Marriage Elect To Protect It
Dear Friend of the Family,
Tomorrow is an important day for pro-family voters. In the United States, voters will not only be voting for a president, they will be determining the future of the family. Please read the guest article from Bill Duncan, Director of the prestigious Marriage Law Foundation. His insight and ability to articulate the risk families are facing from a legal point of view is enlightening.
The Marriage Law Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides legal resources to defend and protect marriage between a husband and wife. It is the only pro-family group focused entirely on legal issues. Together with other organizations like UFI, they have been instrumental in fighting lawsuits around the country keeping marriage in check in the lower courts.
Warmest Regards,
Carol Soelberg
President
United Families International
MARRIAGE IS AT STAKE IN THIS ELECTION
by
William C. Duncan, Marriage Law Foundation
Every election is important. Some, though, are monumental. This election is one of these.
On November 4, many voters in the United States will participate in a referendum on marriage, the foundation of society’s most fundamental unit—the family. Voters in Arizona, California and Florida will have the opportunity to vote in favor of amendments to their state constitutions that would protect the legal definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. At risk is the foundation of our society and the birthright of our nation’s children. That is a monumental choice.
California’s Proposition 8 is likely the last stand for marriage in California. In May, four of the seven justices of the California Supreme Court invented a constitutional “right” to redefine marriage. Because of the foresight of pro-family groups, Proposition 8 was added to the November ballot. A yes vote on Proposition 8 is the only effective response to judicial overreaching because it will give constitutional protection to our inherited understanding of marriage as the union of a husband and wife. In order for California to retain this idea of marriage, Proposition 8 must be successful.
If it fails the court redefinition will stand and a train of consequences will follow: the official government endorsement of fatherless and motherless child-raising; public school curriculum at all grade levels teaching about same-sex marriage and that opposition to same-sex marriage is bigotry; pressure on religious groups and individuals to accept the new understanding of marriage and family or risk discrimination lawsuits and the loss of professional licenses, tax exemption, etc.
Supporters of Proposition 8 have waged an excellent campaign despite an opposition heavily funded by Hollywood elites and others. California is a bellwether state and if same-sex marriage is not stopped there it seems likely to spread to other states. It may also embolden judges in other states who might be inclined to redefine marriage.
Similarly, voting for Proposition 102 in Arizona and Amendment 2 in Florida is the way for voters in those states to stand up for marriage and to prevent the kind of mischief judges in California, Connecticut and Massachusetts have wrought.
These marriage amendments are the frontlines in the struggle to protect the family. Voters in every state, however, can make a difference for the family. They do this by voting for candidates and measures that will extend legal protections to all human beings, whatever their age, size or capacity and who will defend the core social institution of marriage as the union of a husband and wife.
In the argument over marriage during this election cycle, there has been a lot of loose talk about “civil rights.” Some have argued that redefining marriage is a civil right. This election, however, is primarily about civil responsibility. It is about whether we will take seriously our responsibility to future generations to pass on, unharmed, the legacy of strong families and the virtues they cultivate that we have been received from those who have gone before us.
That makes this a monumental election.
Mr. Duncan is the director of the Marriage Law Foundation.