| Chapter Newsletter | October, 2006 |
Have you noticed that the closer we get to the November election, the
more accusations of “rights, intolerance and bigotry” we hear
with regards to our battle to protect Marriage in our state? This battle
is not about tolerance, or rights or diversity. It is about protecting
the institution that best protects our civilization. In a letter to the
U.S. senators encouraging them to vote in favor of the marriage amendment,
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wrote, “Americans are tolerant,
generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement, and
we all wish to avoid hurtful disregard of the feelings of others. But
the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is
a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage.”
Attaching the word “marriage” to the association of same-sex individuals mistakenly presumes that marriage is principally a matter of adult benefits and adult rights. In fact, marriage is principally about the nurturing and development of children. The successful development of children is critical to the preservation and success of our nation.
The Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment reads: To preserve and protect marriage in this state, only a union between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage by this state or its political subdivisions and no legal status for unmarried persons shall be created or recognized by this state or its political subdivisions that is similar to that of marriage.
What the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment does:
Our opposition has made the following statement: “Our best strategy for securing the social endorsement (i.e. marriage under the name “marriage”) is first to secure the legal incidents. Then people will look at our civil unions, realize that they are virtually indistinguishable from marriages, start calling them marriages, and gradually forget why they objected to doing so before. That’s what happened in Scandinavia, and it’s happening elsewhere in Europe.” Dr. John Corvino, Wayne State University
What the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment does not do:
This amendment is about protecting marriage, by defining it in the Constitution. It does not stop the government from providing benefits on an equal basis for all public employees. The opposition’s focus on benefits is a ploy designed to defeat Prop. 107.
It is extremely important that we voice this knowledge to our friends and family in defense of the marriage amendment. Every single vote will be critical in this campaign. Make sure you are registered to vote and that you use this voting privilege to protect the future of families in Arizona.
If everyone will personally assess what sacrifices each can make to assure the passage of this important amendment, and then proceed to make those sacrifices our campaign will be successful. Vote Yes on Prop 107!
Warm Regards,
Carol Soelberg
By Danny Walker
Walter H. Judd, a former member of the U.S. Congress, once declared: “People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote—a very different thing.” Mr. Judd’s assessment is correct. By one estimate, only 60 percent of Arizonans of voting age are registered to vote. This means that less than one-third of the Arizonans will likely decided the important issues at stake in this year’s general election. Among these important issues is the fate of Proposition 107 or the Protect Marriage Amendment. The rapidly approaching
Voter Registration Deadline for the General
Election is
October 9, 2006
Voter registration forms and other important voter registration information can be obtained by visiting the Arizona Secretary of State’s website at http://www.azsos.gov/election/voterregistration.htm. Please make sure you, your family and your friends are among those whose voices can be heard by registering to vote before the deadline and casting your vote in the general election on November 7, 2006.
By Marcia Barlow
As I was driving around this weekend, I began to notice signs popping up that oppose Prop. 107 -- Arizona’s amendment to protect marriage. Yes, it’s begun… all that money that has poured into our state from pro-homosexual groups is now being spent in an intense effort to make Arizona the first state where a marriage amendment is defeated. We can expect much more than political signs, however. Watch for your newspaper to take anti-amendment stances and for misinformation to be thrown at the public from every possible venue and angle.
Get educated. Arm yourself with the facts. See Carol Solberg’s letter above.) Don’t allow yourself or others to be fooled by homosexual activists’ rhetoric. They realize that their position is weak and that they have to focus on obscure points like domestic partnership benefits, all the while spreading inaccurate and misleading information.
We cannot miss this chance to define marriage once and for all for the citizens of Arizona. There is much at stake. Through this amendment we:
We worked hard to collect signatures to get the amendment on the ballot and we took a breather for a few months (we deserved it!). But those who understand the importance of marriage between one man and one woman must stand up and finish the job. We need educated voters, first registered, and then in the ballot booth. A friend recently remarked: “Do we think that somebody else will take care of this — you know, one of those people who are really into politics or has nothing but time on their hands? There is surely somebody out there who will protect marriage, if I don’t. She finished with: “Don’t kid yourself.” Who are these mythical 'others' who can do so much that you can’t?”
Future generations are counting on you to care enough to step outside your comfort zone, find the time, and help. This amendment needs YOU in order to pass. There is no one else.
By Mark Smith
One of the more puzzling objections that opponents to Proposition 107 propagate is that if the amendment passes, it "could take away unmarried Arizonans' right to file domestic violence charges." It is hard to understand why anyone would try to use that as an argument against the Protect Marriage Amendment. Not only does it completely ignore basic domestic violence laws, is shows a misunderstanding of the relationship between marriage and domestic violence. Because Proposition 107 promotes marriage, it could actually play a role in reducing incidences of domestic violence.
The opponents' implication is that domestic violence laws are only enforceable if the perpetrator and victim are married or in a marriage-like relationship. However, domestic violence laws do not require any marriage relationship for a crime to have occurred.
The law shows that there are dozens of situations that could qualify as domestic violence, and marriage is just one of these. A defendant and victim do not have to be married in order for domestic violence laws to apply. The law even has the catch-all phrase, “persons residing or having resided in the same household.” This means that a violent crime between a boyfriend and girlfriend is still defined as a domestic violence crime as long as they live together or lived together at some point. The Protect Marriage Amendment does nothing to change this. Proposition 107 simply puts a definition of marriage in the state constitution. Marriage could be defined any of a dozen different ways, but no matter how it is defined, that definition will not undo the catch-all "same household" phrase in the domestic violence law.
Beyond being flat-out false, this claim by opponents shows a misunderstanding of the role marriage plays in limiting incidences of domestic violence. A society that is concerned about domestic violence and wants to promote the well-being of women and children will place a greater emphasis on marriage because research on the subject points to the conclusion that marriage is the safest place for women and children. The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that married women suffered lower rates of domestic violence than unmarried women. Lesbian women, on the other hand, suffer tragically high rates of domestic violence, and are four times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than are married women. With such dramatic differences in the rates of domestic violence, it would be wise to find what it is about traditional marriage that makes it a safer place for women. Maybe, just maybe, if society banded together to support traditional marriage, it would help reduce the number of women who are victims of domestic violence.
The opposition to traditional marriage is well-funded. The major group opposing Proposition 107 is Arizona Together, which receives major funding from the out-of-state group Human Rights Campaign. The agenda of the Human Rights Campaign includes promoting homosexual lifestyles and advocating a fundamental redefinition of marriage. If these groups were truly concerned about domestic violence then they would try to preserve traditional marriage instead of trying to redefine it to include relationships associated with high rates of domestic violence. Oh, the irony...
Mark Smith is editor of the website AZMarriageAmendment.com
With
the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment now on the ballot we are ready
to head our campaign into getting this amendment in our Constitution.
We feel that the majority of Arizona voters are in favor of the amendment;
our challenge is to get them out to vote. To inform them of the importance
of their vote on this issue, we will be calling 200,000 voters across
the state. This is the fun and easy part of the campaign and the combined
effort can have amazing results! Scripts, phone logs and phones will be
provided (unless you have a cell phone with minutes you'd like to donate
for the cause). Be a participant at a phone party or host your own. Your
efforts will be vital to the success of the amendment. Please contact
us TODAY at (602) 445-6159 or email: pma@unitedfamilies.org.
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United Families Arizona