Marriage Vote Today; Statesman Makes Our Case

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

MARRIAGE VOTE SCHEDULED FOR TODAY IN IDAHO SENATE

The Idaho State Senate is scheduled to convene at 10:30 AM this morning. The debate and vote on the marriage amendment will begin at about 10:45 AM. You may attend in person, or by accessing the following link, listen to live audio streaming of the debate.

Last year’s proposed amendment failed by three votes. The votes of the following senators will be crucial, as the three votes necessary to send the amendment to voters this fall will most likely need to come from this group:

Sen. John Andreason (Boise, Dist. 15)

Sen. Dick Compton (Coeur d’Alene, Dist. 4)

Sen. Tom Gannon (Buhl, Dist. 23)

Sen. Brad Little (Emmett, Dist. 11)

All are Republican senators who voted against last year’s marriage amendment.

You have done your part

Regardless of the outcome, I commend you for making your voice heard. One senator informed me yesterday that he had heard from almost 400 citizens, only a dozen of whom wanted him to vote against the amendment. Other senators have received several thousand (!) pieces of communication, the vast majority urging them to vote for the amendment.

We live in a participatory democratic republic, and you have done your part by making your wishes clear to your elected representatives. It is evident that the public has been far more involved this year than in years past, and that’s simply because you realize what is at stake here.

There is no more foundational issue for any society than its basic understanding of marriage and the family, and which intimate relationships it will recognize and endorse. You’ve made it known that the will of the Idaho citizenry is that our senators reserve marriage for the union of one man and one woman, and that marriage look-alikes should not receive similar recognition.

Rest assured that your engagement in the process has had a profound and dramatic effect in the halls of our state legislature.

Live audio streaming of senate floor debate

STATESMAN ARTICLE MAKES OUR CASE

In a transparent attempt to sway senators emotionally on the day of the vote, today’s Idaho Statesman carries a front-page story about a gay couple in Boise. The splashy article is illustrated with seven color photos, including a picture of a text message in which one member of this couple addresses his partner as “pumpkin.”

However, the Statesman has unwittingly made our case for us. We have contended all along that the amendment will not take a single right away from gays, does not interfere with their freedom to enter into private relationships of their choosing, and does not interfere with their ability to make legal arrangements with their partners on matters such as hospital visitation, medical decisions, and inheritance.

The article admits that, since gay marriage is already illegal in Idaho, the amendment will have “little immediate practical impact” on this couple. Translation: it will not take any of their rights away.

They’ve made legal arrangements “to deal with issues like joint property ownership and hospital visitation rights.” They are “the beneficiaries on each other's life insurance policies” and “each other’s emergency contact.”

Translation: contrary to emotionally charged testimony before House and Senate committees, this amendment will not interfere with their freedom to make arrangements for hospital visitation, medical decisions, or disposition of assets.

One partner is quoted in the article saying, “This is my partner and I want him to be for the rest of my life.” Translation: there is nothing in Idaho law that prevents them from making and keeping a commitment like that to each other.

Gays can live without fear in Idaho

The fact that this couple can be featured on the front page of Idaho’s largest newspaper proves clearly that gays have little or nothing to fear in Idaho. (You won’t find feature articles on gay couples in Saudi newspapers, for example.)

Gays have claimed all along that all they want is to be “left alone.” As this article clearly proves, they have no need to worry on that score. If all they want is to be allowed to conduct their private lives the way they wish, they already have that, and this amendment will not interfere in the least with that freedom.

So what motivates them, then, to oppose legislation like this? I would suggest that the truth is that gays are not in fact content to be left alone. What they want is society’s highest level of endorsement and approval for their lifestyle.

As one of them admits, “You want it (i.e., the relationship) recognized.” In other words, they want to insist that society give public sanction to their lifestyle, and treat homosexual relationships as the moral and legal equivalent of heterosexual marriage. This is the one thing a healthy society cannot do.

The Idaho Statesman - 'What do you do if your state deems you unacceptable...?'

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