Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Nov. 3rd, 2006 11:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdABC news: Government Tells Singles No Sex Till You're 30. What's interesting in particular about this story is that the DHHS statement they quote is using fundamentalist rhetoric;
Focus on the Family: abstinence-only for the over-20 set is good;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to back anti-marriage-rights initiatives in various states, claims New Jersey citizens overwhelmingly support a comprehensive marriage ban;
FotF lists a big set of ballot initiatives they've endorsed, tells people not to forget to vote; the focus appears to have shifted from "VOTE GOP!" to individual initiatives;
Concerned Women for America: "homosexuals... usurp both the courts and the democratic process [to] help homosexuals gain special rights";
Faith and Freedom Network response to the Haggard scandal;
Canada Family Action Coalition short note on an Oregon State University experiment to implant devices in sheep brains to dispense estrogen in an attempt to make gay sheep heterosexual;
American Family Association says Haggard has stepped down "Amidst One Man's Accusations" - but hedges their bets on whether it's likely to turn out to be true - and they're awfully okay with ignoring the drug purchases and stuff while waiting for more news;
AFA/Agape Press: God wants you to vote Republican, Democrats will destroy the soul of America;
AFA/Agape Press pushes anti-marriage-rights initiatives; in particular, also accuses opponents of dishonesty by referring to it as a "gay marriage" initiative - apparently actually saying what they're trying to ban is dishonest;
AFA/Agape Press pushes anti-marriage-rights initiatives again;
AFA/Agape Press newsbriefs suggest that Wal-Mart's lack of sales growth last month is because they joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; also talk about the Virginia anti-marriage amendment and a happy little report on Kansas attourney general Phill Kline's medical-records digging;
Family Research Council video starring Tony Perkins on why you must get out and vote, and vote GOP; "Voting [is] a duty owed to God";
FRC hedges its bets on the Haggard scandal as well.
----- 1 -----
Govt. Tells Singles No Sex Till You're 30
Critics Say the New Guidelines Are About Morality, Not Health
By BRIAN HARTMAN
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2619061&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2006 — If you're single and in your 20s, the federal government wants you to steer clear of sex.
That's the new guidance for states under the Department of Health and Human Services' $50 million Abstinence Education Program. HHS officials say it's not a requirement — just another option for states to combat what they call an alarming rise in out-of-wedlock births.
[...]
"The government's clarification published in August is not a mandate," the Administration for Children and Families said in a statement prepared in response to ABC News questions. "We are unclear why Advocates for Youth suddenly believes (after two months) that States should be denied the flexibility to provide young adults with the truth that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way of avoiding unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."
[Editor's note: I quote this paragraph because it's almost verbatim from theoconservative rhetoric. This last sentence could have come from Focus on the Family or Concerned Women for America, and in fact, I've read it there before. I don't think this is coincidental.]
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Adults Benefit From Abstinence Ed, Too
Focus on the Family
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
According to guidelines, federal funding for abstinence education can be used to reach young adults as well as school-age kids, The Associated Press reported.
Fifty million dollars was designated this year for programs that qualify for Title V abstinence funding. The age range for the target group is cited as 12 to 29 years old.
Wade Horn, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, said Congress declared the funds should target the population most likely to have a child outside of marriage. The guidelines note the highest rates of births outside of marriage occur among women in their 20s.
Including the adult age range, Horn said, was a clarification, not a change in policy.
"All we did in our announcement," he said, "was say, 'If you want to target the age group, it's permissible.' "
James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said because 90 percent of women in that age range have already been sexually active, the abstinence message won't resonate.
"To be preaching at these adults a message of abstinence only is absurd," he said, "because it simply won't work."
Horn disagreed.
"They would like to prohibit any information from going to 19 to 29 year olds about the value of abstinence," he said. "Why they would want to prohibit that information is beyond me."
----- 3 -----
N.J. Residents Reject Gay Marriage; Support Marriage Amendment
Backlash in Garden State over recent court decision should inspire other states.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A majority of people in New Jersey now favor a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
So says a public-opinion poll taken after last week's ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court that same-sex couples must be given all the benefits of marriage.
The poll, which was conducted Oct. 29-31 by Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, found that 54 percent of voters in the state would support an amendment if it was offered.
In the poll, only 29 percent said they supported same-sex marriage, while 40 percent supported civil unions and 16 percent favored no legal recognition of homosexual relationships.
"While there is substantial support for civil unions, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Legislature (will move) in the direction of gay marriage," Rutgers professor Murray Edelman said.
Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said the Rutgers results are a dramatic turnaround from a poll taken in June -- one which the media trumpeted as suggesting the state favored gay marriage.
