It is difficult sometimes to articulate reasons why we are supporting Prop 8 to our friends and neighbors who see the matter quite differently. On this post, I will be putting up links to different articles that will help to eloquently and efficiently articulate cultural and other reasons to support marriage between a man and a woman. This should help us to make our views understood, especially those who might not believe in God or the Bible, and therefore not understanding the sacred nature of marriage before God.
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-02-15-1.html
This link is to an article from Maggie Gallagher who reported extensively on the Becket Fund Conference of scholars on same-sex marriage and religious liberties. It goes much deeper into the possibilities of which religious liberties are at risk of being lost if Prop 8 is not passed. n It is well-researched and well-written.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/191kgwgh.asp?pg=1
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Religious freedoms attacked; our children the victims
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Journal/commentary.aspx?id=215784
While there are numerous reasons to support marriage between a man and a woman, many people still believe that it is a decision that denies gay rights. They also believe that if gay marriage is continued to be allowed in California, it will not affect them or their children. They believe that it should be the job of the parents to teach their children whether or not homosexuality is morally acceptable. They are correct in one aspect: it is in the home where children should be taught morals and values. Parents are allowed to teach their children that homosexuality is not acceptable in the eyes of God. So what happens when the schools are mandated to teach that homosexuality is acceptable and we must believe that it is the same as marriage between a man and a woman? How do you explain that to your 5-year-old? "Well, your teacher is a liar?" Children are very impressionable at a very young age. This will change society. It is not, as some would have us believe, "denying the rights of two loving people to join together." It is protecting our rights to believe how we wish.
This article has listed some of the cases where religious freedoms have already been lost and the possibility of more losses to come. It is well-written and has points presented articulately. Please read it and think seriously about what it indicates could and will happen to our country if we don't fight for Prop 8 right now.
While there are numerous reasons to support marriage between a man and a woman, many people still believe that it is a decision that denies gay rights. They also believe that if gay marriage is continued to be allowed in California, it will not affect them or their children. They believe that it should be the job of the parents to teach their children whether or not homosexuality is morally acceptable. They are correct in one aspect: it is in the home where children should be taught morals and values. Parents are allowed to teach their children that homosexuality is not acceptable in the eyes of God. So what happens when the schools are mandated to teach that homosexuality is acceptable and we must believe that it is the same as marriage between a man and a woman? How do you explain that to your 5-year-old? "Well, your teacher is a liar?" Children are very impressionable at a very young age. This will change society. It is not, as some would have us believe, "denying the rights of two loving people to join together." It is protecting our rights to believe how we wish.
This article has listed some of the cases where religious freedoms have already been lost and the possibility of more losses to come. It is well-written and has points presented articulately. Please read it and think seriously about what it indicates could and will happen to our country if we don't fight for Prop 8 right now.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Priest Investigated for preaching his beliefs
http://www.catholicexchange.com/2008/06/04/112780/
Here is a link to an article about a Catholic priest in Canada. He was being investigated for preaching that homosexuality is wrong. It is being investigated as a "hate crime" for simply preaching his beliefs. Read the article for full details. Ask yourself: if same-sex marriage is legalized here, can this happen in the United States? Can our freedom to preach and believe as we wish be taken away? I think the answer is obviously that it can. Why do we think we would be immune from such results if Prop 8 is not passed?
Here is a link to an article about a Catholic priest in Canada. He was being investigated for preaching that homosexuality is wrong. It is being investigated as a "hate crime" for simply preaching his beliefs. Read the article for full details. Ask yourself: if same-sex marriage is legalized here, can this happen in the United States? Can our freedom to preach and believe as we wish be taken away? I think the answer is obviously that it can. Why do we think we would be immune from such results if Prop 8 is not passed?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Share the Information
People between the ages of 18-30 seem to use blogs, myspace, and Facebook more than ever. What a better way than to get information out as quickly and widespread as possible than using the internet? People in those ages also seem to have been raised in a world that believes that no beliefs are right or wrong, only different. While I was in high school, California voted on Proposition 22, which would recognize only marriage between a man and a woman as being valid. Even though my friends and I could not vote yet, there were arguments left and right about which side was right and which side was wrong. The main argument from people my age was this:"Why do you have to force others to believe what you believe? I don't believe homosexuality is morally okay, but I'm not going to deny others their right to marry whoever they want. IT'S NOT GOING TO AFFECT ME." This part is the falsehood. Too many people believe there will not be any negative effects on our entire society if the new Prop 8 is not passed. TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DECIDED YES ON PROP 8: Please get the facts out any way you can. Use your family blogs. Use your Facebook. Use your Myspace. Use your email address books. It's the people our age that are going to be sitting on the fence on this one. Send out new invites to people to check out your new blog. Share it with friends you might not have talked to for awhile. You can even use the points from my earlier post as an outline if you'd like. The first listed points are from Elder Clayton of the LDS Church. The next ones listed are from the Protectmarriage.com website. You can even just say a sentence or two in favor of protecting marriage, and then direct readers to protectmarriage.com. This is too important for us to sit around with our mouths closed. If people are going to make a decision as important as this, at least let them have the facts before they vote. Thanks everyone!!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Protecting the Sanctity of Marriage
One of the latest topics of conversation in California has been legalizing same-sex marriage. This November, California's ballot will be including a vote to change our constitution so that California only recognizes marriage to be between a man and a woman. The people already voted on this back in 2000 and decided that marriage should be recognized as being between a man and a woman. The courts decided they knew better than the people and are attempting to overturn the people's vote. This is going to be a huge battle. Arizona lost their similar proposition because they were unexpectedly hit with a large amount of propaganda against them. They were unprepared for the opposition to skew facts and present falsehoods through the media. We cannot let this happen in California. We need to present the straightforward truth before anyone else gets a chance to mix up the facts. Here is a list of facts about the upcoming proposition and the possible results if we vote no on Prop. 8. Please share this with your family and friends so we can get the word out to people who may be sitting on the fence. It is not taking away the rights of others. It is protecting our own right to religious freedom.
