By Cherilyn Bacon
It is vital that you pass this article on to your friends who live in Utah who need to be fully informed on this issue. Click here to send this article to your friends, neighbors, and family in Utah who need this information to make an informed decision on this vital issue.
On November 2nd, Utah voters will have an opportunity to show the rest of the nation where it stands on the issue of same sex marriage. On the ballot is Amendment Three, the "Joint Resolution on Marriage," passed by 2/3rds of the Utah State Legislature in the 2004 session.
Recently The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endorsed amending the constitution to protect marriage, but not any particular language, with the following statement:
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints favors a constitutional amendment preserving marriage as the lawful union of a man and a woman.”
In
the most predominantly Latter-day Saint populated region of the
However, in spite of the endorsement and the overwhelming support in the Utah State Legislature, Amendment Three is now mired in confusion.
In a surprising announcement, all three candidates for Utah State Attorney General gave headline news with a joint statement in opposition to Amendment Three.
The candidates, parroting a statement orchestrated by the liberal pro-homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual Don't Amend Alliance, say that amending the state constitution will bring unnecessary litigation, that it will be struck down as unconstitutional, and that the language of Amendment Three's Sentence Two "goes too far."
Wilkins: Objections “Not Valid or Accurate”
Supporters of marriage between a man and a woman strongly disagree. Two political issues committees supporting the November ballot measure, Yes! For Marriage and The Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance are challenging the candidates' positions.
Richard Wilkins, BYU Constitutional Law professor, Managing Director of the BYU World Family Policy Center, Chairman of the Defend Marriage Project and Yes! For Marriage Legal Advisory Committee, has challenged the three candidates to a debate with other legal scholars.
“It is essential that the voters have the facts on Amendment Three before they vote on it in November,” Wilkins said. “So far, most of the information available to the public has come from the opponents to the amendment, and we have not found a single one of their objections to be valid or accurate.”
Mark Shurtleff, the incumbent candidate for attorney general has declined to debate, and the other two candidates have not yet responded.
Gayle Ruzicka, of The Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance, said, “If Mark Shurtleff is so concerned about this legislation and its affect, why didn’t he come before the legislative hearing and testify against it as he has done on several other pieces of legislation in the past?”
The True Legal Effect of Amendment Three
Yes! For Marriage has also issued an 8-page legal analysis that responds to the concerns raised by opponents, posted on the Yes! For Marriage website at www.yesformarriage.org].
Joining Professor Wilkins are two other legal scholars who drafted this document defending Amendment Three. They are:
· Bill Duncan - legal counsel, The Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based think tank
·
Monte Stewart -
former United States Attorney, Director Rex E. Lee Advocacy Program
- J. Reuben Clark Law School, Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of
the United States, Special Assistant Utah State Attorney General
and recently returned from a year at Oxford studying same-sex
marriage
Duncan said, "This amendment contains a single concept in two parts. The first sentence explains what legal marriage is and the second part describes what it is not."
Stewart added. "The issue is not personality or sincerity or earnestness. The issue is good legal analysis versus legal analysis that just doesn't wash."
Their main points are:
1. Amendment Three is necessary because it will provide long-term protection. Recent court decisions in Massachusetts and at the U.S. Supreme Court put Utah's existing state statute in jeopardy.
2.
Sentence Two is necessary because Utah must protect itself from being forced
to recognize "civil unions" from other states. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made it clear that
"a civil union is simply marriage by another name."
The California State Legislature also recently turned Proposition
22 on end by allowing civil unions. Sentence Two would prevent
this from happening in Utah.
3. Opponents of Amendment Three say it would invite litigation. "The mere possibility of litigation over an amendment is not a valid reason to reject the law," wrote Duncan. "Every provision of state law, whether statutory or constitutional, is subject to challenge for serious or frivolous reasons. Thus, if the threat of litigation were an appropriate reason not to enact a law, little or no law would be promulgated."
Yes! For Marriage's legal analysis concludes that Amendment Three will have no effect on benefits, common law marriage, contractual agreements between two parties such as wills, estates and insurance policies.
News Conference Supporting Amendment 3 Features 2/3 of the Utah Legislature
Meanwhile, The Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance held a news conference yesterday at the Utah State Capitol. Senator Chris Buttars and Representative LaVar Christensen, co-sponsors of the bill and also co-chairs of the Alliance, were flanked by the 2/3rds of the Utah legislature who attended to defend the measure.
Who Opposes the Marriage Amendment in Utah?
