The Federal Marriage Amendment
Posted on 07/05/2004 4:36:43 PM PDT by cpforlife.org
July 1, 2004
"A week from tomorrow, on July 9, the United States Senate will begin debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would enshrine in our most basic law that “marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” A Senate vote on the measure (officially known as Senate Joint Resolution 30) will likely take place on July 13 or 14."
PLEASE TAKE ACTION AND SPREAD THE WORD
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The Federal Marriage Amendment
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"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
What's going on?
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In mid-July 2004, the U.S. Senate will vote on this proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, made necessary by a 4-3 decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to allow, by judicial fiat, same-sex marriages. While the decision currently affects only Massachusetts, it is certain that proponents of same-sex marriage will now try to persuade other state courts, and federal courts, to adopt the same reasoning elsewhere.
The only sure way to undo the damage done in Massachusetts, and prevent its spread elsewhere, is to adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment.
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Telephone calls to your U.S. senators are needed now. Letters and e-mails may have some impact, but phone calls are more likely to get their attention. Phone calls to their offices "back home," rather than their Capitol Hill offices, are most likely to be effective. You can find phone numbers, e-mail addresses and mailing addresses from links on our Legislative Priorities page.
Call your senators, not someone else's senators. They pay no attention at all to communications from people living in states they don't represent. If you live near one of your senator's home offices, consider showing up in person to register your strong support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 30.
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What's Catholic teaching on same-sex marriage?
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The teaching of the Catholic Church could not be clearer:
U.S. Catholic Bishops
"Marriage, as instituted by God, is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman joined in an intimate community of life and love," the U.S. Catholic bishops declared in Between Man and Woman, issued in November 2003. "Only a union of male and female can express the sexual complementarity willed by God for marriage."
In a June 24, 2004 letter to all Catholic bishops in the United States the USCCB president, Bishop Wilton Gregory, urged every bishop to "personally contact your senators in the coming weeks to urge them to support this important measure," and "also strongly support any effort to stop a ‘filibuster' and allow the Senate to vote on this vitally important matter."
Pope John Paul II
In May 2003, Pope John Paul II approved this Vatican statement: "No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman. . . There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family." Further, "In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty."
In a June 2004 address to a group of Latin American bishops, the Holy Father made clear that this fundamental truth about marriage "is valid not only for Catholics, but for all men and women without distinction, as marriage and the family constitute an irreplaceable good of society, which cannot remain indifferent in face of its degradation or loss of identity."
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Isn't there already a federal Defense of Marriage Act?
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The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law passed in 1996, bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. In addition, 39 states have adopted their own versions of DOMA. But as we've seen in Massachusetts, a small handful of judges can – in the absence of clear and unequivocal constitutional language – conjure up a rationale (discrimination, equal protection) that allows them to find such a law "unconstitutional."
In an ideal world, the combined wisdom of common sense, social science evidence and 5,000 years of human history on marriage, together with the overwhelming majority of the American people, would suffice to protect this vital institution., Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. The Federal Marriage Amendment is the only sure way of protecting marriage as "only a union of a man and a woman."
As Denver's Archbishop Charles J. Chaput put it recently, "judicial activism that imposed abortion on demand on an unwilling country . . . must not be allowed to do the same to Americans' understanding of marriage. Defining and protecting marriage is rightly a matter for the people to decide through legislative action, not through court edict."
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No. A CBS News Poll taken in May 2004 found that 60% of the American people favor such a constitutional amendment, including a clear majority of both Democrats and Republicans.
Unfortunately, members of both parties in the Senate, including 15 of the 24 Catholic senators, have declared their opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment. Four more Catholic senators are publicly "undecided" for now.
The efforts you make between now and the Senate vote in mid-July can make all the difference. In Bishop Gregory's letter to all of his colleagues in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, he makes clear that the task is not limited to the bishops: "Anything you can do to generate additional support through your pastors from the larger Catholic community would be most helpful," and he urges extra efforts aimed at "generating support at the parish level."
