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SAME SEX MARRIAGE VOTE FAILS IN SENATE: Battle Back to the States
The U.S. Senate voted 49-to-48 against shutting off debate on the same sex marriage issue, considerably short of the 60 votes required to move ahead formal considering of the amendment, let alone the 67 votes required by the Constitution to approve the measure.
Dr. Paul Cameron, Chairman of the Family Research Institute in Colorado Springs is conducting talk shows discussing what this vote was good and not bad.
During your interview, Dr. Cameron explains how the same sex measure was a sham, a mere shell of a bill aimed at placating social/moral conservatives. Had the amendment become law, it would have permitted the legalization of same sex marriage, including all rights and privileges, sans the title.
Dr. Cameron stated, “Senator Ted Kennedy is WAY off base, since this amendment only saves the name (and federal benefits) for marriage, but permits civil unions, domestic partners, and reciprocal beneficiaries among others.”
Cameron continued, “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, in an opinion piece in the Boston Herald, condemned the Republican drive to pass a federal marriage amendment as a divisive political maneuver meant to rally the GOP's conservative base. "A vote for this amendment is a vote for bigotry -- pure and simple," Kennedy wrote. "A vote for it is a vote against civil unions, against domestic partnerships, and against efforts by states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law." SOURCE: Boston Herald 6/5/06.
Dr. Cameron also discusses the many state initiatives for and against same sex marriage.
Your listeners will appreciate receiving Dr. Cameron’s White Paper available at no charge. It is titled, “Can Anything Be Done to Stop Gay ‘Rights’?”
In addition, Dr. Cameron discusses a recent study that concludes homosexuals are more likely to have homosexual children and the long term impact a significantly larger percentage of the population would likely have on society.
Dr. Cameron explains that unless same sex marriage is stopped quickly, America will be a far different place than it currently is, and not for the better.
For instance, Cameron says that studies show that a third of homosexuals’ children become homosexual. That’s the major finding from the largest study of adult children of homosexuals. Children of transsexuals were also more apt to become homosexual or transsexual. At least 23 (30%) of 77 adult children of homosexuals were homosexual and 25 (32%) heterosexual. Of 10 adults with transsexual parents, at least one became transsexual and another homosexual.
Said Cameron, “Our society has been told by gays and professional associations that children were not more apt to become homosexual if their parents were. We’ve been told that genital mutilations by parents who pretend to be the opposite sex wouldn’t have any effect on their children,” said investigator Paul Cameron. “Too much bogus information about homosexual parents has been sold to the public. Most people think homosexual parents create an environment that stimulates homosexual desires in their children. We expect children to be confused when a father decides to pretend he’s a woman and demand that his family participate in his charade.”
Cameron continued, saying, “The American Psychological Association and National Association of Social Workers have told court after court that common sense is wrong. They say foster care and adoption by homosexuals is absolutely harmless -- there is no correlation between children adopting homosexual tastes and the sexual proclivities of their parents. Examination of three published reports by pro-gay investigators shows the falsity of these claims. These professional associations seem more interested in pushing for social acceptance of homosexuality than what’s good for children.”
Almost all other estimates have been based on small samples of children and teens, not adults. At least 12 (55%) of 22 daughters and 3 (21%) of 14 sons of lesbians; 5 (29%) of 17 daughters and 3 (17%) of 18 sons of gays were currently homosexual. At least 25 (32%) were currently heterosexual.
Dr. Cameron is chairman of the Family Research Institute, a Colorado Springs, CO think-tank. The study is published on-line in the Journal of Biosocial Science 2006;38:413-418, sponsored by Cambridge University Press.
ABOUT DR. PAUL CAMERON…
Dr. Paul Cameron is a Researcher/Clinician and a reviewer for the prestigious Canadian Medical Association Journal and has been a Reviewer for: American Psychologist and British Medical Journal. His specialty is in sexual social policy and the social and personal effects of various habit-systems (e.g., drug abuse, smoking, homosexuality). He has advance expertise in philosophic, economic, and sexual factors as they bear upon personal & collective health and cultural viability.
Having received his Ph.D from The University of Colorado in Social Personality Psychology, Dr. Cameron is a leading expert on sexual and homosexual research, trends and behavior.
Since 1982 Dr. Cameron has been the chairman of Family Research Institute, Inc. of Colorado Springs. He has taught courses on human sexuality, counseling, marriage & the family, personality and gerontology.
