California
Brad Pitt Puts up $100,000 to Defeat California's Traditional Marriage Amendment-"Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage...."Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said Wednesday."
Spielberg Donates to Defeat Prop 8-"In case you missed it, although I don’t know how you could have seeing as how it was all over the media, Steven Spielberg and his wife donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign today. You probably heard the reports about his having “matched” Brad Pitt’s donation"
Sacramento mayoral candidate flip-flops on same-sex “marriage-"Just four months ago, Sacramento mayoral candidate and former NBA basketball star Kevin Johnson incurred the political wrath of homosexuals when he told a candidates’ forum he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. As election day nears, he has apparently had a change of heart.."
Feinstein opposes Proposition 8-"The San Diego Union Tribune reports: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has come out against Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.”
NY Governor joins opposition to California Marriage Amendment-"Gov. David A. Paterson, who has made legalizing same-sex marriage in New York a priority of his administration, is lending his support to gay and lesbian advocates in California who are fighting a proposal to define marriage there as between a man and a woman.
Mr. Paterson, along with Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, will headline a fund-raiser on Thursday at the East Side home of Michael Recanati and Ira Statfeld, two philanthropists."
Backers of California marriage amendment are out-fundraising opponents-"The LA Times reports: “The Yes on Prop. 8 campaign has raised $17.8 million, compared to its opponents’ $12.4 million.”
L.A. Protesters Take Aim at Bolthouse Farms over Prop. 8 support-"
In front of a busy supermarket on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, a handful of protesters on Saturday stood up against Bolthouse Farms, a produce grower whose founder contributed $100,000 to get Proposition 8 — the initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California — on the ballot.
The protesters were representatives of Californians Against Hate, a group that draws attention to donors of Proposition 8. According to the group, Bolthouse founder William Bolthouse Jr. donated $100,000 to a group called Protect Marriage/Yes on Proposition 8 in April. That donation helped put Prop. 8 on California’s November ballot by providing money for petition circulators and signature gatherers.
Related:
WSJ: “Gay Activists Target Businesses”Alliance Alert, 8.27.2008"
PJI President Files Complaint Against PG&E Over Funding of Prop 8-"Brad Dacus filed an administrative complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission over the $250,000 contribution by PG&E to oppose traditional marriage. The quarter million dollar donation went to the war chest of the No on Proposition 8 campaign. The executive director of Equality California, Geoff Kors, was quoted in the LA Times as saying: "We are thrilled to partner with PG&E." "It is outrageous that a mammoth utility used my money to undermine the values of families in my community," said Dacus, who is the president of the Pacific Justice Institute. The complaint submitted by Dacus to the Commission stated: "Proposition 8 has no relevance to the supply and distribution of energy services to its customers. As a corporation which has been given near monopoly status (CA Public Utilities Code section 451, et seq.), its use of money extracted from customers to influence an item appearing on the ballot that does not promote the welfare of customers relative to energy is an abuse of trust."..."This is why we are encouraging natural gas users to switch to another gas company as hundreds have already requested via http://www.notopge.com/."
Lesbian fertility demands: Doctors endure an eight-year legal vendetta for declining to help bring a fatherless child into the world-"Jennifer Roback Morse has this commentary on Mercatornet.com that begins:
In the case of the lesbians versus their doctors, the California State Supreme Court continued its war against religion by declaring that equality trumps liberty of conscience. But, contrary to the impression created in the media, the case of Guadalupe Benitez v. North Coast Woman’s Care is not over. The case still has to be tried. The Supreme Court’s ruling only means that the doctors cannot use religious liberty as a defense for violating the prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination.
Very well, then. Let us argue the case without reference to religion."
In Case You Missed It LA Times Op-Ed: Protecting Marriage to Protect Children-"I'm a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage. Do those positions sound contradictory? To me, they fit together.
Many seem to believe that marriage is simply a private love relationship between two people. They accept this view, in part, because Americans have increasingly emphasized and come to value the intimate, emotional side of marriage, and in part because almost all opinion leaders today, from journalists to judges, strongly embrace this position. That's certainly the idea that underpinned the California Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage.
But I spent a year studying the history and anthropology of marriage, and I've come to a different conclusion.
Marriage as a human institution is constantly evolving, and many of its features vary across groups and cultures. But there is one constant. In all societies, marriage shapes the rights and obligations of parenthood. Among us humans, the scholars report, marriage is not primarily a license to have sex. Nor is it primarily a license to receive benefits or social recognition. It is primarily a license to have children.
In this sense, marriage is a gift that society bestows on its next generation. Marriage (and only marriage) unites the three core dimensions of parenthood -- biological, social and legal -- into one pro-child form: the married couple. Marriage says to a child: The man and the woman whose sexual union made you will also be there to love and raise you. Marriage says to society as a whole: For every child born, there is a recognized mother and a father, accountable to the child and to each other.