1. Society has already provided civil unions which allow the benefits of marriage – however they cannot be allowed to DEFINE marriage for the majority. Same sex marriage goes too far. California law provides same sex partners with all the same protections as traditional marriage partners.
2. California didn’t ask for same sex marriage (the court made the change).
3. There should be no change in the definition of marriage without a vote of the people.
4. This might affect our 1st Amendment rights including the free exercise of religion - potentially the right to worship as we believe. Note: the Catholic church had to close their adoption agencies in Massachusetts, a state that legally recognizes same sex marriage, because they legally couldn’t adopt babies to only heterosexual couples.
Protectmarriage.com has listed these points:
-Children need the love of BOTH a father and a mother. The body of research-proof is overwhelming and consistent on this point.
-Legalizing same-sex marriage necessarily mandates changes to all California public school curriculum. Children will be subjected to a mandatory acceptance of homosexuality and all of its practices. Public school curriculum will actively discriminate against the values of the majority of its community’s families.
-Traditonal marriage deserves protection because of its contributions to societal well-being. It is about children and society, not the relationship of two adults.
-Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90’s – and just 2% of same-sex couples in these countries ever marry, while there has been a 46% increase in out-of-wedlock births.
-Expanding the definition of marriage begs the question: What legal basis would remain to limit the number of partners in marriage?
-Religious freedom has been the cornerstone of success for the United States of America. It is naïve to belive that when acceptance of same-sex marriage is legislatively or judicially forced upon citizens via employment law, education, or other government mandates, rights of religious liberty won’t decrease.
This is something that will affect everyone. The nation has a tendency to follow California. We need to stop this here. Please share these facts with your friends and family. This is of a higher importance than we may yet realize. Even if you don't live in California, there's always an opportunity to donate to the Protect Marriage Coalition. Go to protectmarriage.com to find out more about this important topic.
1. Society has already provided civil unions which allow the benefits of marriage – however they cannot be allowed to DEFINE marriage for the majority. Same sex marriage goes too far. California law provides same sex partners with all the same protections as traditional marriage partners.
2. California didn’t ask for same sex marriage (the court made the change).
3. There should be no change in the definition of marriage without a vote of the people.
4. This might affect our 1st Amendment rights including the free exercise of religion - potentially the right to worship as we believe. Note: the Catholic church had to close their adoption agencies in Massachusetts, a state that legally recognizes same sex marriage, because they legally couldn’t adopt babies to only heterosexual couples.
Protectmarriage.com has listed these points:
-Children need the love of BOTH a father and a mother. The body of research-proof is overwhelming and consistent on this point.
-Legalizing same-sex marriage necessarily mandates changes to all California public school curriculum. Children will be subjected to a mandatory acceptance of homosexuality and all of its practices. Public school curriculum will actively discriminate against the values of the majority of its community’s families.
-Traditonal marriage deserves protection because of its contributions to societal well-being. It is about children and society, not the relationship of two adults.
-Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90’s – and just 2% of same-sex couples in these countries ever marry, while there has been a 46% increase in out-of-wedlock births.
-Expanding the definition of marriage begs the question: What legal basis would remain to limit the number of partners in marriage?
-Religious freedom has been the cornerstone of success for the United States of America. It is naïve to belive that when acceptance of same-sex marriage is legislatively or judicially forced upon citizens via employment law, education, or other government mandates, rights of religious liberty won’t decrease.
This is something that will affect everyone. The nation has a tendency to follow California. We need to stop this here. Please share these facts with your friends and family. This is of a higher importance than we may yet realize. Even if you don't live in California, there's always an opportunity to donate to the Protect Marriage Coalition. Go to protectmarriage.com to find out more about this important topic.
We're new to the world of blog
Everyone else in the world has a blog. People have been saying to me, "Well, just put up some pictures on your blog and send me the address." In my head, I think, "What exactly is a blog? Am I supposed to have one? Does everyone have one?" I have yet to learn the art of actually putting one together that looks good. But there is always a beginning. So here I am. Bear with me.
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