"I think what happened is once people realized that the Supreme Court had ruled essentially for same-sex marriage -- not in terminology, but in all other ways, as far as rights were concerned -- it really started to hit home and it made people think," Deo said. "Before that, it was kind of out there as an issue, but it wasn't really a high priority. Now that people are being forced to make a decision on it, we're seeing a large shift in support for a state constitutional amendment to preserve marriage."
Deo says New Jersey residents are now busy working toward getting a state constitutional amendment on an upcoming ballot.
"As we see the polls shifting, as support for a state constitutional amendment comes into play, legislative leaders, I believe, will eventually yield to the will of the people," he said.
But Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said unlike many other states, an amendment will be complicated by the fact that New Jersey does not have a direct initiative and referendum procedure.
"The state of New Jersey can only initiate things through its Legislature," he said, "either by passing an amendment by a three-fifths margin in a single Legislature, or by a simple majority in two consecutive sessions. Only then could it go to the people for a vote."
Still, Hausknecht thinks New Jersey is the perfect example of why all states should pass an amendment.
"State marriage amendments are the only way to protect against rogue state judges and courts," he said, "and a federal marriage amendment is absolutely needed in addition to prevent rogue federal judges from picking up where state judges have been prohibited."
Both Hausknecht and Deo say New Jersey should serve as an impetus for the eight states that have marriage amendments on their ballots this election -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Deo is hoping for strong turnouts among pro-family voters in each of those states.
"If you live in one of those states, urge your family friends to get out and vote -- vote for marriage."
TAKE ACTION:
If you live in any of the eight states with proposed marriage amendments on the ballot, please support them on Tuesday.
In addition, to help you learn more about the issues at stake this election -- both before the election, then on election night, with full results -- CitizenLink has created a special Election site.
----- 4 -----
States to Consider Pro-Family Initiatives
Voters weigh marriage, abortion and human cloning.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
On Tuesday, eight states will vote on amendments that constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman, and two Midwest states will vote on an abortion ban and human cloning.
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Tennessee, Wisconsin, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia will decide whether to protect marriage from activist courts. Victoria Cobb with the Virginia Family Foundation said it goes beyond existing protections.
"Virginia does already have laws on its books that protect marriage as between one man and one woman," she told Family News in Focus. "This is just the first effort to elevate those laws to a constitutional amendment."
In Missouri, voters will weigh in on Amendment 2. While supporters claim it would ban human cloning, Kathy Ruse with Missourians Against Human Cloning said it would do just the opposite.
"When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they may think they are voting to ban human cloning when, actually, Amendment 2 puts the right to do human cloning in the Missouri Constitution," she said. "It's a bait-and-switch, back-door effort to get human cloning in the constitution."
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in Colorado and Nevada. South Dakota voters will decide initiatives on gambling, medical marijuana and abortion.
The Mount Rushmore state stands out as being the first since Roe v. Wade to pass a prohibition of all abortions, except those to save the life of the mother. Rob Regier, executive director of the South Dakota Family Policy Council, said it was time to make it clear where the state stood on the issue.
"We had taken baby steps over several years past and really hadn't advanced the ball like we had hoped," he said, "so the Legislature decided to pass the abortion ban."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit the CitizenLink election site.
----- 5 -----
Homosexual Activists Use More than the Courts to Push their Agenda
Ashley Horne
Concerned Women for America
November 3, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_385.shtml
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court effectively approved “gay marriage” in that state, minus a quibble over what they will call the new “unions.” But the courtrooms of New Jersey are the not the only place where radical homosexual activists are making headway.
Less well known is that “gay” rights activists, and their supportive members of Congress, have been harassing one of the President’s pro-family appointees who heads the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Scott Bloch, a Christian lawyer from Kansas with seven children, was nominated by President Bush in 2003 to head up OSC, an office created, among other things, to protect whistleblowers within the federal government.
Why is Bloch a target of homosexual activists? One of his first acts in office was to reverse the policy of the previous OSC head – an openly lesbian activist named Elaine Kaplan – who had crafted a special status for homosexuals in discrimination cases. Because Kaplan lacked the legal authority to make that change, Bloch simply reversed the Kaplan policy to be consistent with federal law.
[...]
While major victories like the New Jersey “gay marriage” case grab headlines, Bloch’s case is a reminder that “gay rights” activists don’t solely use the courts to push their agenda. Much more subtle is their strategy to usurp both the courts and the democratic process by pushing regulatory policies that help homosexual activists gain special rights.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Pastor Ted Haggard
Faith and Freedom Network
Friday, November 03, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/11/pastor-ted-haggard.html
All the major news organizations are leading with the story on Pastor Ted Haggard this morning.
