Arizonans will vote on November 4, 2008 on Ballot Proposition 102 which reads:
“Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.”
I urge you to vote “YES” which will place this statement into the Arizona Constitution and secure this principle for our state law.
From the www.yesformarriage.com website:
On November 4, 2008, Arizonans have the opportunity to protect and reaffirm marriage. You, the voter, have the opportunity to maintain the most important element of society so it can be passed on to our children.
A “YES” vote prevents judges and politicians from redefining marriage and leaves marriage’s essential meaning in the hands of the people of Arizona.
Marriage is about the next generation. Marriage builds up communities family by family and provides for the next generation. It is the bedrock foundation of our society.
Judges should not distort the meaning of marriage. But that is just what is happening in California. On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court (by a narrow vote of 4 justices to 3) voted to redefine marriage. This radical and lawless decision struck down a marriage law passed by the people of California in 2000. The California Judges claimed that marriage is “discrimination.” They are just plain wrong! The California decision shows why the Arizona Constitution needs to reaffirm marriage:
- The same thing can happen here. Nothing stops an Arizona court from striking down Arizona’s marriage laws and redefining marriage, just as the courts did in California.
- The California decision means more legal attacks on marriage in Arizona. It’s only a matter of time before redefined marriages from California are used as legal weapons to change the law here in Arizona.
Marriage should have constitutional protection in Arizona. - Amending our constitution ensures that the essential meaning of marriage will be preserved, and that no Arizona judge will be able to force us to adopt California’s radical redefinition of marriage.
Moms and dads matter. Reaffirming marriage is the best way to ensure the best possible environment for as many children as possible. There is overwhelming evidence that children raised by a married mom and dad are more likely to do better in school, to be healthier emotionally and physically, and are less likely to commit crimes, use drugs, and have children out of wedlock. No one is saying there aren’t exceptions. But abandoning the meaning of marriage as a society puts more kids at risk.
If you want to get involved please visit www.yesformarriage.com or www.unitedfamiliesarizona.org. They need help in many areas: phone calls, community team leaders, cottage meetings in your home, financial support, etc.
Also please feel free to contact me by email or phone if you have some time to volunteer. All help is needed and wanted. We need to STEP UP and make sure this amendment passes this year because the chance of it coming up to vote on again is highly unlikely. We are at a crossroads. Do we as citizens define marriage or do we allow minority groups, who are always louder than the more passive "la-de-da" majority, and liberal judges define it for us.
I'm not going to sit idle and do nothing when it comes to protecting and defining marriage for what it is and always has been since the beginning of time, a union between one man and one woman.
Edited: I am adding more links to websites in hope that it will help increase the traffic or google rating of these sites. You can also join the Arizona Marriage Protection Amendment (2008) group on Facebook.
3 comments:
I'm confused, does this proposition define marriage on the AZ books where it was once undefined... or change it all together? I guess I don't understand how voting either way would change the essential meaning of marriage.
I think the word "marriage" has just as many different interpretations as the word "love" or "faith" and should be left to each individual (or couple) to define between themselves and their god.
I'm not sure the courts or the ballots have any business defining those words for anyone. But, for the sake of simplicity when it comest to rights, taxes and vital stats, "civil union" may be a more clear... and less controversial term I can get my head around.
Sierra-
Because this is so important to me, and to all of us, I have to comment, and I hope you will understand what I am trying to say--though someone else could say it much better.
Marriage is NOT open to many different interpretations--however the world would love you to believe this. There is a clear definition of marriage--that cannot be changed, no matter what a society or government may think or say. "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God." This is nothing new, we have been taught this from the beginning of time. There is no room for debate.
Marriage is not the same thing as love. You could love your brother, daughter, pet, your entire family--that does not mean you have to marry any or all of them. That would be ridiculous! Marriage is an institution primarily for bearing and rearing children--it brings order to a society. Allowing different "interpretations" of marriage would open up a Pandora's box of problems. Imagine a society where anyone could marry anyone--or anything, for that matter. Wouldn't that create chaos in our society?
Research has shown that children reared in homes where both a father and mother are present is clearly the ideal. These children are more likely to grow up to be contributing members of society.
So, are we just being mean not allowing homosexual couples to marry? Of course not!!! Again--this has little to do with love. The homosexual movement seeks to legalize gay marriage in order to justify their behavior both to themselves and society--to say that it is legal is interpreted as "this is RIGHT" and no one has any right to morally object to it.
But how does legalizing same-sex marriage affect us? 1) It increases child abuse in our society (30% of all pedophilia cases involve homosexuals, though only 3% of the population is homosexual), 2) it contributes to the spreading of HIV/AIDS and other terrible diseases (50% of men who have sex with other men will either become HIV infected or contract another STD--that is possibly life threatening), 3)an increase of alcohol and drug abuse in society (30% of homosexually active men and women have serious drug and alcohol problems, and 4) homosexuals are more likely to suffer from mental illness), 5) an increase in the number of homosexual individuals (since environment plays an important role in an individual becoming homosexual) which leads to 6) a compounding increase to all of these problems! I told you--Pandora's Box! This issue already affects who we can hire or work with, who teaches our children and what is taught at our schools, who are kids go to school with and play with, and in countless other ways. This issue is not just about them--it affects all of us!!!
We can learn a lesson from other countries who have legalized gay marriage--and the price their communities pay. For example, in Canada, a pastor/priest? was put in prison for daring to say that homosexual behavior was wrong. Saying something is wrong is now equivalent to so-called "hate speech."
Now, of course we should treat homosexual individuals with respect. We are all Heavenly Father's children--and should be treated as such. Not allowing homosexuals to marry doesn't mean we disrespect them--actually, it is the opposite. We want everyone to be able to reach their divine potentials--and should show love and compassion to people who will hopefully seek to change their self-destructive behaviors. This is true for all human beings.
To sum up:
YES!!!! it ABSOLUTELY IS our business to vote to protect marriage--in fact, it is our responsibility. The 1st Presidency has asked all of us to contribute our time and means to passing amendments that would protect the only real definition of marriage. And no wonder! I firmly believe that our whole society and our children will be blessed as we seek to obey the Prophet's command.
Note: Most of this information I got from: http://www.unitedfamilies.org/state/az/faq.cfm
PLEASE go there and read this information--it is SO IMPORTANT to all of us that we understand what this issue is really about!
And way to go Tricia for getting the word out!!!
Thank you for your well articulated thoughts. It's a tough issue to address for sure, and I admire your willingess to expose something so sacred to someone who may not get it.
At the root of my position on this is that it pains me to think a loving God would create such an institution as the only road to happiness and then create people who cannot have children, or not develop an attraction to someone of the opposite sex, or not have opportunity to do so through no fault or choice of their own.
I'm not defending gay marriage and certainly not the behavior of all gay people. The effects of some gay activities are not deniable and should be addressed. Never mind that I don't agree with their tactics of pushing "Gay is right".
I'm just not convinced that homosexuality itself is a choice, and I feel strongly that All God's children should be treated equally and have the right to pursue happiness within the laws of the land.
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