Marriage is society's most pro-child institution. In 2002 -- just moments before it became highly unfashionable to say so -- a team of researchers from Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center, reported that "family structure clearly matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low- conflict marriage."
Religious Leaders Push for Same-Sex Marriage Ban in California-"Along with evangelical Christian groups such as Focus on the Family and Family Research Council, the leaders of Roman Catholic, Mormon, Southern Baptist, Orthodox Jewish and Seventh-Day Adventist congregations have endorsed the measure and urged the faithful to give.The Knights of Columbus have given nearly $1.3 million, making the Catholic fraternal organization the largest single contributor to Yes on 8. Donations from individual Mormons account for more than $6.4 million of about $17.3 million raised so far, according to Mormonsfor8.com, a Web site set up by a church member."
Marriage Proponents Physically Assaulted in Santa Rosa, California-"After shouting obscenities at a TFP volunteer, a supporter of same-sex marriage slapped him as he filmed the demonstration. Although he managed to avert the blow, the assailant hit his camera disabling the settings. In a separate incident at the same demonstration, another supporter of "gay marriage" threw hot coffee at the face of a different volunteer."This shows the contempt for First Amendment rights of proponents of gay marriage," said Cesar Franco, TFP Asst. Student Action Director. "While demanding tolerance for what they call 'diversity,' they are utterly intolerant of opposing viewpoints." TFP, a Catholic organization, was distributing flyers titled "Ten Reasons Why Homosexual 'Marriage' Is Harmful and Must Be Opposed." It calls on Californians to firmly and peacefully resist the advance of the so-called gay-rights movement.In June, the California Supreme Court forced same-sex "marriage," on the state. Tradition Family and Property believes the decision will undermine the family unit, harm the nation's moral foundation and jeopardize the innocence of children."
“Firefighters sue San Diego, alleging harassment in gay pride parade”-"The LA Times, Monday edition reported: Four San Diego firefighters are suing the city government for damages because they were allegedly sexually harassed while participating involuntarily in the 2007 gay pride parade. The four say they were ordered to drive their firetruck in the three-hour parade even though firefighters at previous parades had been subjected to catcalls and sexually suggestive comments by parade watchers. The trial is scheduled to begin today. Today, the San Diego Union Tribune has this report: Lawyer for fire crew describes distress. It indicates: Charles LiMandri, their attorney, said the firefighters don’t have a problem serving Hillcrest, which has a large gay population. “But with regard to the gay pride parade, the crew made it clear they did not want to be part of a very sexually charged atmosphere,” LiMandri said during his opening remarks. The firefighters saw men simulating sex and women with no tops on, said LiMandri, who showed the jury a series of photos from the parade as evidence. He said they also heard people shout sexually explicit comments. “They felt humiliated and disgraced,” LiMandri said. More reports linked on Google News."
Couple fight California’s gender-neutral language in wedding license-"The Sacramento Bee reports:
Last month, Rachel Bird exchanged vows with Gideon Codding in a church wedding in front of family and friends. As far as Bird is concerned, she is a bride.
To the state of California, however, she is either “Party A” or “Party B.”
Those are the terms that have replaced “bride” and “groom” on the state’s new gender-neutral marriage licenses. And to Bird and Codding, that is unacceptable . . .
Bird and Codding have refused to complete the new forms, a stand that has already cost them. Because their marriage is not registered with the state, Bird cannot sign up for Codding’s medical benefits or legally take his name. They are now exploring their options, she said.
Related:
California Couple Refuses To Sign Gender-Neutral Marriage LicenseReligion Clause, 9.17.2008"
Cal. Newlyweds File Suit Seeking Recognition as Bride and Groom, Not Party A and Party B- "The Pacific Justice Institute reports: “What’s in a name? A lot, according to the California Supreme Court, which recently decided that marriage must be made available to gay couples, and civil unions were inadequate. Now, a Northern California couple is going to court to preserve their legal status as bride and groom, after the state rejected their marriage license.”
New Study Shows Polling Significantly Understates Support for Traditional Marriage-"A new study comparing polling in 26 states – including California – measuring voter opinion on ballot initiatives to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, shows that support for these measures has been under-estimated by an average of seven percentage points. In some cases, polls have under-estimated support for traditional marriage by as much as 21 percentage points."Recent polls published by California media outlets claim that Proposition 8 to restore marriage in California as between a man and a woman, is trailing among voters. These polls, including the Field Poll released this week, suffer from the same historic problem that other polls on this subject around the country have had: they do not accurately reflect the true support for traditional marriage," said Frank Schubert, campaign manager for ProtectMarriage.com – Yes on 8, the sponsors of the California marriage initiative who released the study today. "For example, the Field Poll showed that support for Proposition 22 in 2000 was at 53% right before the election, yet over 61% of voters supported the proposition."
