November 25, 2008
UFI AND PROP 8 SUPPORTERS GIVE THANKS
Bev Rice.jpgDear ~Contact.FirstName~,
Supporters of Prop 8 have much to be thankful for this week. Besides achieving victory at the polls, we have been successful in achieving a victory with the California Supreme Court.
Last week the CA State Supreme Court agreed to hear cases seeking to overturn Prop 8. The ProtectMarriage Coalition, of which United Families is a member, was very encouraged by the court’s action. Andy Pugno, general counsel of the ProtectMarriage Coalition said, “We see today as a grand slam. Everything we asked for was granted.”
The Court agreed to accept jurisdiction of the cases which means that they will provide a ruling on the validity of Proposition 8 in months rather than what could have been years of courtroom battles.
The Court agreed to allow the backers of Prop 8 to be recognized as Real Parties in Interests which will allow them to intervene and provide a vigorous defense. While Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General, is supposed to fill the role of defending the will of the people, most thought that the defense by his office would be less than thorough given that he was a vocal opponent of Proposition 8. “We did not want the fate of the measure to rest in his defense of it,” said Pugno.
The last and most important win was the part of the Court’s order to deny the requests of the plaintiffs to stay the implementation of Proposition 8. The opponents were looking for a way to continue same sex marriages while the Court was making its decision.
“The California Supreme Court is recognizing the People’s vote on Proposition 8 and is allowing the measure to go into full effect,” Pugno said. “This is a great legal victory for voters.”
As supporters of Prop 8, and defenders of traditional marriage throughout the world, United Families International is proud to stand together with other members of the ProtectMarriage Coalition. We are grateful for the decision that was rendered this past week by the California Supreme Court. We are grateful for readers, like you, who take the time to be informed. We are grateful to the many, many people who have donated money in large and small amounts to help us defend marriage, family, life and religious liberty throughout the world. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with people like you!
Thank You!
Beverly Rice
President
United Families International
GERMAN DIPLOMATS INTERFERE IN PROP 8 ELECTION
Formal complaints have been submitted to the German government for what many see as interference by a German diplomat in a US election. The complaints charge that some German foreign ministers and justice officials worked to defeat the passage of Proposition 8.
One German Federal Minister of Justice campaigned in California and urged voters to “follow the lead of Germany and the rest of Europe in promoting same sex marriage”. Urging voters to defeat Proposition 8, the justice minister’s lecture was titled, “Gay Marriage in Germany and California” and was given at the LGBT Community Center in San Francisco.
The visit by the German Federal Minister was arranged by Germany’s Consul General in San Francisco. Rolf Schuette, the Consul General for Germany, has been campaigning against Prop 8 by linking those who supported the proposition to the Nazis. “From…the persecution of homosexuals under Nazis to today…full equality for gay and lesbian couples has not been achieved…there are forces which even would like to roll back what has been achieved,” Schuette said. According the Consul General’s office, nearly one-third of Schuette’s speeches this year have been advocating same sex marriage.
The complaints protesting this intrusion into US election activities were sent to German Minister of Foreign Relations, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The complaints called the “aggressive interference” by the Germans “scandalous,” and decried that “a member of the German Foreign Service is interfering in a domestic matter of the United States that will be decided by American citizens.” The letter said Schuette’s “actions violate the role of a diplomat and abuse the courtesies extended to members of a foreign government,” bringing “disrepute to [Germany] by his insensitive misuse of his role as a guest and representative of the German government in our country.”
The New Gay Strategy
The passage of California’s Proposition 8 has evoked strong reaction from the homosexual community. Although the protests of temples, churches, restaurants and individuals have gained media attention, some in the homosexual movement are calling for a different strategy which they think is far more effective. Pro-family individuals and organizations need to pay attention to the new strategy that could be used to defeat traditional marriage in the future.
It won’t be just courtroom litigation that will be used. They will attempt to use the minds and emotions of the public to attempt to justify their case. The strategy is clever, effective and deceitful. We cannot let it be successful.
John Corvino, a columnist for 365gay.com, a gay Internet news site, thinks that it is time for a different long-term strategy to ‘…convince majorities that our love is just as worthy as theirs,”.
Excerpts of his “top five strategic suggestions” are included below:
1. Tell our stories. For every time the “Yes on 8” campaign showed that little girl telling her mom how she learned in school about two princes who got married, I wish “No on 8” would have shown a little girl asking her mom why Aunt Ellen and Aunt Portia can’t get married. Or a little boy asking his two adoptive dads-who sacrifice to make his life better-why they can’t get married.
2. Cut the vague talk about “rights” and “discrimination.” Gay-rights opponents cleverly granted the premise that it’s wrong to take away rights, and then argued (falsely, but effectively) that marriage equality meant taking away THEIR rights, specifically their parental and religious rights, or that gay adoption interfered with a child’s right to a mother and father. It is not enough to demand rights…We need to flesh out why these rights matter and why this particular discrimination is harmful and wrong. That requires talking about the moral value of our relationships-and not just talking about it, but showing it (see #1).
3. Use words like “bigot” and “hate” sparingly. There is no doubt that some of our opponents are hateful bigots. But, 5.7 million California voters? Furthermore, as a strategic matter, labeling widespread religious and parental concerns as “hateful” doesn’t typically convert those who harbor them.
4. Don’t let opponents hide behind religion. 83% of weekly churchgoers voted in favor of Prop. 8, and they contributed a large percentage of the $36 million raised to promote it. 90% of self-identified atheists and agnostics voted against it. In my view, America is due for a healthy dose of religious skepticism, as well as a vigorous conversation about what religious freedom means and why.
5. Patience, yes; complacency, never. Time is on our side. California marriage-equality opponents drew 61% of the vote in 2000 but only 52% this year. Voters under 30 heavily opposed Prop. 8…Ironically, opponents’ efforts to “protect children” from learning about gay people has not only catapulted us to the front of the news…But we also need to do it for those children, who deserve an equal chance at “happily ever after” regardless of their sexual orientation.”
Corvino’s strategy shows us where the opposition intends to focus. Look for this strategy to be deployed in the near future. By targeting children, youth and religion – and appearing to be just like the family next door – they hope to portray the homosexual lifestyle as acceptable to a majority of people.
United Families International will always be at the forefront of the battle to protect traditional marriage. Your contribution today will help so we can continue working to protect marriage at the state, national and international levels.
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United Families cannot protect a future for the family without YOUR help! To show our thanks for your support we will send the following:
$30 Donation: 1 Issue of Seeing the Everyday Magazine
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United Families International wants to help you with your shopping! You can select the checkbox on the donation form, choosing to send your UFI gift to a friend, college, or family member, and we contact you about shiping it to the lucky recipient!
Another URGENT Reminder – UFI NEEDS YOUR HELP!
United Families along with other pro-family organizations around the world are working to gather signatures to be presented at the UN on December 10th to the delegates in the General Assembly. We are working to gather as many signatures as possible in order to show the UN that life and family are a human right and that there is a significant presence of pro-family individuals throughout the world.
Together the pro-family organizations have gathered over 200,000 signatures! We need YOUR help to keep this number growing. Please sign the petition in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese TODAY! But that’s not all! In order for us to make a significant statement to the world we need YOU TO HELP.
United Families needs YOU to forward the petition to ALL YOUR friends and family asking them to sign so that we can get as many signatures as possible.
Don’t Forget To Check Out World News!
United Families wants to keep you up to date on the news from around the globe. We have redesigned our world news page so that you can search by topic and date to keep up on all family issues. Search for news relating to family, marriage, life, parenting, and sovereignty and keep up to date on all the issues!