Marriage under assault in VT…will another state be Lost?

March 23, 2009 at 3:19 pm (freedom, marriage)
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siren

Protect marriage! Help Get the word out on the Vermont Vote!  We have until 3pm today!

—Beetle Blogger

EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT:

VT Senate Votes Today on SSM Bill! March 23, 2009

Marriage in Vermont is in jeopardy TODAY!

This afternoon, the Vermont Senate is holding a rare special session to vote on a handful of bills including S.115, the same-sex marriage bill. A vote on the SSM bill is likely to take place sometime after 3:00pm. Unless we take decisive action now, it looks increasingly likely that the bill may pass.

Please take action before 3pm today! Send emails to every member of the Vermont Senate to let them know how important protecting marriage is.

Even if you’re from out of state, help us send a message to the Vermont Senate.

And especially if you live in Vermont — TAKE ACTION NOW!

1. TAKE ACTION! Use this hyperlink to send a message to all 30 members of the Vermont Senate, urging them to respect marriage and the voices of their constituents by voting NO on S.115.

2. FORWARD TO A FRIEND! Then, click here to forward this email to five friends, especially anyone who lives in Vermont. We must get this email into the hands of as many Vermonters as possible before 3pm today!

Even if you sent a message to the members of the Judiciary Committee last week, please take action today!
Brian Brown

God bless,

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
nom
bbrown@nationformarriage.org

15 Comments

Vermont seeks Marriage Referendum| S 115 Red Alert Assignment—An Army of Phone Calls

March 23, 2009 at 1:00 am (marriage, politics)
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vermont call your represtentative S115

Vermont Call your State Senators

We’ve blogged about the Vermont marriage situation here and here, but here is the latest update:

From Take it to the People:

Tomorrow afternoon, Monday, the Vermont Senate will hold a rare special session to act on several bills including the Gay Marriage Bill S.115. The bill will be voted upon sometime after 3 PM.

Senator Kevin Mullin will likely offer an amendment to the bill that would require a public referendum. Your Senator(s) need to know that you support the referendum and that you expect them to support it.

Please CALL your Senator(s) on this (emails are not as effective). Briefly and politely ask them to support this amendment — whether they are for or against Same-Sex Marriage. It’s only fair that the issue be put before the voters. After all, they do “trust their constituents” to do the right thing, right….

Senators who could use a little extra “encouragement” to support this include:

Mazza from Chittenden/Grand Isle: (802) 863-1067

Choate and Kitchel from Caledonia: (802) 748-2629 (Choate) & (802) 684-3482  (Kitchel)

Scott from Washington: (802) 223-5135

Senator(s) Contact Info: Remember to Call—It’s more effective

The contact info for all 30 Senators is included below. A call to the Statehouse at 1-800-322-5616 allows you to leave a message for them during business hours.

ADDISON DISTRICT (2)
(D) Ayer, Claire D. (802) 545-2142
(D) Giard, Harold (802) 758-2577

BENNINGTON DISTRICT (2)
(D) Hartwell, Robert M (802) 362-5757
(D) Sears, Richard W (802) 442-9139

CALEDONIA DISTRICT (2)
(D) Choate, Matthew A. (802) 748-2629 & (603) 650-4268
(D) Kitchel, M. Jane (802) 684-3482

CHITTENDEN DISTRICT (6)
(X) Ashe, Timothy, (802) 318-0903
(D) Flanagan, Ed, (802) 862-3203
(D) Lyons, Virginia “Ginny” V., (802) 863-6129
(D) Miller, Hinda,(802) 862-7008 & (802) 660-4880
(D) Racine, Douglas A.,(802) 434-2013 & (802) 863-1141
(R) Snelling, Diane, (802) 482-4382

ESSEX-ORLEANS DISTRICT (2)
(R) Illuzzi, Vincent, (802) 334-2807
(D) Starr, Robert A., (802) 988-2877 & (802) 988-2281

FRANKLIN DISTRICT (2)
(R) Brock, Randy, (802) 868-2300
(D) Kittell, Sara Branon, (802) 827-3274

GRAND ISLE DISTRICT (1)
(D) Mazza, Richard T.,(802) 863-1067 & (802) 862-4065

LAMOILLE DISTRICT (1)
(D) Bartlett, Susan J.,(802) 888-5591

ORANGE DISTRICT (1)
(D) MacDonald, Mark A., (802) 433-5867

RUTLAND DISTRICT (3)
(D) Carris, Bill,  (802) 438-5391 & (802) 773-9111
(R) Maynard, Hull P., (802) 773-3000  & (802) 773-3000
(R) Mullin, Kevin J., (802) 775-7631

