Houston Democrats

First the two letters:

Houston Chronicle | Section: Editorial

/Oct. 9, 2005, 7:22PM/

LETTERS

Marriage and family values

*Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle*

Marriage and family values

Depravity levels?

One only needs to look at the news of a recent marriage between three people in the Netherlands to see that changing the traditional definition of marriage does indeed lead to a slippery slope with no bottom. The Netherlands was one of the first European countries to allow gay marriage, now it's allowing polygamy.

So, those of us who believe that gay marriage is wrong are mean-spirited bigots?

Does that make those who believe polygamy is wrong bigots as well?

To what level of depravity must we sink before someone who stands up for what they believe is right (and says so out loud) is no longer labeled as a mean-spirited bigot?

Marriage to a 10-year-old? Marriage to your dog? Marriage to 10 other people at once?

BRIAN BANKSTON Fort Worth

 

A clear message

Having been a teacher for more than 33 years, I know that mixed messages never work very well.

The marriage amendment, Proposition 2, will make it very clear that traditional marriage is the standard for our state.

Values voters recognize that we are in a battle for our culture. We know that our society is crumbling under the constant bombardments against the traditional family.

We see the sexualization of our culture and encounter almost daily those people who want to defy healthy lifestyle choices in order to live a rebellious existence.

As reported by the Centers for Disease Control in 2004, homosexual and bisexual men account for a majority of the estimated 850,000 to 950,000 Americans living with HIV.

However, these numbers are actually incomplete because the CDC figures still do not include HIV data from all 50 states.

Many states do not report confidential HIV infection through name-based reporting, so HIV rates are undoubtedly higher than reported.

Not so coincidentally, the states which do not report their HIV data are some of the most homosexual-friendly ones. These include California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Texas voters will have an opportunity on Nov. 8 to send a clear message: We want the bedrock of our society to be based upon the traditional family.

Our future depends on it.

DONNA GARNER Hewitt

Second ---

Your assignment:

* Write letters to the editor, not just of the Chronicle, but also of your community papers (Springbranch Sun, etc. ). Contact the board cast media s as well.

* THIS IS THE FRAMING ANALYSIS. USE SOME OF IT AS YOUR OPENER

* Why? Because unless you say what you are for, unless you give the undecided a reason to like you, they won't care about your talking points.

Voting NO on proposition #2 is about defending families, all families. It is about the children of those families. This amendment attacks the ability of same gender families to care for their families, and for each other. It attacks common-law families. This is why you must vote NO to proposition #2. Why should any family have to pass a religious test to be given the civil rights all other families take for granted? Why should civil rights and privileges not be available to them? When you vote NO on this amendment, nobody's church will be forced to give their religious blessing to any union of which they disapprove. You will simply be saying that fair is fair, that all families matter.

Among these rights: Rights to attend the bedside of your a sick spouse, rights to pass on real property to your companion upon your death without red tape and delay, rights for you and your spouse to have access to your children's records and their bedsides in case of illness, the right to tax and medical benefits that help to make ends meet for most families these days.

* Here are the TALKING POINTS from the No Nonsense website.

* PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT SAME SEX MARRIAGE OR GAY MARRIAGE.

* People will see this and you will lose them. The masses may be wrong, but they are the masses. We must appeal not to just their presently underdeveloped sense of right and wrong, but also to their self-interest and their high regard for their own rights and privileges.

Why is the Marriage Constitutional Amendment Nonsense?

NONSENSE: Instead of real solutions For Texas, the Texas Legislature failed Texans and did not solve real problems, such as school finance, property tax reform and health insurance for all Texas children. Instead, they focused on nonsense like sexy cheerleading and this amendment, which is discriminatory, hateful and divisive.

NONSENSE: The proposed Constitutional Amendment would use the Texas Bill of Rights to deny rights to some Texans. The Bill of Rights is a sacred document that for more than one hundred years was used to afford rights to all Texans. It is nonsense to change it to deny rights to some Texans.

NONSENSE: It is already the law. Civil marriages between same-sex couples are already prohibited in Texas, and civil marriages and civil unions from other states or other countries are not recognized in Texas.

NONSENSE: The language Is overly broad. Even if you oppose civil marriage for same-sex couples, the constitutional amendment also prohibits civil unions and domestic partnerships and may impact common-law marriages.

NONSENSE: It hurts Texas families. By depriving same-sex couples access to civil marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships, some Texas families lose the right to protect their loved ones in many of the important areas of life: medical decisions, inheritance, property, parental rights and more. Protecting your family is a fundamental right. The constitutional amendment is wrong.

Please do this today!