Fighting the Marriage Battle

TxTriangle.Com
Brent Brumley
July 8, 2004

Telephone calls, e-mails, rallies and ad campaigns are just some of the tactics being employed by both sides of the battle over a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting marriage to that of one man and one woman.

Passion over the issue is running so high that some 400 people were willing to halt Independence Day celebrations last weekend to attend a rally at the Texas Capitol. The crowd with an estimated 250 rallying against gay marriage and 150 supporting marriage equality, gathered in the hot Texas sun as part of an event held by Take Up, a religious organization that supports the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Billed as a pro-marriage rally titled “A Declaration of Dependence—One Nation Under God,” organizers enlisted Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, one of the strongest supporters of the FMA, to be its keynote speaker. The rally was joined in opposition by Soulforce Austin and the Lesbian & Gay Rights Lobby of Texas.

“Sometimes I get so angry when I see and hear what these people are saying,” Jeff Lutes, coordinator of Soulforce Austin told The Triangle last week. “But then I realize that they are victims, too. I really believe that these are people who are kind and warm and loving to people in their lives, but when it comes to us, they are hurt by the same information. They are not the enemy, the enemy is misinformation”

Both information and misinformation are part of the momentum on the issue that has been building for months. With a vote in the Senate expected next week, the rhetoric and action both for and against the amendment are reaching a crescendo.

Those in favor of the amendment will follow last Sunday’s local rally with a national effort dubbed “Marriage Protection Sunday” on July 11 and “Call Your Senator Monday” on July 12.

Organizers claim thousands of churches will be participating in Marriage Protection Sunday this weekend. On that day, pastors are encouraged to “lift up the God-ordained institution of marriage in their sermons, and to present the serious threat which homosexual marriage presents.” Sunday schools are encouraged to “discuss marriage from a Biblical perspective, and also to discuss the threat of homosexual marriage.”

Also on that day, pastors and Sunday school classes are urged to pass out sheets containing information on how to contact Senators on the following day.

“Many Senators are willing to let a single activist Federal judge declare all marriage laws void and homosexual marriage legal. We must not allow that to happen. It will happen unless God’s people take action,” said organizers.

On the side against the amendment, the Human Rights Campaign is not waiting for Monday to encourage calls to Senators. HRC President, Cheryl Jacques asked supporters in an email to “do everything you can to make sure your Senators vote against it. This is the most important vote we have faced in decades—we must win. And we can win, if every fair-minded American commits to speaking up this week like never before.”

Specifically, HRC is asking community members to contact their Senators immediately. The organization provides contact information on its website at www.hrc.org.

“Thank you—again—for all you are doing to stop the Federal Marriage Amendment. I don’t think I need to remind you about who and what we’re up against. The ultra-conservatives behind the Federal Marriage Amendment are better-funded, extremely well-organized, and deeply determined to make their shameful, discriminatory agenda law. They will stop at nothing. That’s why our combined efforts this week must be stronger than ever before,” said Jacques.

In addition to rallies and phone calls, both HRC and the Log Cabin Republicans are launching multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to battle the proposed amendment.

“The Federal Marriage Amendment is unnecessary, discriminatory and undermines the Constitution,” said Jacques. “We are delivering this message directly to our elected leaders and encouraging the millions of fair-minded Americans who oppose this amendment to contact their Senators today.

HRC’s new ad campaign began running this week and will continue through next week’s debate and vote, urging leaders not to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.

The new television ad—”Preserve and Protect”—uses archival footage of presidents taking their inaugural oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton are all shown. The ad asks viewers to tell President Bush to preserve the Constitution, not undermine it.

The television ad will run in the Washington, D.C. market July 7 through July 13 on FOX News Channel and CNN. A second television ad—”Priorities”—will run next week in targeted states reminding viewers that the Senate should be focusing on issues like the deficit, job loss, health care and terrorism.

“Beyond television advertising, we are using online advertising as one way to target our natural allies,” said Jacques. “It is critical that we reach out beyond the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to other allies and fair-minded Americans who oppose writing discrimination into the Constitution.”

HRC is running online ads urging the Senate to stop wasting time on the FMA on sites including Mother Jones, Utne, Alternet, Salon, Slate, New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post, as well as regional newspaper sites in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon and California, and more than 20 progressive blogs.

“We will also continue to educate and activate our community,” said Jacques. “Already we have broken records with over 200,000 e-mails to Congress on this issue alone.”

Meanwhile, Log Cabin Republicans are also launching a new print advertisement against the amendment. The ad makes light of the recent confrontation on the Senate floor between Vermont Senator Pat Leahy and Vice President Dick Cheney. The ad’s headline reads, “Dick Cheney and Pat Leahy agree on something.” Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Patrick Guerriero says, “In the past, both men have said the issue of marriage should be left to the states. Passing any anti-family Constitutional amendment would be a mistake for this nation—big time!”

The ad can be viewed at www.logcabin.org. It is currently running in the July 6 edition of Roll Call. The same advertisement also will be placed in upcoming editions of Roll Call and The Hill.

“Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knows this amendment does not have anywhere near the 66 votes required for passage, so why is he wasting time on an already crowded Senate calendar with this divisive debate?” asked Guerriero. “America and the Republican Party should be focused on improving homeland security, winning the war on terror and continuing to improve the economy. Instead, a small but vocal segment of the GOP wants to desecrate our founding document with an amendment that would make some Americans second-class citizens.”

This print ad campaign is part of Log Cabin’s $1,000,000 effort to defend the Constitution. This campaign includes a television ad, prints ads, the most intense lobbying effort in its history, and the grassroots mobilization of Log Cabin members across America. “We will win this fight because hope, inclusion and equality will defeat the forces of fear, discrimination and exclusion,” concluded Guerriero.