The Don't Amend Alliance "partners" are a Who's Who of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups and Utah Democratic Party politics. They include:
·
Common Cause of Utah
·
First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City
·
GLBT Community Center of Utah
·
Human Rights Campaign Meet Up Salt Lake City
·
Lesbian Gay Student Union at the University of Utah
·
National Organization of Women Utah Chapter
·
People with AIDS Coalition of Utah
·
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah
·
Swerve
·
Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden
·
University of Utah LGBT Resource Center
·
Utah Stonewall Democrats
·
Wasatch Affirmation Mormons
Many Utah media outlets, owned by liberal media organizations and centered outside of Utah, have written editorials opposing Amendment Three. Writer and syndicated columnist Don Feder recently reported that in most news rooms across the U.S. 70-80% will be same sex marriage supporters, while Americans oppose it by better than a 2-1 margin, according to a recent Pew Research Poll.
Does It Go “Too Far”
Amendment Three says: "Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect."
Candidates for Attorney General stated, "It goes too far," and on an interview with Doug Wright on KSL radio last week, they reported that it is "too narrowly constructed" and that "it would invite costly litigation." To read the legal analysis [click here].
Why Utah’s Vote is So Important to the Federal Marriage Amendment
If Utah's marriage measure fails or wins by only a slim margin, it would not only send a devastating message to the rest of the nation it would also be an embarrassment to Latter-day Saint voters whose church has endorsed the concept.
"If Utah isn't for marriage between a man and a woman, then who is?" a by-stander commented to Meridian Magazine Publisher Scot Proctor at a recent Heritage Foundation meeting in Washington, D.C.
Defeat could also potentially be a real setback for supporters of the Federal Marriage Amendment that have been gaining momentum with landslide state constitutional victories elsewhere.
Each state initiative is essentially a straw poll for our Congressional representatives. What does Utah want to tell the nation and Congress?
"When 71% of Missourians in the Show Me state passed its state constitutional amendment protecting marriage, they also showed our legislators and judges how out of touch with the will of the people the decisions of Massachusetts and the U.S. Supreme Court were," said Sheldon Kinsel, Vice President of Yes! For Marriage. "It gave the Federal Marriage Amendment a real boost."
What Do Utahns Say about Amendment Three?
KSL-TV anchor Carole Mikita reported, "A Survey USA poll shows voters appear almost evenly split about the proposed marriage amendment, even if it creates legal problems for the state."
The poll asked Utahans if they would support the amendment, hearing that it "could make it harder for future legislators to give certain rights and privileges to unmarried couples. Thirty-nine percent said they were more likely to support it, 34% said less likely, 23% said it makes no difference, and 3% were not sure."
The poll also asked respondents if the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would influence their vote. "36% said a lot, 12% said a little, 51% said not at all, and 2% were not sure."
If this poll is accurate, it means that if the election were held today, the undecided that vote would decide the future of our children. Supporters of marriage between a man and a woman in Utah have some work ahead and will be counting on every voter to rally at the polls November 2nd.
Republicans are hoping the Huntsman for Governor campaign will step up to the plate to bat for the amendment soon and begin to draw that swing vote.
Fortunately, for defenders of marriage, it is still early in the election season to educate the voters.
A Defining Moment for Utah
Come Election Day, all eyes will be on Utah in a nationally defining moment. Will Utah voters follow Nebraska and Missouri's lead in overwhelming public support of defending marriage? Utah, of all states, the center of family values and the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ought to be able to slam-dunk this amendment.
If you live in Utah, November 2nd is your opportunity to make the difference for your children's future and to define marriage in Utah. It is also your chance to make it a defining moment for Utah to stand for something vitally important to the future of our religious freedom.
What Can Latter-day Saints Do?
The ACLU has already challenged marriage laws and is poised for more attacks on the family and religion. Latter-day Saints in Utah and worldwide must ask this fundamental question: Is it worth fighting for marriage? Is the threat of the ACLU attacking our religious liberties and beliefs once again something to surrender to so easily?
Here is what you can do to help defend marriage in Utah or nationally:
· Go to www.yesformarriage.org, contribute and sign up for news alerts
· Contact the Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance at 801-756-2499
· Contact the Huntsman campaign at 800-737-1811 to volunteer
· E-mail us at the Family News Network to become a part of our new Family Leadership Network and Legal Defense Foundation: CherilynBacon@comcast.net
· Send this article to as many friends in Utah as you possibly can by clicking here.