Pastor Ted Haggard, founding pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and President of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals has been accused of having had a three-year sexual relationship with Mike Jones, a gay male who says he is a former escort.
[...]
I was not personally aware of any of this until it broke in the news last night. I have served on the board of the NAE for many years by virtue of being a state chairman of the association.
[...]
My personal response to all this is shock. I am confident the truth will come out.
If Pastor Haggard has done what he has been accused of doing, it is a tragedy.
If not, it is the most malicious attack that I have ever seen.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Martina Navratilova lashes out against "gay sheep" experiments
Canada Family Action Coalition
November 3, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/gay-sheep.htm
Lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are condemning hormone-altering experiments on "gay sheep" at Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University. The experiment, funded by taxpayers through 2008, seeks to manipulate sheep's sexual orientation and make them heterosexual.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
High-Profile Pastor Steps Down Amidst One Man's Accusations
By Jody Brown and Allie Martin
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 3, 2006 (updated 2:30 p.m. Central time)
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006a.asp
(AgapePress) - Following accusations of drug use and a three-year homosexual relationship, one of the men named by TIME Magazine in February 2005 among "America's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals" has stepped down from his church and resigned a prominent position in the nation's evangelical movement. While Rev. Ted Haggard denies any homosexual relationship, he has admitted to purchasing some drugs -- but says he did not use them.
[...]
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- who with Haggard has maintained a high profile in Colorado in rallying support for Amendment 43 -- is commending the pastor for stepping down from his position at New Life. Haggard, he says, "has shown a great deal of grace under these circumstances, quickly turning this matter over to his church for an independent investigation." Dobson calls that "a testament to the character" he has witnessed several times in Haggard's life.
But Dobson criticizes the news media for reporting something that is "based on nothing but one man's allegation." The ministry leader also suggests that the timing of the story is intended to influence the upcoming vote on the state's marriage amendment.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
The Right Frame of Mind
Who Shall Care for the Nation's Soul?
by Rev. Mark H. Creech
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 3, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006mc.asp
(AgapePress) - In his book, Vital Truth: Christian Citizenship, Jeffrey L. Myers says he once heard of a church that was so removed from the political process that its members thought it was against God's will to vote. He notes: "Concerned that a corrupt politician would win a local election, church members gathered for an all night prayer vigil. In the morning, however, they refused to vote and the good candidate lost -- by fewer than the number of votes represented by those at the prayer meeting."
[...]
Conservative Evangelicals were certainly strategic in the president's victory in 2004, and they will be again in deciding the kind of leadership that maintains control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006. Make no mistake about it, the November 7 midterm elections are really about to whom Christians will leave the care of America's soul -- begging the questions:
Will it be to those who have essentially dethroned God and deified man's achievements? Or will it to those who believe that only the Lord is God?
Will it be to those who exalt human reason as supreme? Or will it be to those who believe the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord?
Will it be to those who believe education and science can solve all our problems? Or will it be to those who believe "righteousness exalts a nation"?
Will it be to those who replace God's moral standards with the shifting sands of situational ethics? Or will it be to those who build the house on the solid rock of God's eternal verities?
Will it be to those who promote sensual pleasures under the guise of individual liberties? Or will it be to those who are committed to the freedom of purity?
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Marriage Defenders Face Opposition as State Amendment Votes Approach
By Jeff Johnson
AFA/Agape Press
November 3, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006c.asp
(AgapePress) - Of the eight states considering marriage protection amendments on November 7, Arizona is among those in which the outcome of the election is considered uncertain by the majority of political analysts. There and elsewhere across the U.S., homosexual activists and their supporters are fighting hard -- and sometimes fighting dirty -- to push the state votes their way.
Cathi Herrod of Protect Marriage Arizona says pro-family advocates have faced stiff opposition in their efforts to pass that state's marriage protection amendment. "Our opponents have outspent us significantly," she says, "and they have distorted the truth about the amendment, so we're in a close battle here in Arizona."
The latest polling data that Herrod considers reliable show 51-percent support for the Arizona marriage protection amendment and 42-percent opposition. But despite the narrowness of the margin, she says, "I'm still very hopeful that we will win on November 7th."
[...]
Traditional Marriage Voters Urged to Turn Out in Tennessee
Pro-family activists in Tennessee are similarly aware of what is at stake. However, David Fowler with RealMarriage.org says supporters of so-called "gay marriage" have been busy spreading misinformation, and they have managed to create considerable voter confusion concerning the marriage protection amendment.