Men who have sex with men and blacks are at higher HIV risk-"Foodconsumer.org reports: “An estimated 56,000 people in the United States get infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year and men who have sex with men (MSM) and Africa-American or black men and women are at high risk of contracting the virus, according to a CDC study published in the Aug 6 2008 issue of Journal of American Medical Association.”
Arizona
“Mormons now issue in gay vows: Ariz. supporters of amendment charge ‘bigotry’”-The campaign over whether marriage should be defined — and limited — in the state constitution could soon start to look like a fight between two politically polarizing groups: gays and Mormons . . .
Meanwhile, opponents are crafting a strategy to label the amendment an attempt by the Mormon church to clean up its image after a series of polygamy scandals by fringe groups that are not actually affiliated with the church. Backers of the amendment call that claim “religious bigotry” and a political “scare tactic . . "
"Video: Catholic Bishop of Phoenix urges yes vote on AZ marriage amendment, Prop 102 - played in all diocesan churches
Obama/NOW/Big Media vs Evanglicals/McCain
Obama Rep No Show at Christian Forum-"A top-level advisor and ten-member delegation for Sen. Barack Obama were no-shows at yesterday's Reese RoundTable on Capitol Hill, a forum for the campaigns to present their respective candidates' worldviews and how that informs their ideas about government.
The Obama representative, the Reverend Evna Terri La Velle, Senior Advisor Religious Affairs for Obama for America, inexplicably cancelled only hours before the event....Event host, Rev. Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), who moderated the discussion, said he was profoundly disappointed. He released this statement:
"Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean assured me last year in a private meeting in his office that his party would do everything possible to constructively engage Evangelicals, traditional Catholics and other moral conservatives. He even pledged to participate in events like this. Barack Obama has made similar promises. They did a couple of high-profile media events, but it appears they were not serious at a grass-roots level. Yesterday's last-minute unexplained cancellation was nothing short of a snub. Our capacity crowd was insulted by their absence."
McCain discusses role of religion in personal and national life-""I am an imperfect person," he concluded, "but the point is, I respect those people who don't think they need spiritual guidance and help. I just happen to be one of those who does.”
Obama radio ad targets Focus on the Family-"Focus on the Family is speaking out against a new pro-Obama radio ad airing on Christian radio. The ad calls for "a better Christian witness in politics."
The new liberal political action committee Matthew 25 is running pro-Barack Obama ads on Christian radio. Salem Radio affiliate KBIQ 102.7 FM in Colorado Springs, Colorado -- home to Focus on the Family -- aired an ad that came in response to Dr. James Dobson’s recent criticism of the presidential candidate's theological views....Spokesman Carrie Gordon Earll says Focus on the Family’s response to the ad would be Christ’s words found in Matthew 7:20, "You will know them by their fruits."
“When it comes to Barack Obama, his fruit is not in line with a biblical worldview," said Earll. She also pointed out that Obama is the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate. "He opposes [the ban on] partial-birth abortion, [and] he supports the deconstruction of marriage as we know it," adds Earll. "Most certainly those are actions that voters, evangelical voters, need to look at as they’re making a decision on who to vote for in November."
Obama ads to air on Christian stations-"A liberal political action committee called the "Matthew 25 Network" is asking Christian radio stations in the key battleground state of Ohio to air an ad that suggests Barack Obama would bring an end to the economic woes plaguing the state and the country if elected president...The announcer says: "'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You?' they asked. Jesus said, 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you have done it to Me.'" Hall is then heard on the ad. "I'm former Congressman Tony Hall from Dayton, a pro-life Democrat. And as I look around Ohio, I see lots of families hurting. We have lost thousands of jobs and folks are struggling with bills this month, forget about next month. We need a president who sees those who are hurting and cares for the least of these. This is why I am supporting Barack Obama." Some conservatives have criticized the aggressive effort by Obama and his surrogates to reach out to evangelical Christian voters in spite of the Illinois senator's liberal record on issues such as abortion and traditional marriage."
Robert Knight: “Wall Street Journal Fails Identify GOP-Bashing Author as Gay Activist”-"The Wall Street Journal allowed a homosexual activist to criticize GOP “gay-bashing” on the top of its op-ed page – but didn’t let readers know the author has a dog in the fight.
In his lengthy article, “The GOP Should Kiss Gay-Bashing Goodbye,” James Kirchick is identified simply as “assistant editor of The New Republic.” But Mr. Kirchick is not just another opinion writer.
Kirchick was named the 2007 Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA). In 2006, he won the NLGJA’s Excellence in Student Journalism Award."-See Huckabee vs Romney over the issue of Same-Sex Marriage and the story on Prop. 8 in California is getting expensive and boycotted by Public TV. and scroll down to Religion vs Same Sex Marriage and Get ready for one sided reporting.
