Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The way the gay agenda foists Same Sex Marriage on Unsuspecting States

from the Connecticut Family Institute
Vermont Was Supposed to be Connecticut
Vermont yesterday became the first state to pass same-sex "marriage" legislatively instead of by court order. While it is a sad day for the nation, FIC and our members should take note of an important fact: Vermont was supposed to be Connecticut. And Connecticut is not Vermont because of us.
Make no mistake: The Kerrigan court ruling imposing same-sex "marriage" on Connecticut is a defeat for marriage in our state and a victory for same-sex "marriage" activists. But it was the worst possible victory for them--one imposed by a 4-3 vote of the court instead of our elected representatives--and we strongly suspect that this is the real reason why Love Makes a Family is disbanding.
The real goal of our opponents was not simply to redefine marriage in our state but to make Connecticut the first state to pass same-sex "marriage" democratically instead of having it imposed by judicial fiat. Connecticut was targeted by the national gay movement for this purpose and when it did not happen--when same-sex "marriage" arrived instead by court order--the money being poured into our state by the national gay movement was likely shifted to other states.
No, we don't know this for sure. FIC, of course, is not privy to the internal operations of our opponents. But consider what we do know.
We know that following the passage of every single marriage protection referendum on the ballot in over a dozen states in 2004, same-sex "marriage" advocates were desperately seeking a victory and considered Connecticut the most likely place for one (they said so in media interviews). We know that Love Makes a Family came roaring into the 2005 legislative session demanding full same-sex "marriage," saying that anything less was unacceptable to them.

We know that liberal lobbyist Betty Gallo and Judiciary Committee co-chairman Michael Lawlor--longtime Capitol insiders--publicly broke with Love Makes a Family over its "all or nothing" demand. We know that Love Makes a Family had to drop its demand and settle for a civil union law that explicitly defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

We know that when Love Makes a Family made another failed attempt to pass same-sex "marriage" in 2007 it received $170,000 from an out-of-state consortium of gay marriage donors (Connecticut was the consortium's third-highest target).
And we know that Tim Gill, Colorado's gay multimillionaire, was funding a religious organizing position at Love Makes a Family in early 2008. Love Makes a Family (LMF), we believe, was the national gay movement's beachhead in Connecticut.
It was funded in part--perhaps in large part--by out-of-state interests bent on making Connecticut the first state to pass same-sex "marriage" democratically...and it did the bidding of those out-of-state interests.
Thus the split between LMF and its legislative allies in 2005. Smarting from its defeats in other states and desperate for a win, the national gay movement told LMF, "Demand full same-sex 'marriage' in Connecticut and nothing less" and LMF did as it was told. But Betty Gallo and Mike Lawlor--our disagreements with them aside--are Connecticut insiders with some sense of what will and won't succeed at the Capitol.
That is why they publicly broke with LMF over its "all or nothing" demand. Even a highly placed gay lobbyist at the state Capitol--someone in a position to know--has told FIC that she thinks we are correct. LMF's 2005 public split with its own allies came about because LMF is closer to its national funders than it is to Connecticut. But those out-of-state funders were a hit-and-run operation. They didn't care about Connecticut; they only cared about forcing same-sex "marriage" on our state.
Now that GLAD has accomplished in our courts what the national gay movement's funding of Love Makes a Family failed to accomplish in our legislature, there is no longer any point in funding LMF. The pro same-sex "marriage" money that was being poured into Connecticut will naturally now shift to other states. We suspect that this is the real story behind LMF's decision to disband.
Again, the Kerrigan ruling is a defeat which we will work to overturn. That said, yesterday's sad news out of Vermont should remind every pro-family activist in Connecticut about what we have accomplished. Vermont was supposed to be Connecticut. With a liberal legislature, gerrymandered districts and a relatively weak culture of democratic accountability, Connecticut was logically viewed by the national gay movement as a soft target, the state most likely to be the first to pass same-sex "marriage" democratically instead of by judicial fiat.

It never happened because the Family Institute of Connecticut and our members rose up time and time again. That even a legislature as liberal as ours never voted to pass same-sex "marriage"--and voted instead to define marriage as between a man and a woman--tells us where the people of Connecticut really stand on the issue: they want marriage protected, not redefined. The battle to limit the damage caused by Kerrigan and to restore marriage in Connecticut continues.
Just yesterday FIC rallied 125 people against S.B. 899, the same-sex "marriage" bill which attacks religious liberty and parental rights. We are grateful to all of you who attended as well as to the media outlets who covered the rally: WTNH Channel 8, Connecticut Radio Network, CTNewsJunkie, airmaria.com, the (Hartford) Catholic Transcript and the Archdiocese's Office of Radio and Television.