Anti-Gay Tripe is Ripe for Challenge
The Illinois Family Institute reports it will file 345,199 signatures today on behalf of the 'Protect Marriage Illinois' referendum, a contentious, fear-mongered assault on gay Americans. That's only 25% more than the 283,111 valid signatures needed to get the referendum on the ballot, and makes this referendum ripe for a challenge. Advocates would be fools not to: this effort is flailing now, but things can change very quickly if it's allowed to pick up steam.
If you'd like to volunteer to help out with the petition challenge, e-mail Volunteer@EQIL.org.
The IFI is already busy making excuses for itself. Nearly 76,000 signatures were not properly notarized. The IFI calls the notary provision "draconian." The IFI has also repeatedly begged and pleaded with Equality Illinois not to challenge it's petitions.
They're also begging for money:PMI really does need your financial help. We have come under intense attack by homosexual activists because we are defending marriage as one man, one woman. If there is any way you can give a contribution to Protect Marriage Illinois, please send checks to:
Did the IFI under-estimate public support for the referendum, or were they just too poorly organized to execute a statewide drive? Is this still an issue that ignites conservatives, or has the passage of time and the outing of prominent Republicans and their family members spoiled this as a partisan issue?
18 comments:
I see now that session is over YDD is back posting...I gotta get me a State job.
They call the requirement to have petition sheets notarized "draconian"? That requirement is so easy to handle that it boggles the mind that they couldn't get it done for that many sheets. Even if they didn't have anyone available to notarize those pages, are they too cheap to go to an all-night currency exchange?
Anyone who can screw something up that badly should be hounded out of this state.
YDD, I'm a repub, and this issue does not motivate me. I think the state should get out of the marriage business altogether, and I think the IFI folks, though right on some issues, are idiots.
That said, it does seem the referendum opponents are making a tactical mistake by opposing this. If indeed the public does not support their position, they should let the referendum fail miserably. It will be the final nail in the coffin for the effort.
But, if the opponents get shrill and remove this thing from the ballot, it will galvanize a lot of people who normally could care less.
hub,
So we gay citizens of Illinois, who want nothing more than to live our lives in peace and with the same rights that straight people take for granted, should just sit on our hands and do nothing to prevent this pernicious, mean-spirited referendum from soiling the November ballot, even though challenging signatures is a right under the laws of the state of Illinois (and, I might add, is used for far, far pettier reasons before every election), simply because it might come off as "shrill"? Oh mercy me, pass the smelling salts.
News flash: a signature challenge isn't going to galvanize bigots to go to the polls in November--especially if it is disqualified and not on the ballot at all--but a confirmed referendum question that's up for a vote sure as hell will.
anon 5:27
Your marriage is a right argument would go over better if it hadn't resulted in forcing Catholic Charities out of the adoption business in Mass because they refused to compromise their Catholicism by discriminating when not placing kids with same sex couples.
It making same sex marriage a right means forcing everyone to compromise their faith tradition for it... to forget being a Catholic... you can forget stopping this referendum. Supporters will constitutionalize marriage as only between a man and a woman if the tradeoff means their faiths will have to condone such marriages when placing kids for adoption.
Gays need to speak out strongly that same sex marriage will not be used to force Christians to do things they consider sinful.
This is going to be a disaster for Bean and Duckworth.
Bill, what would convince you to vote for Bean or Duckworth?
Let's see...
They have a mailing list of 420,000+ registered voters that signed their petition.
If it get's challenged, they can blame Liberals for restricting voters of Illinois.
If this gets challenged, they will likely gain more support next election.
Hmmm... doesn't sound too bad for the Conservatives! My advice to the Dems running in November, stay far away from this issue unless you want to receive negative press. I would hate to be the target of 400,000+ mailers just from one organization.
I wonder why Rick Garcia and other members of the gay community are going after this so strongly if they aren't worried. Something tells me that Ricky boy is quite worried!!
Carl,
If they endoresed something along the lines of the Euston Manifesto... a recognition that Human Rights aren't relative... That Democracy is as right in Iraq as it is here... That execution Gays in Iran a far greater injustice than anything from IFI... That Garica's indifference to Farrahkans statement on cleansing the streets of Jerusalem with blood for allowig a Gay Pride Parade a far greater slur than IFI's stand for traditional family. It would be a big help if Duckworth or Bean spoke out against Blagojevich's keeping Sister Muhammed on the commission... and the notion this is somehow just an Illinois thing really doesn't count much with me.
If Democrats can't call out Garcia, they have no business talking about rights.
This referendum would pass at least 60-40 in Illinois.
But the idiots who were organizing this could get it knocked off.
Hub - I've got to agree with anon 5:27. The fact that they couldn't collect enough valid signatures from enough registered voters is proof enough that there's no groundswell of support for this referendum. Equality Illinois is doing you a favor by putting this hairbrained scheme out of it's misery. If this were a horse, you'd shoot it.
watchya gonna do?-- You're right, they will have a list of 345,000+ names, although how many of them are registered is unknown. My guess, based on past petition drives, is around 2/3. So, why not make lemons out of lemonade?
Keep in mind though, once those petitions are filed, anybody can copy the list, including conservative Democrats and enemies of Topinka. Having a Gatlin gun is great, until everybody else has a gatlin gun.
And based on the IFI's pleas, they can't afford bullets right now.
"wonder why Rick Garcia and other members of the gay community are going after this so strongly if they aren't worried. "
I can speak only for myself: I am not so much worried as much as I am embarrased.
You know, one of the reasons I like Illinois better than my former state (Texas) is that we can have a governor's race in which BOTH candidates consider tolerance to be a virtue.
Why so many worry themselves over what gays and lesbians do baffles me.
When one wakes up in the morning, does one worry "oh no, some gay couple might get married?" or does one worry more about one's job, health insurance, crime and the like?
What a waste of time!
Look what happened to Catholic Charities in Mass Ollie.
This isn't bigotry. It's fear of what government will do with sexual ethics.
I think it's unfounded.. or can be dealt with appropriately, but oppenents of Protect Marriage or going to have to take a stand on how Illinois won't repeat the fiasco in Mass with Catholic Charities.
Otherwise Protect Marriage passes big.
Bill -
I think you're missing the point. When it comes to what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom, government shouldn't be in the sexual ethics business, one way or the other.
We've got parents and pastors for that, and when they let us down, we've got Dr. Phil and Joyce Brothers and shelves full of books at Barnes & Noble, including atleast three versions of The Holy Bible.
If you don't approve of gay Americans or you think their love is a sin, here's some advice: don't have sex with other men.
But government's refusal or failure to adopt a "Protect Marriage Amendment" is no more an endorsement of gay America than it's failure or refuse to ban "Will and Grace."
Human rights aren't relative?
Are you in favor of treating immigrants and citizens equally, Bill?
Bill, I don't believe you care about Iraqi human rights except as a political tool for making some domestic political point.
By what measure to evaluate whether people's human rights are being respected? How do you feel about Iraqis being tortured now? HOw about the human rights of the the people incarcerated at Gitmo?
What do you care about gays being executed in Iran? Do you care about human rights violations by the government-backed paramilitaries in Colombia?
Bill, you want Democrats to denounce people on BS little niche issues while you're complicit in Bush trashing the Constitution.
You have your priorities wrong.
Well said, Carl.
ollie,
What an interesting way of looking at things.
BTW, how did you come up with the handle "ollie"? I'm sure there must be an interesting story behind it.
Do tell!
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