"They started trying to call it the 'gay marriage amendment,' hoping people would vote [against it, thinking they were voting] against gay marriage," Fowler notes. Also, he adds, "We've had some people just flat giving people the wrong information."
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
State Marriage Amendment Supporters Determined to Turn Out Values Vote
By Jeff Johnson
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/22006b.asp
(AgapePress) - Eight U.S. states are within days of considering constitutional amendments to define marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman. Pro-family activists in several of these states are working hard to turn out the vote on November 7; but in at least one state, their attempts are being overshadowed by another issue of concern.
One of the eight states with marriage amendments on the ballot is Idaho. As in other states considering such measures, pro-family advocates there say voter turnout could be the deciding factor. Julie Lynde of Idaho's Marriage Protection Alliance says they are doing what they can to encourage "values voters" to go to the polls next Tuesday.
"We have been sending out mailers and flyers and doing radio," Lynde notes, "and it looks as if people will turn out to vote. I would estimate that they will turn out here in Idaho in greater numbers than in prior off-year elections."
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Commentary & News Briefs
November 3, 2006
American Family Association/Agape Press
Compiled by Jenni Parker
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006h.asp
...The Virginia-based Family Policy Network's president, Joe Glover, says he believes Senator George Allen's endorsement of the proposed Virginia marriage amendment will hurt rather than help that measure's passage. Glover believes that accusations from Allen's opponents that the senator is a racist has turned the marriage amendment into a partisan issue. "In every other state where the marriage amendments have passed, the criticism has been it's a form of discrimination to not allow homosexuals to marry, and that's fallen on deaf ears," Glover observes. "But suddenly," he says, "it makes some sense because George Allen, the racist -- so they say -- has embraced the marriage amendment, and suddenly it's a partisan issue in a split Democrat-Republican state like Virginia." Neither of the U.S. senators from Ohio endorsed that state's marriage amendment, the Family Policy Network spokesman notes. And in Ohio, he points out, the marriage protection measure passed by a 60-40 margin. Glover believes it would have been better for pro-family supporters of the Virginia marriage amendment if Allen had said nothing about the issue one way or the other. [Chad Groening]
...Investigators with the Kansas Attorney General's Office are reviewing files from abortion clinics in an effort to determine if crimes have been concealed. For years, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline waged a legal battle to have access to 90 case records from two abortion clinics: Planned Parenthood and abortionist George Tiller's Women's Health Care Services. Last week, Kline won the legal fight and received the disputed records. His office is now investigating allegations that doctors and abortion clinic workers concealed cases of child rape and illegal late-term abortions. Sherriene Jones, a spokesperson for the attorney general, says the investigation will be exhaustive. "We'll take the same time and diligence to detail that this office does with every criminal investigation," she notes, "because we want to make sure that we get the information right, that we have the charges that need to be filed and make sure that they're correct." However, Jones points out, the women and young girls who received abortions are not under investigation and will not be publicly identified. [Allie Martin]
...Wal-Mart is projecting no improvement in sales this month, meaning it will mark the retail company's worst sales performance in ten years. According to the Bloomberg News Service, Wal-Mart officials blame the poor showing in receipts on such things as disappointing clothing sales and disarray from store renovations. Wal-Mart has also been the target of recent protests from pro-family leaders over the company's decision to partner with a homosexual chamber of commerce group. Wal-Mart recently joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and announced that it would give two large grants to the organization. According to American Family Association sources, the retail giant was rewarded with a position on the board of NGLCC. Wal-Mart has also announced its intention to give preference to homosexual-owned businesses in purchasing products. [Fred Jackson]
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Family Research Council
November 4, 2006
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=VIEW_MEDIA&ef=EF06J67&format=asx&vidWidth=320&vidHeight=320
"Voting [is] a duty owed to God." [Pushes anti-gay amendments, other theocon issues. I'm not taking the time to transcribe it, but the quote is from Tony Perkins.]
----- 14 -----
FRC Statement on Ted Haggard
November 3, 2006 - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06K01&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - In response to the allegations that have led to the resignation of the Reverend Ted Haggard, former President of the National Association of Evangelicals, Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"We have worked with Ted Haggard over the years, and are deeply saddened to learn of these allegations of reprehensible behavior. We are concerned about him and his family and our prayers are with them.
"With a profound belief in both truth and forgiveness, we respect the process of discipline that Haggard has submitted to under the authority of the church body involved. However, in his position as a leader of the evangelical community, this personal tragedy has public ramifications, so we urge that a full accounting of the facts be swift and complete."
