice for that cause.

Religion Clause: In Brown v. Herbert, (D UT, Feb. 3, 2012), a Utah federal district court held that members of an openly polygamous family (subjects of the television show Sister Wives) have standing to bring suit against the County Attorney to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s Anti-Bigamy Statute.

Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily: “The American people deserve a court system that upholds the integrity of the judicial process,” said Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has worked on the case. [more]

BaltimoreSun.com: The House bill went in with 56 co-sponsors, including House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who rarely puts his name on legislation

Seattle Times: Seattle-based Internet retailer Amazon.com said Wednesday it has joined other large Northwest companies to support legislation that would legalize gay marriage in Washington state.

LaTimes.com: An Iraq war veteran from Pasadena filed suit against the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday over its refusal to pay her full disability benefits because she is in a same-sex marriage.

Washington Blade – “America’s Leading Gay News Source”: Following McCoy was Maryland Baptist ministers Rev. Dr. John Lund, and Rev. Dr. Nate Thomas, as well as Presbyterian pastor Bob Borger, former mega-church pastor Joel Peebles — who recently lost a court battle over control over his Jericho City of Praise Ministry — as well as some Catholic voices such as Pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Eric Arnold, and Maryland Catholic Conference’s Mary Ellen Russell. The testimony was concluded by an attorney specializing in representing churches and ministers, Erika Cole, the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty’s Eric Baxter, and the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund’s Brian Raum.

The Washington Post: Brian W. Raum, senior counsel at the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, argued that protections should be extended to businesses, such as wedding planners, who do not believe in gay nuptials.

www.HometownAnnapolis.com – The Capital: The hearing attracted a few witnesses from out of state. Brian W. Raum, is senior counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. He said the bill fails to protect “religious-minded” individuals and businesses, such as wedding planners and venue halls. “Certain kinds of businesses are going to be negatively affected,” he said. “They may be people of deep faith who don’t want to participate.” After the hearing, Raum seemed perturbed when asked to explain why businesses should be free to discriminate against same-sex couples, while discrimination on racial or religious grounds is illegal. “If you don’t see the difference between race-based discrimination and a protection for marriage between a man and a woman, then I can’t help you on that,” he said.

FRC: If Maryland’s same-sex “marriage” bill was controversial before, then the Governor’s wife just poured gasoline on the fire. In a speech last week, Catherine O’Malley certainly didn’t help her husband’s cause when she was caught on tape calling leaders “cowards” for supporting traditional marriage.

SeattlePI.com: The Senate will vote Wednesday on a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move the bill to a floor vote.

National Organization for Marriage v. McKee, No. 11-1196 (1st Cir. Jan. 31, 2012)

LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. This appeal presents the second chapter of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maine laws imposing registration and disclosure requirements on entities that finance election-related advocacy. In a recent decision, we rejected claims made by one of the appellants here, the National Organization for Marriage (“NOM”), asserting that Maine’s laws regulating political action committees (“PACs”) are unconstitutionally vague and overbroad in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. See NOM v. McKee, 649 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2011) (“NOM I”). We now consider similar contentions raised by NOM and co-appellant American Principles in Action, Inc. (“APIA”) concerning the law applicable to ballot question committees (“BQCs”). See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-B. Our decision in NOM I effectively disposes of most of appellants’ challenges to Maine’s BQC requirements. On the only substantively distinct issue — the constitutionality of the definition of “contribution” in section 1056-B — we conclude that the BQC law, like the PAC laws, is constitutional. We thus affirm in its entirety the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendants.

Minnesota Public Radio News: he largest group working to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage said it has raised more than $1.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions.

CBS Seattle (AP): A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days.

BBC News: Labour’s Johann Lamont, the Tories’ Ruth Davidson, the Lib Dems’ Willie Rennie and Scottish Green Patrick Harvie are united on the issue.

The Washington Post: Something unexpected happened on the way to North Carolina’s vote on a gay marriage ban this May: Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue decided not to run for re-election, meaning more voters who oppose the ban could turn out at the polls.

Concord Monitor: Cohn and others believe the bill may pass the House but does not have the two-thirds majority to override a potential veto by Democratic Gov. John Lynch, who signed the bill three years ago legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Washington Post: A poll by The Washington Post has found that half of Maryland residents now support legalizing same-sex marriage.

