Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Support Pennsylvania's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)


Contact Governor Corbett and your State Senator and Representative to insist that Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane support the PA DOMA, which has been state law since 1996



The following was researched and written by a friend.  I thank her for all her help and hard work on this article concerning this very important issue.  


While not directly related to abortion, I believe the current assault on marriage is a direct consequence of society’s previously accepted errors that still affect and afflict us.  

These errors include: 
  •   Misunderstanding about the harmful effects of contraception on the human person’s mind, body, soul and relationships with others.
  •  Ignorance of and silence about the countless evils of abortion.
  • Acceptance of abortion as a legal "right."
All of these societal deformations lead us further down the slippery slope of sexual dysfunction to societal acceptance of homosexuality in ways that destroy: the individual, true marriage between one man and one woman, and society as a whole. 

Please take action as described in the information below to help us: stop the slide; avoid hitting the bottom; and reverse the course for our grandchildren and theirs.

    For quite some time now, true marriage between one man and one woman has been under attack in Pennsylvania at the level of state government. For many important reasons, this societal foundation must remain unchanged. We must do our best to remind our government officials in PA that we support true marriage.


    Last summer (2013), PA State Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Kane declared (read the July 11th press release using this link); and (the July 12th statement from AG Kane using this link)  that she would refuse to uphold PA’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which:
    • has been PA law for almost 20 years (since 1996).
    • statutorily defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman in the state of Pennsylvania.
    • rejects the legality of any “marriage” formed in other jurisdictions if the “marriage” does not meet the DOMA definition.
    AG Kane’s decision to ignore this law is wrong for many reasons, and Randall Wenger describes some of those reasons quite well in the article that can be found at this link:

    As PA citizens, we should:
    • voice our concern about AG Kane’s decision by contacting:
      • Governor Corbett
      • your state senator and congressmen.
    • encourage our elected officials to insist that she uphold this existing law.
    If you wish to contact Gov. Corbett or your congressman by e-mail, here is an address for the governor and a link for finding your state congressmen:


    * Governor Corbett
      555 Walnut Street, 7th Floor
     Harrisburg, PA 17101
     Phone: 717-787-2500
     Fax: 717=722-8284
     Email: Governor@pa.gov




    For what it’s worth and whenever possible, I highly recommend faxing your messages to state representatives and senators and even to the governor as:



    • Each elected official receives countless e-mails (some of which are likely dumped as spam)
    • A hardcopy letter often receives greater attention than an e-mail, but unfortunately that letter often requires more time to pass through greater security before reaching the intended official.

    A fax solves this problem because: it’s an “instant letter and while legislators receive fewer faxes today, their offices still have (and use) working fax machines.


    Not every concerned citizen has access to a fax machine, but if you still do have one (or know someone who does), I strongly recommend this “best of both worlds” by faxing any written information to your elected officials almost every time.  (Links for both State Senators and Representatives above have fax numbers listed in the contact information.)


    When contacting our governor and your congressman about this issue, you can write your own letter, or you could use or modify the letter below:




    Date
    (Governor Corbett or your state senator or representative):

    Last summer (2013), PA State Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Kane declared (refer to links for the July 11th press release and the statement from AG Kane above) that she would refuse to uphold PA’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which supports true marriage (between a man and a woman). Her decision to ignore this law is wrong for many reasons.

    The PA DOMA:
    ·         became law almost 20 years ago (1996).
    ·         statutorily defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman in the State of Pennsylvania.
    ·         rejects the legality of any “marriage” formed in other jurisdictions if the “marriage” does not meet the DOMA definition.
    ·         is consistent with the state’s right to enact policies that support true marriage allows PA voters to maintain a statewide consensus on true marriage.

    Please do everything possible (indirectly or directly within your power as our governor [or PA legislator]) to ensure that ALL PA officials uphold:
    ·          the PA DOMA.
    ·          any other existing laws that defend marriage.
    ·          develop and enact other laws if needed to preserve true marriage. 

    If AG Kane (or any official) does not uphold laws that support true marriage, then please replace her (or any other official) with someone who will uphold these laws.
    As the most essential building block of society, true marriage is under attack everywhere. Thanks for doing your job to support true marriage; please continue to do so in every possible way, and know that this Pennsylvanian supports true marriage.
                 
               Sincerely,

    If needed, consider the following reasons to support true marriage:
    1. Marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation for the nuclear family and thus for the culture of life. Every child has the basic right to live with his biological mother and father united in marriage to help him grow to his greatest potential.

    2. Unexpected circumstances might prevent a child from being raised by his biological mother and father, but true marriage between father and mother is best and thus the only way by which society should support children's needs under ordinary circumstances.
    3. True marriage (between one man and one woman):
    • affects every aspect of society
    • is
      • unique and the most essential building block of society
      • a personal relationship with great public significance
      • always much more than a:
        • private affair.
        • relationship between adults
    4.  To protect true marriage, we must always acknowledge that:
    • marriage is uniquely different because it is always defined as the union between one man and one woman.
    • treating unique institutions differently:
      • conforms with reality
      • is not unjust discrimination.
    5. Society protects the basic human rights of all people in many ways, but a legal redefinition of marriage:
    • is not logically possible, given what marriage truly is.
    • serves no one's rights, especially those of children, but ultimately, even those of adults.
    6. At least 77 very useful non-religious reasons to support true marriage can be found  using this link.

    No comments:

    Post a Comment