Focus on the Family: abstinence-only for the over-20 set is good;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to back anti-marriage-rights initiatives in various states, claims New Jersey citizens overwhelmingly support a comprehensive marriage ban;
FotF lists a big set of ballot initiatives they've endorsed, tells people not to forget to vote; the focus appears to have shifted from "VOTE GOP!" to individual initiatives;
Concerned Women for America: "homosexuals... usurp both the courts and the democratic process [to] help homosexuals gain special rights";
Faith and Freedom Network response to the Haggard scandal;
Canada Family Action Coalition short note on an Oregon State University experiment to implant devices in sheep brains to dispense estrogen in an attempt to make gay sheep heterosexual;
American Family Association says Haggard has stepped down "Amidst One Man's Accusations" - but hedges their bets on whether it's likely to turn out to be true - and they're awfully okay with ignoring the drug purchases and stuff while waiting for more news;
AFA/Agape Press: God wants you to vote Republican, Democrats will destroy the soul of America;
AFA/Agape Press pushes anti-marriage-rights initiatives; in particular, also accuses opponents of dishonesty by referring to it as a "gay marriage" initiative - apparently actually saying what they're trying to ban is dishonest;
AFA/Agape Press pushes anti-marriage-rights initiatives again;
AFA/Agape Press newsbriefs suggest that Wal-Mart's lack of sales growth last month is because they joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; also talk about the Virginia anti-marriage amendment and a happy little report on Kansas attourney general Phill Kline's medical-records digging;
Family Research Council video starring Tony Perkins on why you must get out and vote, and vote GOP; "Voting [is] a duty owed to God";
FRC hedges its bets on the Haggard scandal as well.
----- 1 -----
Govt. Tells Singles No Sex Till You're 30
Critics Say the New Guidelines Are About Morality, Not Health
By BRIAN HARTMAN
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2619061&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2006 — If you're single and in your 20s, the federal government wants you to steer clear of sex.
That's the new guidance for states under the Department of Health and Human Services' $50 million Abstinence Education Program. HHS officials say it's not a requirement — just another option for states to combat what they call an alarming rise in out-of-wedlock births.
[...]
"The government's clarification published in August is not a mandate," the Administration for Children and Families said in a statement prepared in response to ABC News questions. "We are unclear why Advocates for Youth suddenly believes (after two months) that States should be denied the flexibility to provide young adults with the truth that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way of avoiding unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."
[Editor's note: I quote this paragraph because it's almost verbatim from theoconservative rhetoric. This last sentence could have come from Focus on the Family or Concerned Women for America, and in fact, I've read it there before. I don't think this is coincidental.]
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Adults Benefit From Abstinence Ed, Too
Focus on the Family
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
According to guidelines, federal funding for abstinence education can be used to reach young adults as well as school-age kids, The Associated Press reported.
Fifty million dollars was designated this year for programs that qualify for Title V abstinence funding. The age range for the target group is cited as 12 to 29 years old.
Wade Horn, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, said Congress declared the funds should target the population most likely to have a child outside of marriage. The guidelines note the highest rates of births outside of marriage occur among women in their 20s.
Including the adult age range, Horn said, was a clarification, not a change in policy.
"All we did in our announcement," he said, "was say, 'If you want to target the age group, it's permissible.' "
James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said because 90 percent of women in that age range have already been sexually active, the abstinence message won't resonate.
"To be preaching at these adults a message of abstinence only is absurd," he said, "because it simply won't work."
Horn disagreed.
"They would like to prohibit any information from going to 19 to 29 year olds about the value of abstinence," he said. "Why they would want to prohibit that information is beyond me."
----- 3 -----
N.J. Residents Reject Gay Marriage; Support Marriage Amendment
Backlash in Garden State over recent court decision should inspire other states.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A majority of people in New Jersey now favor a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
So says a public-opinion poll taken after last week's ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court that same-sex couples must be given all the benefits of marriage.
The poll, which was conducted Oct. 29-31 by Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, found that 54 percent of voters in the state would support an amendment if it was offered.
In the poll, only 29 percent said they supported same-sex marriage, while 40 percent supported civil unions and 16 percent favored no legal recognition of homosexual relationships.
"While there is substantial support for civil unions, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Legislature (will move) in the direction of gay marriage," Rutgers professor Murray Edelman said.
Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said the Rutgers results are a dramatic turnaround from a poll taken in June -- one which the media trumpeted as suggesting the state favored gay marriage.