Baltimore Sun: “We ask the government to fix the problems we already have, not create new ones,” said the Rev. Michael DeAscanis, a Roman Catholic priest in St. Agnes and St. William of York Parish in Baltimore.

The Washington Post: Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch said the push for legalizing same-sex marriage is “clearly an issue of civil rights,” during an appearance Tuesday at a prayer breakfast with supportive clergy.

Bloomberg: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said his pick to be the first openly gay justice on the state Supreme Court won’t rule on issues involving same-sex marriage.

The post and letter are at the Mirror of Justice Blog:

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Let me break down this legalese. What this bill says is that if a church rents out its facilities for non-members to use for weddings, then it will be forced to allow a same-sex couple to use its facilities for a same-sex “marriage” ceremony . . .

Slate Magazine: History suggests that it is. A new study out of the University of British Columbia documents how societies have systematically evolved away from polygamy because of the social problems it causes. The Canadian researchers are really talking about polygyny, which is the term for one man with multiple wives, and which is by far the most common expression of polygamy.

The Christian Institute (includes video): Marriage must remain a union between one man and one woman, the Archbishop of York has warned.

Stars and Stripes: The measure states that chaplains cannot be required to perform a same-sex marriage if they object to the union, and that military facilities cannot be used for any such ceremony.

The Washington Post: Overall, the Post poll found that 50 percent of Marylanders support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry while 44 percent are opposed.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Gay rights advocates in New Jersey have been pushing for a decade to get state courts or lawmakers to recognize same-sex marriage. But last week, they demurred when Gov. Christie called for a public vote to settle the topic.

Andrew Brown at the Guardian.co.uk: In the end, the church may have to choose between communion and establishment. Sentamu has often, loudly, and rightly defended “Britishness” and British traditions. And if it comes to a choice between the Anglican Communion and the Church of England, British history, and British tradition, would then demand that the Anglican Communion be told, politely, to go away and commune with itself: that the archbishop of Lagos has no more jurisdiction in this country than the bishop of Rome.

ADF Attorney Attorney Austin R. Nimocks appeared on AFR Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss the marriage battles in Washington state and New Hampshire. | MP3 audio 12:25 minutes

Patrick Lee at Public Discourse: The conjugal conception of marriage is just and coherent; the same-sex marriage proponents’ conception of marriage is unjust and incoherent.

NJ.com: Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said a public vote on the issue would not really reflect the will of the people.
“A referendum reflects which side can corrupt the political system with more money,” he said.

Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D.: Should Marriage Licenses be Renewable?: What if you had the option to renew your marriage license every five years?

The Washington Post: Catherine “Katie” Curran O’Malley said Friday that she regrets characterizing opponents of the Maryland same-sex marriage bill that failed last year as “cowards.”

WSJ.com: It’s More Common Than Adultery and Potentially As Toxic, So Why Is It So Hard to Stop Nagging?

LifeSiteNews.com: The petition was begun in response to a new initiative by French socialists, who are promising voters to institute homosexual “marriage” if they are chosen in the upcoming presidential elections.

ADF Attorney Austin R. Nimocks, Pastor Ken Hutcherson, Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute, and Washington Catholic Archbishop J. Peter Sartain on King 5 News.

Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, Christopher Plante of the National Organization for Marriage, and Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute testify before a Washington State Senate Panel on the purpose of marriage. (January 23, 2012)

NYTimes.com: But asked on Thursday whether he was satisfied with the approach taken by Mr. Christie, a Republican, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, did not seem to want to get involved.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: The Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee approved the measure with a 4-3 voice vote split on party lines. The bill is expected to head to a floor vote next, though a date has not yet been determined.

Bloomberg: . . . according to the survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. The survey, which began measuring student opinions and concerns in 1966, also found more students supporting abortion rights, with almost 61 percent saying abortion should be legal.

UnionLeader.com: “Live Free or Die” isn’t just the official motto for a great state. As the 62nd Republican National Committee Chairman, I think it’s a mantra our party should live by. I hope that New Hampshire legislators will remember this slogan and reject proposals to strip citizens of their right to marry.

