United Families California Newsletter

www.UnitedFamiliesCA.org

Dear Family Supporters,

To help deal with the ever growing threat to marriage and the family, United Families International (UFI) is establishing chapters and Defend Marriage and Family (DMF) committees in states around the country. Over the past several months the California chapter of UFI, United Families California, has been organized and is becoming active in several pro-marriage and family initiatives. This newsletter is an introduction to the California Chapter and to some of the things we are starting to do to defend marriage and the family.

Supporting Pro-family rallies

As the chair of the Defend Marriage and Family Committee of Southern California, I recently attended two marriage rallies cosponsored by United Families California.

Approximately five hundred citizens converged on Pershing Square in the heart of Los Angeles displaying signs, passing out literature, and collecting hundreds of signatures for the UFI petition to defend traditional marriage. Our main purpose was to remind our legislators of the passage of Proposition 22 four years ago by the vote of the people of California which states that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

I was honored to address the rally and reminded everyone that children are the future of our country and of our state. Thousands of studies have shown that children are better off socially, academically, emotionally, and financially when they are raised in a stable home with a married mother and father. Countries and states are stronger when children are healthy and can grow and contribute to the state as productive citizens. Therefore, it is in the state’s best interest to foster this type of environment by protecting marriage.

I was also pleased to be able to introduce United Families California during several radio and newspaper interviews and to explain how our organization uses social science data to support our position that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

The rally in Sacramento was equally successful, with more than 1,200 pro-family Californians assembling at the State Capitol to celebrate the defeat of AB 1967, the homosexual "marriage" bill Our message reached hundreds of thousands of viewers as Sacramento TV stations broadcasted positive coverage and our pro-family message dominated the airwaves.

The coverage from both rallies provided a great vehicle for our message. The more Californians and other Americans who are made aware of the importance of the same-sex “marriage” issue, the more people we can count on to stand up and take action when it is needed.

Organizing to stop dangerous legislation

We have several major battles ahead. Though AB 1967 was defeated in this session of the Assembly, it will be back again next year. The legislature seems determined to undermine traditional marriage despite the fact that a majority of Californians supported Proposition 22. .

Two joint resolutions recently passed by the Assembly are the most recent evidence of this. AJR 85, currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee, states adamantly that California does not support a Federal Marriage Amendment. AJR 60, also in the Senate Judiciary Committee, urges Congress to include the terms “permanent partner” in all laws relating to immigration and naturalization, meaning a homosexual person would have the same right to obtain legal residency for his/her “companion” as a husband or wife would have for his/her spouse. These resolutions claim to speak for all Californians, but they do not.

We list what we consider the eight most dangerous bills in the state legislature along with a brief description. Please become familiar with them and watch for future action alerts and suggestions on what you can do to help stop them.

Working at the national level

On the national level, although initial efforts in the U.S. Senate to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) failed for procedural reasons, the House of Representatives recently passed legislation to protect the Defense of Marriage Act from judicial tyranny. It also may yet vote on another version of the FMA We must continue to educate our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and others about the continuing threat to marriage and the family at both the state and national levels and urge them to actively support efforts to counteract these threats.

United Families California was active in educating Californians in both these national efforts. We have also been generating thousands of signatures to support United Families International’s United States Petition to Defend Marriage, which was delivered to the Senate before their recent consideration of the marriage amendment issue. We are continuing to gather signatures unitil Congress passes the FMA.

Issues Guide now available

United Families International’s “Family Issues Guide: Sexual Orientation” booklet has proven to be one of the most useful and comprehensive resources available for understanding homosexuality and related policy issues such as same sex marriage. The guide is designed to be easily understandable for a general audience but is heavily footnoted and summarizes a wide range of social science data and research. It has been enthusiastically received by elected officials and their staffs at the federal and state level in UFI’s lobbying activities as well as by the media and other pro-family groups. Single copies are $10 plus postage and multiple copy discounts are available. It can be ordered on line here or you can print out an order form to order by mail.

How you can get involved

I invite you to join us as we work to make United Families California a valuable tool in this effort. A state petition in defense of marriage can be signed on line and copies can also be downloaded from our web site www.UnitedFamiliesCA.org. If you have not already done so, we encourage each of you to sign the petition then print out copies to circulate among your friends. On our website you can register to receive our free email California updates and obtain information on current legislative issues as well.

In this ongoing battle to protect marriage and the family, each person plays a vital role. Whether you only sign the petition, write a letter to your elected representatives, attend a rally, or organize a local Defend Marriage and the Family Committee in your hometown, your support is greatly needed and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Meredith Richey
DMF Committee Chair Southern California
United Families California

United Families California • PO Box 7653 • La Verne, CA 91750-9998