WASHINGTON DISTRICT (3)
(D) Cummings, (802) 223-6043
(R) Doyle, William T., (802) 223-2851
(R) Scott, Philip B., (802) 223-5135

WINDHAM DISTRICT (2)
(D) Shumlin, (802) 387-4447
(D) White, Jeanette K., (802) 387-4379

WINDSOR DISTRICT (3)
(D) Campbell, (802) 295-6238
(D) McCormack, Richard J., (802) 234-5497
(D) Nitka, Alice W., (802) 228-8432

<>Ruby Eliot

photo by djwudi

2 Comments

Vermont: Citizens can vote on the Lottery, but not on marriage | S. 115

March 21, 2009 at 3:38 am (civil unions, marriage)
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s. 115, vermont, gay marriage

Senate Bill 115: “Marriage” = legally recognized union of two people.

Email the VT Governor: ask him to veto S. 115.

Find your representatives here: ask them to vote “No”

Senate email list & Representative email list

Friday, the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 to pass S. 115 onto the Senate floor.

The committee was made up of 4 democrats and 1 republican. Although the lone Republican, Kevin Mullin, at one point, proposed an amendment to the bill that asked for a statewide referendum— he abandoned his constituents and voted in support of the bill that literally crosses out the meaning of gender in marriage.

The bill is expected to pass both the House and the Senate, making Vermont the first state to force marriage redefinition on its citizens through the legislature.

So even though the state of Vermont allowed a lottery referendum, they won’t let the citizens decide (or even discuss?*) how marriage will be defined.

Perhaps the Republican Governor will veto, but he refuses to tell anyone his plans.

Baptist News quotes Steve Cable, president of Vermont Renewal and spokesperson for the Vermont Marriage Advisory Council:

I think [Vermont legislative leaders] realize that with California, Arizona and Florida this last election, and with secular social science [supporting traditional marriage] … they had better do it now because they really don’t have any arguments for gay marriage since we already have civil unions. Civil unions provide — according to every legal expert that’s testified to this committee — every legal benefit and protection that Vermont can provide. The only thing they can get out of this is the social status of marriage."

The BP article also points out that in April 2008, the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection** issued a report that fell short of legalizing gay “marriage” because they found four areas that needed more research and review. Two of these questions included:

  • What is the best science available today on the different impacts on children raised in different family structures?
  • What has been the experience of the Massachusetts lesbian and gay couples who have married under MA law?

Even though the Senate Judiciary spent a whole week discussing the bill. There was no attempt to answer these questions raised by the democrat commission. (Read full article here)

<>Ruby Eliot

——————-

*Oh wait, they did allow citizens to speak for one hour during a public hearing.

**The commission was made up of democrat leaders in the VT legislature.

 

——-

15 Comments

Public Hearing 3/18 | Vermont legislature forces Neutered Marriage Bill on Citizens

March 17, 2009 at 12:55 am (civil unions)
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vermont S. 115 civil marriage

Vermont Crosses Out Marriage

All this week, Vermont is considering a bill (S. 115: An Act Relating to Civil Marriage) which would legalize the neutering of marriage. They are planning on passing it by the end of the week.

Even though according to this article, the number of civil unions in Vermont has gone from 1,876 in 2001 to 262 in 2008.

Vermont was the first state to recognize civil unions, but Rep. Tom Little says that same-sex marriage legislation is "a better course" for Vermont because the terminology (civil union v. marriage) is unfair.

The situation in Vermont is an excellent example of how civil unions work. They are a stepping stone to marriage access—which people openly hope will grant the homosexual lifestyle more social acceptance. However, in the mean time, it literally strips marriage of its core meaning: the unification of opposite genders for the benefit of society.

As a society, we do not give benefits to citizens because of their love, sexual orientation, or for social acceptance. Opine-Editorials has an excellent discussion of this topic here and here.

If you live in Vermont:

1. Check out this Facebook group.

2. Call, email, or write the legislators at the Vermont State House and tell them "No" to gay marriage. And contact Governor Jim Douglas and encourage him to not sign a gay marriage bill if it passes and comes to his desk.
The State of Vermont Legislature
Gov. Jim Douglas (R-VT)

3. If you can, attend the the public hearing on Wednesday night. Bring written comments, or prepare talking points if you want to testify (written comments will be accepted).

If you don’t live in Vermont:

1. Email this to your friends who do live there. Post on facebook/blog/twitter. Get the word out.

–Ruby Eliot

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