The Washington Post: The Maryland State Bar Association announced its support Thursday of a same-sex marriage bill sponsored by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), following what the organization said was an “overwhelming” vote by its board of governors.

The Washington Post: EqualityMaine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the Maine Women’s Lobby have collected more than 100,000 signatures — far more than needed to seek the referendum — made their announcement Thursday at the State House in Augusta.

Huffington Post: “There are certain things that government does that gives people privileges in order to promote activity that are healthy for society and are best for society,” Santorum said.

NPR: Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage says what states do now could influence the court’s decisions. “Given that we have a Roe v. Wade-type decision, the state fights become even more important because some of the justices don’t like to have the law be too far ahead of where the public is,” Brown says.

News from The Associated Press: With a flurry of coast-to-coast developments this week, same-sex marriage is back in the political spotlight and likely to remain there through Election Day as a half-dozen states face potentially wrenching votes on the issue.

CNN: Starbucks has come out in support of a bill that would make Washington the seventh U.S. state to legalize gay marriage.

NJ.com: As a Senate committee advanced a bill that would allow same-sex marriage Tuesday, the effectiveness of the current civil union system was argued by both sides.

LifeSiteNews.com: The Mexican Supreme Court ruled this week in a 7-4 vote that the states of Jalisco and Baja California do not have a legitimate legal interest in their suit challenging Mexico City’s homosexual “marriage” law, which also allows same-sex couples to adopt children.

Herald-mail.com: O’Malley, a Democrat who is making same-sex marriage a priority of his legislative agenda this year, said bill drafters were especially sensitive to protecting religious freedom in hopes of persuading lawmakers — as well as the state’s voters — to support the legislation.

The Washington Post: A New Jersey Senate panel has approved a same-sex marriage bill the same day Gov. Chris Christie vowed to veto it.

Ruth Institute Blog: Open marriage is also likely to be a terrible idea for children. A growing body of research suggests that children are harmed when they are exposed to a revolving cast of caregivers and partners. For example, a recent federal report found that children living with one parent and an unrelated romantic partner were about 10 times as likely to be sexually, physically or emotionally abused, compared with children living with their own married, biological parents.

Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, Christopher Plante of the National Organization for Marriage, and Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute testify before the Washington House Judiciary on the purpose of marriage. (January 23, 2012)

AnnArbor.com : The Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously Monday night in favor of a resolution directing the city administrator and city attorney to assist the civil rights group in the lawsuit filed in federal court this month after Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 297 into law.

Catholic News Agency (CNA): – Colorado’s proposed civil unions bill is “just a stepping stone to the legalization of same-sex marriage,” the head of the Colorado Catholic Conference has warned. “In every state where legislators or lawmakers have pushed civil unions, there has then been a push for the recognition of same-sex marriage,” conference executive director Jennifer Kraska told CNA on Jan. 17.

Rasmussen: Seventy-eight percent (78%) of American Adults rate the institution of marriage as at least somewhat important to U.S. society, and that includes 60% who consider it Very Important. | 77% Say Two-Parent Home Very Important for Children

OneNewsNow.com: “No provision of the Minnesota Constitution gives individuals the right to redefine marriage and force that definition on everyone else,” says Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Jim Campbell. “The union between husband and wife benefits society, especially children, in unique and special ways that could not be duplicated by any other relationship.”

HeraldNet.com: The issue will likely head to the voters, said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal arm of Focus on the Family group that has fought gay marriage legislation across the country. “Americans are married to the institution of marriage. Red states, blue states, north, south, east and west,” Nimocks said. “They understand the definition of marriage. They don’t need to have the Legislature tell them what it is.”

Washington Times: “Voters can make sure that this courts ruling is not the final word. The final word belongs to the people of Minnesota, not judges,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented the Minnesota Family Council in a friend-of-the-court brief in support of traditional marriage.

The Christian Institute: The number of weddings taking place in the Church of England has seen its biggest annual increase for a decade.

The Washington Post: Washington’s Legislature has enough votes to legalize gay marriage with a statement from Democratic Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen Monday who said she will support the measure, becoming the 25th vote needed to pass the bill out of the Senate. The House already has enough support, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has endorsed the plan.

NJ.com: Gov. Chris Christie today nominated an openly gay African-American Republican mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the state’s highest court.