More Americans oppose gay 'marriage,' poll finds
By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Public opposition to "marriages" between homosexuals is at an all-time high, according to a poll released yesterday.
When asked whether they thought same-sex "marriages" should be recognized by the law as valid and come with the same rights as traditional marriages, 68 percent of the respondents in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they should not.
Twenty-eight percent said same-sex "marriages" should be valid and 4 percent had no opinion. The survey of 443 adults was conducted March 18 to 20.
A similar poll by Gallup last year found that 55 percent thought homosexual "marriages" should not be valid, while 42 percent said they should be recognized.
In addition, 466 adults were asked in the same time period what marital arrangements they thought should be recognized for homosexual couples.
The poll found that 20 percent favored same-sex "marriage," 27 percent said civil unions, and 45 percent said "neither."
When asked whether they favored a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as "between a man and a woman," 57 percent said yes, while 37 percent were opposed.
Last year, 48 percent favored the amendment and 46 percent opposed it.
Currently, 43 states have laws that bar recognition of same-sex "marriages," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Twenty-six states have only statutes defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, and 17 have constitutional language. Seven states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin -- have neither.
Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether their state should amend its constitution to outlaw same-sex "marriage." Voters in Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee will weigh in on the issue next year.
The debate is a complex one. The South Carolina state Senate will vote on a bill Thursday that would place the question on the state's 2006 ballot.
One economist told the lawmakers that the state will lose "money, talent and opportunity" if it gains a reputation as being intolerant. The economist cited a 1993 study that found anti-homosexual attitudes in Cincinnati cost the city $46 million in convention business.
Meanwhile, Connecticut's state Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee approved a bill Wednesday granting same-sex couples the same rights as traditional married couples. The General Assembly will vote on the matter next month.
Things differ in one corner of the consumer realm, however.
"Same-sex marriage might have polarized lawmakers, but it has galvanized advertisers in the gay press," the Gay Press Report said March 21.
The survey from New York-based Rivendell Media found that spending on advertising in 139 homosexual publications reached $207 million last year, an increase of 28 percent from 2003. Fifteen percent of ads for services were for same-sex "wedding" consultants, the analysis found.
NEW YORK TIMES, June 7, 2006
Gay Marriage Ban Fails in Senate Vote
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, June 7 – The Senate today soundly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, dismissing arguments by social conservatives that federal intervention is needed to preserve the traditional tie between a man and woman.
After two days of sometimes emotional argument, the Senate voted 49-to-48 against shutting off debate on the issue, well short of the 60 votes needed to move ahead with formally considering the amendment, let alone the 67 votes required by the Constitution to approve it.
The decision effectively killed the issue for the year in the Senate, although the House of Representatives is expected it to consider its own version later this summer.
Democratic critics of the proposed amendment said its Republican authors advanced it to rally socially conservative voters even though lawmakers knew it would be defeated. Opponents of the amendment said that marriage should remain regulated by the states and that the same-sex ban should not be added to the Constitution.
"All over the country, married heterosexual couples are shaking their heads and wondering how exactly the prospect of gay marriage threatens the health of their marriages," said Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin.
Supporters of the ban gained one vote from the last time the Senate considered the issue prior to the 2004 election. But they still were unable to break the symbolic 50-vote threshold despite an increase in the Republican majority. Two Republicans who sided with them the last time, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, voted against limiting debate.
"The courts have basically upheld the right of states to legislate and protect themselves and that was not the case last time," Mr. Gregg said. "I don't think we have to put it in the Constitution until there is some sort of court decision that would put the states at risk."
Senate champions of the marriage amendment said they were not deterred by the outcome and promised to continue to press the issue. They said they were gaining ground at the state level, where voters and state legislatures continue to approve initiatives banning same-sex marriage.
"We have 45 states that have defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman," said Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas. "Since the last time we voted in the Senate, we've seen a total of 14 states take this issue up on the ballot. And you've got another seven set for this fall. So we are making progress."
Though some Republicans have suggested the Senate would be better served politically by focusing on issues that voters see as more pressing, the author of the amendment did not see it that way.
"If it's up to me, we'll have a vote on this issue every year," said Senator Wayne Allard, Republican of Colorado. "I think it's important to the American people."
© 2006 The New York Times Company
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