February 7, 2012 Changing the World!
From the desk of Carol Soelberg:
We have much to report on today.
Prop 8 Deemed Unconstitutional
First, the 9th Circuit Court of appeals has over-ridden the vote of the citizens of California and overturned California’s Prop 8 – the amendment that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. The decision, although not unexpected, is disturbing.
“We are not surprised that this Hollywood-orchestrated attack on marriage — tried in San Francisco — turned out this way. But we are confident that the expressed will of the American people in favor of marriage will be upheld at the Supreme Court.” (Brian Raum, an attorney hired to defend Prop. 8, in an email to a CBS affiliate in San Francisco.)
There is no indication that same-sex “marriage” will resume in California anytime soon and this decision will almost certainly make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is an outrageous ruling and threatens to redefine marriage not only for California, but potentially for every state in the nation.
We also want to make you aware of some of the history of the 9th Circuit (sometimes referred to as the 9th “circus” court). In the 2009 term, the 9th Circuit had a reversal/vacated rate of 88 percent. In the 2010 term, that rate was 79 percent. Over the last 10 years the 9th Circuit was reversed or vacated in 81 percent of the cases that the U.S. Supreme Court heard.
For more news stories on the Prop 8 decision:
Ninth Circuit: Proposition 8 Unconstitutional but Only California Affected
Federal Appeals Court Rules Prop. 8 Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Unconstitutional
Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules
A World Tax?
United Families International currently has representatives at the UN working hard for your family during the Commission on Social Development. We wanted to alert you to a new initiative, and more importantly, an ideology a foot at the UN. It is embodied in the concept of a “Social Protection Floor.”
Susan Roylance, founder of United Families International, was in attendance at the UN forum meant to draw attention to the initiative. Her news report has received a lot of media attention. Take a minute to read about this new plan and its implications for your family. Here. Here.
Lastly, Tom Christensen gives a succinct overview of the attack on family, marriage and life – and why it matters to you and to your family. He gives some important background on the things that are occurring all around us – including those things mentioned above. The attacks on the family are real and dangerous. They deserve your attention.
Sincerely,
Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International
Changing the World
Cultures that consistently encourage traditional marriage, childbearing, effective parenting, and family self-reliance enjoy the blessings of an educated, stable, law-abiding population. Those that intrude upon the proper domain of the family –reengineering and redefining it, redistributing wealth, or duplicating its essential functions–experience economic deterioration and social chaos.
Look around. Family decline and depopulation, spurned by government action or inaction, threatens virtually every developed nation around the globe. Japan (one of the first to officially embrace Margaret Sanger eugenics) is now aging and declining to the point that it can no longer defend itself and sustain its economy and entitlements. China, with its two child policy, is a demographic and human rights nightmare. Sweden, with the most generous child care benefits in the world, has the highest percentage of single mothers in the world. Welfare dependency and legalized abortion is wiping out the American black family.
No nation truly interested in self-preservation and the welfare of its children would embrace such policy. With a staggering abortion rate and total fertility rate of 1.2 per woman, Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, remarked, “Without exaggeration, the central problem of contemporary Russia is demography, strengthening the family, increasing the birth rate…”
With notable exceptions, most anti-family laws do not start with the idea of wrecking the traditional family, but that is the end result. Each time a bill is introduced, legislators should weigh the potential impact to the family. The impacts are too grave to ignore.
Unfortunately, impacts to the family are not recognized unless someone is there to point them out and lobby persuasively. However, the ordinary citizen cannot possibly cover all branches and levels of government. But he or she can study the issues, vote wisely, and form professional associations to monitor legislation, access public officials and “hold their feet to the fire.” By engaging in the public process, ordinary people can make a huge difference in steering policy makers in the right direction.
Advocacy at the various levels of government
As a career government attorney and former elected official, I am less concerned about local government because it is close to the people and seldom delves into controversial social policy. It strives to provide basic systems and services that individuals, families, and businesses cannot provide for themselves. In my experience, local officials who interfere in private matters do not last long.
At the state and federal level and especially in the courts, policy makers are more distant from the people and more susceptible to personal whim, partisan and special interests. In recent years, United Families International (UFI) has encouraged the creation of local chapters to monitor state and federal legislation.
As to judicial appeals before unelected justices prone to legislate, UFI has filed “amicus” (friend of the court) briefs in important state and federal cases. To overturn court decisions or legislation that, for example, repudiate traditional marriage, UFI has sponsored or helped organize the efforts in many states and countries (i.e. Canada, Spain). In the U.S., these referenda have successfully protected the definition of marriage in 30 states.
Unlike the other levels of government, policymakers (delegates) at the United Nations are appointed, not elected. They have no constituent base back home to worry about. Ordinary people do not even know what policies are being considered at the UN or how they affect them. To make matters worse, nations with deplorable family policy or human rights records have an equal voice or even chair UN commissions that adopt global social policies.
Public input at the UN is limited to UN accredited NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). Unfortunately, UN conferences are dominated by radical statist, socialist, feminist, humanist and environmentalist NGOs and UN agencies who work together as part of a massive, coordinated caucus. The result is the incessant presentation and debate of far-left ideologies. Such concepts, if adopted, serve as a dangerous blueprint for national policies implemented worldwide. Hence, the main focus of UFI in recent years is on the UN where the impact or need for a family voice is the greatest.
Previously, UFI attended at the invitation of other accredited NGOS. Over a decade ago, as CEO of UFI, I submitted an application, met with accreditation officials, and eventually obtained UN ECOSOC accreditation for UFI. Today, UFI is a global force to be reckoned with at the UN. It, along with other coalition members, has positively shaped global policy. It must continue to be vigilant at the UN if it expects to hold its substantial gains in this war over the future of the family.
Thank you to the staff, board members and volunteers of UFI for keeping the cause of the traditional family alive! Most are doing this at their own expense. And thanks to all of you who have contributed so generously to this small but effective organization. If you have not contributed to UFI yet, won’t you do so now? If you have provided financial assistance in the past, please support UFI again. As a registered 50lc3 public nonprofit organization, all contributions are tax deductible.
Finally, please don’t sit back thinking it is too late, that there is nothing that can be done to change the situation and restore the traditional family. Margaret Mead correctly stated, “Never doubt that a small group of dedicated individuals can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Tom Christensen, former CEO of United Families, is a successful father, attorney, and politician. He has written extensively on the natural family and has addressed UN delegations in behalf of UFI in Istanbul, New York, Nairobi, the Hague, Lisbon and Geneva.