Massachusetts
Marriage Petition Drive Needs You
If
you are a citizen of Massachusetts, this article is very
important for you. If you are not, please pass this on
to your Massachusetts friends. To get involved in the petition drive for
the constitutional amendment to protect marriage, send an
email to info@voteonmarriage.org
and an electronic copy of the petition will be sent
to you. Please help.
In
November of 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by one vote made same-sex marriage legal in the state,
sweeping away millennia of tradition, law and culture as
well as the citizens’ opportunity to weigh in on this critical
matter.
It
was not only an arrogant move, but a radical one. Now a
coalition of groups supported by Family Leader Network
are in the midst of a petition drive to work toward a constitutional
amendment in Massachusetts defining marriage as between
a man and a woman.
The
proposed amendment reads:
When recognizing marriages entered into after the adoption
of this amendment by the people, the Commonwealth and its
political subdivisions shall define marriage only as the
union or one man and one woman.
The
first step is to get 120,000 signatures on petitions and
returned to the Vote On Marriage office by November 15th.
Only 66,000 certified signatures are needed, but they are
easily disqualified and thus the higher number is needed.
Frankly,
with only days to go in this campaign, the signatures are
running short — which means your help is needed. Simply
drop a note to info@voteonmarriage.org
and you will receive instructions on how to download a petition
or you may opt to receive a paper petition in the mail.
Your
help is needed urgently.
The
rules for gathering signatures are quite specific in Massachusetts
— and you will receive the instruction you need from the
Vote on Marriage coalition team. All the certified voters
on one page must be from the same town. A single signature
from a person from another town invalidates the entire petition.
Here’s
what to do:
- Go to www.familyleader.net
and sign up to receive the free email subscription.
This will come once a week to keep you informed about
national issues, but a local version just for Massachusetts
citizens will also come to your inbox to keep you updated
on Massachusetts issues and this petition drive. The
Family Leader Network is an independent organization
whose purpose is to rally citizens to support family,
marriage and the moral foundation of our society. It
is not affiliated with any church or other civic organization.
Feel free to invite anyone who cares about these issues
to participate. The mission statement and principles
as well as several articles describing the organization
are at www.familyleader.net.
The Massachusetts Family Leader Network email will not only
keep you up to date on the constitutional amendment, but
it will also keep you informed on many other issues that
are currently important in Massachusetts, which will be
voted on this November.
- Send an email to info@voteonmarriage.org and request
a petition. You will receive instructions on what you
need to do.
This
petition drive could be in jeopardy without your help —
so please take the time right now to request a petition
and walk it around to your friends and neighbors.
It
isn’t a hard sell. It is a matter of whether the people
or the courts should make these kinds of decisions.
If
we can get the 120,000 signatures we need in Massachusetts,
then the constitutional amendment will presented at two
constitutional conventions in 2006 and again in 2007 where
25% of the legislators have to approve it. The constitutional
amendment would finally be voted on by the public in 2008.
For
more information go to www.voteonmarriage.org