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Our role as Knights of Columbus
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As the world's largest Catholic family service organization we must play a major role in supporting the pope, our bishops and priests in this crucial battle to preserve and protect the institution of the family.
For more than 120 years, we Knights have maintained a proud tradition of joining hands in common cause when the times demand it. The 1.5 million Knights and their families who live in the United States can have an enormous impact in the fight for the Federal Marriage Amendment, both in the efforts we make ourselves, and in leading the way among Catholics throughout the country.
The world in which our children and grandchildren live will be profoundly affected by our success or failure in this effort. As Archbishop Chaput put it, "If Americans are one nation, we need to express that unity in our basic national values and institutions, and nothing determines our shared future as a people more directly than our convictions about marriage and the family. This is why a Federal Marriage Amendment, confirming the identity of marriage for our whole country as part of our Constitution, is so important. . . For the sake of generations of children to come, protecting the identity of marriage is a struggle we need to win."
As Pope John Paul II said recently, "Now is the hour of the lay faithful." Now is the hour for the Knights of Columbus to make the crucial difference.
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Telephone calls to your U.S. senators are needed now. Letters and e-mails may have some impact, but phone calls are more likely to get their attention. Phone calls to their offices "back home," rather than their Capitol Hill offices, are most likely to be effective. You can find phone numbers, e-mail addresses and mailing addresses from links on our Legislative Priorities page.
Call your senators, not someone else's senators. They pay no attention at all to communications from people living in states they don't represent. If you live near one of your senator's home offices, consider showing up in person to register your strong support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 30. |
Please read and forward. Please follow the link & call your two senators ASAP. This may be the last chance.
Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
If you really want to get the senate's attention, start passing resolutions in the state legislatures calling for a constitutional convention. In the past, the threat of constitutional conventions has forced the senate to act when nothing else would.
Stay tuned to "Focus On The Family"; you should be able to find a local station via this link:
http://www.family.org/fmedia/radiolog/index.cfm
Or you can listen over the net via KRLA 870AM:
http://www.krla870.com
And sign the petition to save marriage at The American Center For Law And Justice:
http://www.aclj.org
just a ping...thread might be of interst...
What I'm saying is that no "legal incidents" of marriage should be recognized regarding any couple (even heterosexual) unless that couple was married. Shouldn't we close our US "common law" marriage while we're shutting down homosexual so-called "marriage?" ...seems that would also strengthen the purpose of a marriage amendment.
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Action Ping List.
You can go directly here to email your Senators and/or Representatives asking them to support marriage:
Agreed. You 6 & 7 are correct-IMO.
Done.Thanks for this thread.
Just finished notifying my senators and congressman.Thanks for the ping.
You're welcome! The family is so important.
AN APPEAL FROM SENATOR RICK SANTORUM
Dear Friends,
I am writing to express strong support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, which the Senate will be voting on in the next two weeks. This amendment would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and is a necessary addition to our Constitution. The Federal Marriage Amendment is vital to preserve the traditional institution of marriage in our country. A Constitutional amendment that clearly defines marriage as the exclusive union of male and female is fundamental to the preservation of marriage.
Sincerely,
Rick Santorum
U.S. Senator
WE ARE NEARING TWO MILLION ON OUR PETITION DRIVE. HELP US REACH OUR GOAL!
Time is short. In the next few days we will be presenting our petitions in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment to members of the U.S. Senate. Please act on Sen. Santorum's appeal today. We currently have more than 1.5 million who have signed the petition. If you have not already done so, please sign the petition at http://www.nogaymarriage.com/
If you have signed the petition, please forward to others.
Either way, be sure to forward the petition. Click http://www.nogaymarriage.com/ to sign.
Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
P.S. Please forward this email to at least one friend.
Bump
Tuesday evening ping...
The "Focus On The Family" radio show was on the protection of marriage issue today.
The second segment of the show should air tomorrow (Wed 7-7-04); host James Dobson
plans to read off the list of the Senators that are "Yeah"s or "Nay"s.
for lurkers/posters; info for listening to Focus On The Family locally or on the Internet
are in post #4.
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