"I think what happened is once people realized that the Supreme Court had ruled essentially for same-sex marriage -- not in terminology, but in all other ways, as far as rights were concerned -- it really started to hit home and it made people think," Deo said. "Before that, it was kind of out there as an issue, but it wasn't really a high priority. Now that people are being forced to make a decision on it, we're seeing a large shift in support for a state constitutional amendment to preserve marriage."
Deo says New Jersey residents are now busy working toward getting a state constitutional amendment on an upcoming ballot.
"As we see the polls shifting, as support for a state constitutional amendment comes into play, legislative leaders, I believe, will eventually yield to the will of the people," he said.
But Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said unlike many other states, an amendment will be complicated by the fact that New Jersey does not have a direct initiative and referendum procedure.
"The state of New Jersey can only initiate things through its Legislature," he said, "either by passing an amendment by a three-fifths margin in a single Legislature, or by a simple majority in two consecutive sessions. Only then could it go to the people for a vote."
Still, Hausknecht thinks New Jersey is the perfect example of why all states should pass an amendment.
"State marriage amendments are the only way to protect against rogue state judges and courts," he said, "and a federal marriage amendment is absolutely needed in addition to prevent rogue federal judges from picking up where state judges have been prohibited."
Both Hausknecht and Deo say New Jersey should serve as an impetus for the eight states that have marriage amendments on their ballots this election -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Deo is hoping for strong turnouts among pro-family voters in each of those states.
"If you live in one of those states, urge your family friends to get out and vote -- vote for marriage."
TAKE ACTION:
If you live in any of the eight states with proposed marriage amendments on the ballot, please support them on Tuesday.
In addition, to help you learn more about the issues at stake this election -- both before the election, then on election night, with full results -- CitizenLink has created a special Election site.
----- 4 -----
States to Consider Pro-Family Initiatives
Voters weigh marriage, abortion and human cloning.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
November 3, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
On Tuesday, eight states will vote on amendments that constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman, and two Midwest states will vote on an abortion ban and human cloning.
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Tennessee, Wisconsin, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia will decide whether to protect marriage from activist courts. Victoria Cobb with the Virginia Family Foundation said it goes beyond existing protections.
"Virginia does already have laws on its books that protect marriage as between one man and one woman," she told Family News in Focus. "This is just the first effort to elevate those laws to a constitutional amendment."
In Missouri, voters will weigh in on Amendment 2. While supporters claim it would ban human cloning, Kathy Ruse with Missourians Against Human Cloning said it would do just the opposite.
"When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they may think they are voting to ban human cloning when, actually, Amendment 2 puts the right to do human cloning in the Missouri Constitution," she said. "It's a bait-and-switch, back-door effort to get human cloning in the constitution."
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in Colorado and Nevada. South Dakota voters will decide initiatives on gambling, medical marijuana and abortion.
The Mount Rushmore state stands out as being the first since Roe v. Wade to pass a prohibition of all abortions, except those to save the life of the mother. Rob Regier, executive director of the South Dakota Family Policy Council, said it was time to make it clear where the state stood on the issue.
"We had taken baby steps over several years past and really hadn't advanced the ball like we had hoped," he said, "so the Legislature decided to pass the abortion ban."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit the CitizenLink election site.
----- 5 -----
Homosexual Activists Use More than the Courts to Push their Agenda
Ashley Horne
Concerned Women for America
November 3, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_385.shtml
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court effectively approved “gay marriage” in that state, minus a quibble over what they will call the new “unions.” But the courtrooms of New Jersey are the not the only place where radical homosexual activists are making headway.
Less well known is that “gay” rights activists, and their supportive members of Congress, have been harassing one of the President’s pro-family appointees who heads the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Scott Bloch, a Christian lawyer from Kansas with seven children, was nominated by President Bush in 2003 to head up OSC, an office created, among other things, to protect whistleblowers within the federal government.
Why is Bloch a target of homosexual activists? One of his first acts in office was to reverse the policy of the previous OSC head – an openly lesbian activist named Elaine Kaplan – who had crafted a special status for homosexuals in discrimination cases. Because Kaplan lacked the legal authority to make that change, Bloch simply reversed the Kaplan policy to be consistent with federal law.
[...]
While major victories like the New Jersey “gay marriage” case grab headlines, Bloch’s case is a reminder that “gay rights” activists don’t solely use the courts to push their agenda. Much more subtle is their strategy to usurp both the courts and the democratic process by pushing regulatory policies that help homosexual activists gain special rights.
[More at URL]
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Pastor Ted Haggard
Faith and Freedom Network
Friday, November 03, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/11/pastor-ted-haggard.html
All the major news organizations are leading with the story on Pastor Ted Haggard this morning.
