John's Blog: October 2009
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Falsehoods from Stand for Marriage Maine
Sunday, October 04, 2009
This morning I was doing some research on both sides of Maine's "Gay Marriage" referendum, Question 1 on the November 2009 state ballot. I found some misinformation on the Stand for Marriage Maine site (the group leading the repeal effort, to overturn gay marriage), which I'll use this site to clear up, at least according to my knowledge.(Click title to read more...)Following is the text of their Q&A page, quoted, with my responses unquoted afterward.
Questions & Answers About Question 1Marriage has also been many other things throughout human history, most notably a means of soldifying political bonds between countries by the marriage of their royals and nobility, completely separate from any romantic interest between the partners. In such a political marriage, procreation is valued entirely for its political advantage (producing heirs for both kingdoms). Marriage has also often been denied to couples of differenting ethnicity. My point is simply that marriage is hardly the monolithic unchanging institution that this page wants to present it as. Marriage has always been more complicated than that.
What is Question 1?
A People’s Veto is a simple and straightforward voter-initiated measure that gives voters the power to decide if they accept or reject an act of the legislature. More than 100,000 Mainers signed the petition to place this People’s Veto on the November ballot as Question 1 to repeal the recent same-sex marriage proposal (LD 1020) passed by Maine’s legislature.
Passage of the Question 1 will restore the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman by asking the citizens of Maine, “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”
Marriage is a pillar of society and should be protected from distortion by politicians and homosexual marriage activists who want to redefine it to suit their objectives.
Question 1 will preserve the centuries-old definition of marriage.
What does a Yes Vote Mean?
Voting Yes on Question 1 does several important things:
* It restores the definition of marriage to what Maine Law has always been and human history has understood marriage to be: between a man and a woman
* It maintains the rights and benefits of Maine same-sex couples who are covered by our domestic partners law. A YES vote does not take anything away from homosexual couples, but protects traditional marriage.See more on this below.
* It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage as happens in Massachusetts, where children as young as the second grade are being taught that they can grow up to marry either a boy or a girl, and either option is the same, while parents cannot opt their children out of such “instruction.”In Massachusetts, teaching on marriage is legislated into the school curriculum, and was so even before gay marriage was legalized there. Maine has no such curriculum requirement, and the law legalizing gay marriage here does change this. This example is simply not applicable here.
* And, a Yes vote on Question 1 puts the power in the hands of the voters, not politicians!If policy regarding treatment of a minority were always left to the votes of the majority, we would probably still have Jim Crow laws in the South.
What does a NO Vote Mean?An amazing amalgamation of unfounded or just plain false claims here.
If Question 1 is defeated, LD 1020 will take effect and the sanctity of marriage will be destroyed. Maine law will no longer promote monogamous marriages and the interests of children. Marriage’s powerful influence on the betterment of society will be lost.
"Sanctity of marriage will be destroyed" - Surely sanctity is in the soul of the beholder? I think they refer to the sanctity of their definition of marriage. Will having gay and lesbian couples participate in viewing their commitment as sacred somehow "destroy" it? Doesn't it just enlarge the pool of people allowed to participate in a sacred institution? "Destroy" is a strong word, not to be tossed around lightly.
Secondly, sanctity is a religious concept, and the legalization of gay marriage in Maine makes no requirements that any religious institution change it's religious definition of marriage.
"Maine law will no longer promote monogamous marriages" - Completely untrue. The gay marriage law does not permit multiple-partner marriage.
"Maine law will no longer promote ... the interests of children" - Most studies that Stand for Marriage references to "prove" this point compare two-parent heterosexual families with one-parent families, not to two-parent homosexual families. I have heard of no studies comparing the latter to two-parent heterosexual families with negative conclusions.
"Marriage’s powerful influence on the betterment of society will be lost." - Again, a strong but unfounded statement. "Lessened" would maybe be a more arguable claim (although the lack of studies proving so would make it harder to argue), but "lost"? No. The rate of gay marriages will still be much lower than the rate of straight divorces, which are well-known to be have a stronger negative effect to society and children. And there are plenty of gay parents who are lovingly and monogamously raising psychologically healthy children, certainly bettering society in the process.
The defeat of the Question 1 would result in the very meaning of marriage being transformed into nothing more than a contractual relationship between adults.Which is all civil marriage is to the state, the only entity which is affected by this law.
