Pro-family activism that makes a difference!
 
 

VICTORY: Maryland pro-family activists stop "gay marriage" bill in Legislature!

Bill had been predicted to pass easily

POSTED: March 14, 2011

For months it's been widely predicted that Maryland's "gay marriage" bill would be passed and signed by the Governor.  But this past Friday afternoon, after a week of intense pressure from pro-family forces, the Maryland House of Representatives finally gave up and effectively killed the "gay marriage" bill for this session.

Technically, the bill was sent back to the Judiciary Committee. But this was done to avoid an actual vote where legislators would have to go on record. The actual effect of that was to kill it for the year.

VICTORY from the jaws of defeat

All week it was predicted that it would pass. The hope had been to stop it in the Senate. When that didn't happen it looked pretty bleak. But nobody gave up. It was an incredible and inspiring victory!

The newspapers didn't mince words about what happened. As the Washington Times reported:

[C]o-sponsors acknowledged the bill was returned to avoid outright defeat on the House floor and said the committee's amending or resubmitting the legislation this year is unlikely.

"Oh, it's dead," said Delegate Curt Anderson, a Baltimore city Democrat and committee member who co-sponsored the bill. "When you resubmit a bill to the Judiciary Committee, you probably won't see it anymore this year."

The failed vote was a stunning turn of events, considering the Senate passed the legislation with little debate or opposition just two weeks ago. In fact, with predictions that the bill would have an easier time passing in the more liberal House, Republicans and other opponents began to turn their focus toward a 2012 referendum to overturn the bill.

Read entire article HERE

The Washington Post was equally blunt:

The Maryland House of Delegates effectively killed a measure Friday that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state -- halting momentum in a year in which proponents thought they would prevail.

Just two weeks ago, it appeared the bill could sail to the governor's desk. Supporters were optimistic after the legislation cleared the Senate, generally considered the state's more conservative chamber...

Despite pleas from gay colleagues Friday, the General Assembly, which will end its 90-day session in early April, won't consider the measure again before January at the earliest.

"The Senate vote was definitely a wake-up call," said Minority Leader Nancy C. Jacobs (R-Harford). "It got the churches involved. It got people involved. Quite frankly, I thought it was going to fly through the House. But once delegates started hearing from their constituents, they started thinking twice."

Read entire article HERE

A week of unprecedented pro-family activism

The move capped a week of across-the-board pro-family activism at a level rarely seen anywhere in America. There was a flood of calls to House members every day. There were daily demonstrations outside the State House, regular State House prayer vigils, and groups going office to office inside. A large number of groups, churches, and individuals independently stepped up and got involved, most of them only loosely coordinated (if at all).

As we recently reported, MassResistance had been supplying activists with materials and information, and had been on Baltimore radio warning people what would happen in the schools should this pass. We even provided copies of the current Massachusetts marriage certificates, with "Party A and Party B" instead of husband and wife.

David Parker case debated in House

During week's debate on the House floor the infamous David Parker case was discussed at length, thanks to activists using MassResistance materials.

David Parker, his wife, and another family sued the Lexington, Mass. school system over teaching homosexuality and transgenderism to their children in elementary school without their knowledge or consent. In 2007 a federal judge in Boston ruled (and it was upheld on appeal) that because of "gay marriage" in Massachusetts, parents of elementary school children had no right to be notified or to opt their children out when schools teach them that homosexual relationships are normal and healthy. And since it's a "diversity" issue, the state sex-ed notification law does not apply.

It shocked members to the point where the pro-gay legislators began telling lies about the nature of the decision, which activists immediately were able to dispute.

David Parker, a parent of a kindergartner in Lexington, Massachusetts, was arrested and sent to jail when he insisted that the school officials notify him when teaching his 6-year-old son about homosexuality and transgenderism. He and another family later filed a federal Civil Rights lawsuit. Federal judges ruled against them  -- and they lost in federal court because of "gay marriage" in Massachusetts.

Pressure from leadership to support the bill

The establishment desperately wanted this bill to pass. House members were getting considerable pressure from the House leadership and even national politicians to continue their support. A number of freshmen House members in particular complained about the leadership's pressure, we were told. The Governor was actively lobbying them to vote for the bill, as was U.S. Rep Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), the House Minority Whip in Congress.

In addition, the liberal press, including all the major newspapers and TV stations, were fiercely supporting the bill and were doing their best to marginalize opponents. But the effect of that faded once the pro-family forces got to work.

The pro-family pressure wore them down

It was an incredible thing to see. It started the week before at the House's public hearing on the bill. There was a huge pro-family outpouring -- far outnumbering the homosexual lobby -- which the legislators clearly weren't expecting. And even though it passed that House committee, it was by a thin margin after a few members got cold feet but were pressured by leadership at the last minute. The pro-family momentum was on, and it was only getting stronger as the bill went to the full House last week for debate and a vote.

The unending flood of phone calls, visits, emails, and general pro-family pressure intensified, especially from constituents in the home districts. As the week went on, several committed pro-"gay-marriage" House members (who had co-sponsored the bill) began withdrawing their support.

It became clear that it was only going to get worse as time went on. In the end they were forced to formally give up for this session.

The proponents have stated that they intend to bring this up again next year. But after this defeat it will be harder to gain much momentum. And the pro-family forces will be ready for them.