|
|
The Institution of Marriage Amendment 2/6/2004 As you know, Concerned Women for America (CWA) and other family groups have been working on language for a federal marriage amendment (FMA) over the past several months. Because of the dangers posed by the Supreme Court's Lawrence decision and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision to force same-sex marriage upon that state in its Goodridge decision, marriage is under assault as never before. Your own state is at risk.
One way to solve that problem is with a constitutional amendment. That's controversial and it's extremely tough to do. But, it could be effective. I have felt from the beginning that if we're going to go that route, we must fight for an amendment with effective language that will meet the need. When slavery was abolished, we didn't just ban the word "slavery" and allow some form of slavery as long as you called it something else.
There is now an amendment that I believe will do this. The Institution of Marriage Amendment (IMA), which has not yet been introduced, has text along the lines of what CWA's own Chief Counsel Jan LaRue has urged in the past. Mike Farris, President of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) (and, early in his career, an attorney at CWA!), is boldly fighting for the IMA. And, now, so is CWA. Mike's alert to HSLDA members is below, and he expresses my own feelings in the matter well. Read below for the details. And, then, urgently take action to support the IMA today! Please do not delay. The timing is important in this critical matter.
REQUESTED ACTION
Call or write:
(1) Your U.S. Congressman, (click here to find your Congressman)
Tell them: "The time is now for a constitutional amendment to protect marriage. We want a stop to same-sex marriage. And we want a stop to civil unions. The Musgrave text is unacceptable. Please support the Institution of Marriage Amendment."
Although it is important to call every Congressman and Senator, right now the focus should be on Republicans and the White House. They are going to be the ones who decide what the text looks like.
The time is urgent. The decision on the text will be made in the next few days. This may be the only time in U.S. history that we can stop the homosexual movement from obtaining full rights of marriage, by whatever name it is called.
Thank you for your support of CWA, and for your care and concern for America's families. Read on for Mike's e-mail, and please, take action now!
Sincerely,
P.S. And, when you have a few minutes, do read Mike's email. The information you'll gain from it will be priceless. Mike has done a great job of explaining the lengthy and difficult deliberations we family groups have had over the federal marriage amendment. What you'll read here, you won't find reported in any newspaper! And it will give you a better idea of how we work, how wide-scale the effects and factors of this decision, and how you can best pray for us. Thank you.
===================================
February 5, 2004
Dear HSLDA members and friends:
Having litigated the issues surrounding homeschooling for over 20 years, it is my belief that the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of children, including their education, is largely predicated on the institution of the traditional family and its status in society - a status which predates even the founding of the United States. Should the nature of the traditional family be changed, indeed radically re-defined by the modern state, the constitutional-historical basis of what the family is and its privileges are weakened. We cannot let this happen.
Congress will soon be deciding on the right text for a constitutional amendment setting forth that marriage must be between a man and a woman. It is critical that we get this text right. We must protect marriage by name, but we must also prohibit states from getting around this limitation by simply enacting marriage by any other name, such as "civil union" or "domestic partnership". Marriage, by whatever name you call it, must not extend to same-sex relationships.
The leading text, the so-called Musgrave Federal Marriage Amendment (named for its sponsor in the House) does not prohibit marriage by another name and its chief sponsors actually promote it as not reaching the issue of civil unions. However, there is competing language, the Institution of Marriage Amendment, yet to be introduced, which will accomplish the goal. We must therefore make ourselves heard in this debate.
Please call now and pass this elert to every friend you have. For my complete analysis, please read the following alert.
Critical Decision on Text of
Mike Farris
Resources |
|
Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
Feedback / Questions? || Problem with this page? || Archives