Pastor Ted Haggard, founding pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and President of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals has been accused of having had a three-year sexual relationship with Mike Jones, a gay male who says he is a former escort.
[...]
I was not personally aware of any of this until it broke in the news last night. I have served on the board of the NAE for many years by virtue of being a state chairman of the association.
[...]
My personal response to all this is shock. I am confident the truth will come out.
If Pastor Haggard has done what he has been accused of doing, it is a tragedy.
If not, it is the most malicious attack that I have ever seen.
[More at URL]
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Martina Navratilova lashes out against "gay sheep" experiments
Canada Family Action Coalition
November 3, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/gay-sheep.htm
Lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are condemning hormone-altering experiments on "gay sheep" at Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University. The experiment, funded by taxpayers through 2008, seeks to manipulate sheep's sexual orientation and make them heterosexual.
[More at URL]
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High-Profile Pastor Steps Down Amidst One Man's Accusations
By Jody Brown and Allie Martin
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 3, 2006 (updated 2:30 p.m. Central time)
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006a.asp
(AgapePress) - Following accusations of drug use and a three-year homosexual relationship, one of the men named by TIME Magazine in February 2005 among "America's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals" has stepped down from his church and resigned a prominent position in the nation's evangelical movement. While Rev. Ted Haggard denies any homosexual relationship, he has admitted to purchasing some drugs -- but says he did not use them.
[...]
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- who with Haggard has maintained a high profile in Colorado in rallying support for Amendment 43 -- is commending the pastor for stepping down from his position at New Life. Haggard, he says, "has shown a great deal of grace under these circumstances, quickly turning this matter over to his church for an independent investigation." Dobson calls that "a testament to the character" he has witnessed several times in Haggard's life.
But Dobson criticizes the news media for reporting something that is "based on nothing but one man's allegation." The ministry leader also suggests that the timing of the story is intended to influence the upcoming vote on the state's marriage amendment.
[More at URL]
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The Right Frame of Mind
Who Shall Care for the Nation's Soul?
by Rev. Mark H. Creech
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 3, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006mc.asp
(AgapePress) - In his book, Vital Truth: Christian Citizenship, Jeffrey L. Myers says he once heard of a church that was so removed from the political process that its members thought it was against God's will to vote. He notes: "Concerned that a corrupt politician would win a local election, church members gathered for an all night prayer vigil. In the morning, however, they refused to vote and the good candidate lost -- by fewer than the number of votes represented by those at the prayer meeting."
[...]
Conservative Evangelicals were certainly strategic in the president's victory in 2004, and they will be again in deciding the kind of leadership that maintains control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006. Make no mistake about it, the November 7 midterm elections are really about to whom Christians will leave the care of America's soul -- begging the questions:
Will it be to those who have essentially dethroned God and deified man's achievements? Or will it to those who believe that only the Lord is God?
Will it be to those who exalt human reason as supreme? Or will it be to those who believe the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord?
Will it be to those who believe education and science can solve all our problems? Or will it be to those who believe "righteousness exalts a nation"?
Will it be to those who replace God's moral standards with the shifting sands of situational ethics? Or will it be to those who build the house on the solid rock of God's eternal verities?
Will it be to those who promote sensual pleasures under the guise of individual liberties? Or will it be to those who are committed to the freedom of purity?
[More at URL]
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Marriage Defenders Face Opposition as State Amendment Votes Approach
By Jeff Johnson
AFA/Agape Press
November 3, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006c.asp
(AgapePress) - Of the eight states considering marriage protection amendments on November 7, Arizona is among those in which the outcome of the election is considered uncertain by the majority of political analysts. There and elsewhere across the U.S., homosexual activists and their supporters are fighting hard -- and sometimes fighting dirty -- to push the state votes their way.
Cathi Herrod of Protect Marriage Arizona says pro-family advocates have faced stiff opposition in their efforts to pass that state's marriage protection amendment. "Our opponents have outspent us significantly," she says, "and they have distorted the truth about the amendment, so we're in a close battle here in Arizona."
The latest polling data that Herrod considers reliable show 51-percent support for the Arizona marriage protection amendment and 42-percent opposition. But despite the narrowness of the margin, she says, "I'm still very hopeful that we will win on November 7th."
[...]
Traditional Marriage Voters Urged to Turn Out in Tennessee
Pro-family activists in Tennessee are similarly aware of what is at stake. However, David Fowler with RealMarriage.org says supporters of so-called "gay marriage" have been busy spreading misinformation, and they have managed to create considerable voter confusion concerning the marriage protection amendment.