No longer will the interests of children and families even be a consideration.The interests of children and families is already not a consideration when a straight couple applies to the state for a civil marriage license.
Defeat of Question 1 will mean that homosexual marriage activists will have been able to redefine marriage for all of society, even for those people who have deep objections to it.Only civil marriage, not the religious practice for any religious institutions.
The marriage between a man and a woman has been at the heart of society since the beginning of time.This has already been covered above. The site is repeating itself.
It promotes the ideal opportunity for children to be raised by a mother and father in a family held together by the legal, communal and spiritual bonds of marriage.
And while divorce and death too frequently disrupt the ideal, as a society we should put the best interests of children first, and that is traditional marriage.
Voting No on Question 1 would destroy marriage as we know it and cause profound harm to society.
Will Question 1 take away any rights for gay and lesbian domestic partners?A contradiction. First it says repealing the gay marriage law won't take away any rights or benefits of gay or lesbian partners under the domestic partners law, then it says that that law "guarantees gay couples many of the rights offered to heterosexual couples". This implies that the domestic partners law does not provide all the same rights that marriage would, so repealing this law will take away whatever rights the marriage law provides that the domestic partners law does not.
No.
Question 1 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits from gay or lesbian partners who are covered by Maine’s domestic partners law.
Maine law guarantees gay couples many of the rights offered to heterosexual couples.
Passage of Question 1 will not change that.
Federal law controls other rights and changing the definition of marriage in Maine similarly won’t change that.This is true. So even with the gay marriage law, gay and lesbian couples will not gain the federal benefits of marriage. But without it, they will additionally lack many of the state benefits.
If Question 1 does not pass, will my children be forced to learn about homosexual marriage at school?No!
Yes.
Without Question 1, teachers will be required to teach young children that there is no difference between homosexual marriage and traditional marriage and parents will lose control over what their kids learn in school about marriage and sexual orientation.Maine is not Massachusetts. Our laws are different. This has already been clarified up towards the top of this essay. Parker vs. Hurly took place in Massachusetts, and has no relevance in Maine (because it involves laws which Maine does not have, and because cases in states other than Maine have no legal power of precedence in Maine.)
This is not a hypothesis.
It has already happened.
In states like Massachusetts where same-sex marriage has been legalized.
Children as young as second graders are taught that there is no difference between marriage and same-sex “marriages.”
Worse, parents who do not want their children exposed to this homosexual marriage instruction have been denied an opportunity to opt their children out. (See Parker vs. Hurley)
Why was a People’s Veto needed? Don’t we already have a law clarifying the definition of marriage?And people of a variety of different faiths also stand united in enlarging the definition to included committed and monogomous gay and lesbian couples.
“An Act to Promote Marriage Equality and Affirm Religious Freedom” was passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor on May 6, and is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the Legislature in mid-June. Without a People’s Veto, Mainers will be denied the right that voters in 30 other states have already exercised, which is to decide this critically important question for ourselves. It is wrong for politicians and homosexual marriage activists to redefine marriage for all of society without giving Maine voters an opportunity to have their say.
Who supports this initiative?
A wide range of national, state and local pro-family organizations, churches and individuals have formed a broad-based coalition to enact a People’s Veto, which more than 100,000 Mainers supported to qualify for the November ballot.
People of a variety of different faiths stand united in preserving the definition of marriage in Maine.
To view a list of supporters, visit www.standformarriagemaine.comYou just said above that they have many of the same rights, not all. Which is it?
What will happen to the existing same-sex partnership laws if Question 1 passes?
Nothing.
All laws on the books regarding same-sex couples will remain intact.
Gays and lesbians in a committed relationship will continue to enjoy all the legal rights and benefits that married couples enjoy, under existing Maine law. Question 1 does not affect those rights and benefits.
Where can I find more information about Question 1 or get involved in the campaign?For more information on marriage equality, including volunteering, donating and helping to spread the word about the importance of voting NO on Question 1, see protectmaineequality.org
You can visit the People’s Veto site at www.standformarriagemaine.com or send an email at info@standformarriagemaine.com.
There are a number of ways to get involved with the campaign, including volunteering, donating and helping to spread the word about the importance of voting YES on Question 1.
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