"They started trying to call it the 'gay marriage amendment,' hoping people would vote [against it, thinking they were voting] against gay marriage," Fowler notes. Also, he adds, "We've had some people just flat giving people the wrong information."
[More at URL]
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State Marriage Amendment Supporters Determined to Turn Out Values Vote
By Jeff Johnson
American Family Association/Agape Press
November 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/22006b.asp
(AgapePress) - Eight U.S. states are within days of considering constitutional amendments to define marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman. Pro-family activists in several of these states are working hard to turn out the vote on November 7; but in at least one state, their attempts are being overshadowed by another issue of concern.
One of the eight states with marriage amendments on the ballot is Idaho. As in other states considering such measures, pro-family advocates there say voter turnout could be the deciding factor. Julie Lynde of Idaho's Marriage Protection Alliance says they are doing what they can to encourage "values voters" to go to the polls next Tuesday.
"We have been sending out mailers and flyers and doing radio," Lynde notes, "and it looks as if people will turn out to vote. I would estimate that they will turn out here in Idaho in greater numbers than in prior off-year elections."
[More at URL]
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Commentary & News Briefs
November 3, 2006
American Family Association/Agape Press
Compiled by Jenni Parker
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32006h.asp
...The Virginia-based Family Policy Network's president, Joe Glover, says he believes Senator George Allen's endorsement of the proposed Virginia marriage amendment will hurt rather than help that measure's passage. Glover believes that accusations from Allen's opponents that the senator is a racist has turned the marriage amendment into a partisan issue. "In every other state where the marriage amendments have passed, the criticism has been it's a form of discrimination to not allow homosexuals to marry, and that's fallen on deaf ears," Glover observes. "But suddenly," he says, "it makes some sense because George Allen, the racist -- so they say -- has embraced the marriage amendment, and suddenly it's a partisan issue in a split Democrat-Republican state like Virginia." Neither of the U.S. senators from Ohio endorsed that state's marriage amendment, the Family Policy Network spokesman notes. And in Ohio, he points out, the marriage protection measure passed by a 60-40 margin. Glover believes it would have been better for pro-family supporters of the Virginia marriage amendment if Allen had said nothing about the issue one way or the other. [Chad Groening]
...Investigators with the Kansas Attorney General's Office are reviewing files from abortion clinics in an effort to determine if crimes have been concealed. For years, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline waged a legal battle to have access to 90 case records from two abortion clinics: Planned Parenthood and abortionist George Tiller's Women's Health Care Services. Last week, Kline won the legal fight and received the disputed records. His office is now investigating allegations that doctors and abortion clinic workers concealed cases of child rape and illegal late-term abortions. Sherriene Jones, a spokesperson for the attorney general, says the investigation will be exhaustive. "We'll take the same time and diligence to detail that this office does with every criminal investigation," she notes, "because we want to make sure that we get the information right, that we have the charges that need to be filed and make sure that they're correct." However, Jones points out, the women and young girls who received abortions are not under investigation and will not be publicly identified. [Allie Martin]
...Wal-Mart is projecting no improvement in sales this month, meaning it will mark the retail company's worst sales performance in ten years. According to the Bloomberg News Service, Wal-Mart officials blame the poor showing in receipts on such things as disappointing clothing sales and disarray from store renovations. Wal-Mart has also been the target of recent protests from pro-family leaders over the company's decision to partner with a homosexual chamber of commerce group. Wal-Mart recently joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and announced that it would give two large grants to the organization. According to American Family Association sources, the retail giant was rewarded with a position on the board of NGLCC. Wal-Mart has also announced its intention to give preference to homosexual-owned businesses in purchasing products. [Fred Jackson]
[More at URL]
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Family Research Council
November 4, 2006
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=VIEW_MEDIA&ef=EF06J67&format=asx&vidWidth=320&vidHeight=320
"Voting [is] a duty owed to God." [Pushes anti-gay amendments, other theocon issues. I'm not taking the time to transcribe it, but the quote is from Tony Perkins.]
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FRC Statement on Ted Haggard
November 3, 2006 - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06K01&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - In response to the allegations that have led to the resignation of the Reverend Ted Haggard, former President of the National Association of Evangelicals, Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"We have worked with Ted Haggard over the years, and are deeply saddened to learn of these allegations of reprehensible behavior. We are concerned about him and his family and our prayers are with them.
"With a profound belief in both truth and forgiveness, we respect the process of discipline that Haggard has submitted to under the authority of the church body involved. However, in his position as a leader of the evangelical community, this personal tragedy has public ramifications, so we urge that a full accounting of the facts be swift and complete."
