News & Updates
Same-sex “marriage” comes to Montana?
10 years ago the people of Montana, by an over whelming majority, said marriage should be defined in our State Constitution as a union between one man and one woman. We needed to collect 40, 000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot–we gathered 85, 000! It needed to pass by over 50%, it passed by nearly 70%. The people spoke and they spoke clearly. Now all that could change. Montana’s Marriage Amendment could be struck down by a federal judge as early as next week. The truly sad part is that the will of the vast majority of Americans is being negated by a small minority of liberal judges casting what amounts to “Super Votes”. In Montana, US District Court Judge Brian Morris’ super vote would nullify the votes of 295, 000 Montanans who voted to preserve natural marriage. His one vote would trump the votes of 1/3 of all Montanans living in the state at the time CI-96 (Montana’s Marriage Amendment) was passed. Forget for a moment that he’s a judge—how is it possible for one man to nullify the votes of nearly 300,000 of his fellow citizens? How did judges ever amass so much power? When did “We the People” decide to give up our sovereignty to a small band of our fellow citizens who never even stand for elections? The stark reality is that we are being ruled by judicial decree.
In some states, marriage amendments passed by 80%. If one judge can nullify the will of 80% of the votes in a direct election on a constitutional initiative, then “We the People” have truly lost the ability to chart our own destiny. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals got it right last week when they refused to allow same-sex marriage in four states, saying this is a political issue that must be left to the people to decide. They refused to, in no uncertain terms, legislate from the bench. None of this is a surprise and we only have ourselves to blame. Elections have consequences, and when Christians sit on the sidelines and refuse to vote as they have in recent elections, liberal presidents get elected and liberal presidents appoint carefully selected liberal judges, and liberal judges push a liberal political agenda from the bench. It’s no surprise; in fact it’s a fait accompli. The fact that marriage amendments are being overturned and that marriage will soon be defined as a union between several people who are committed to each other is not a sign of a nation rising from the dark ages and becoming enlightened. It’s a sign of a nation in moral decline, spiraling down into a black abyss that will take generations to climb out of. Once we see the true downside of this grand social experiment and realize that kids really do need a mom and a dad, the damage will have been done and it will be up to future generations to put the pieces back together. To re-instill in our culture the simple truth that a family–made up of a mom, a dad, and their kids–is the most basic building block of a moral, just, and free society.
I predict a time will come in the future when we will look back and remember that kids raised in an intact home with their biological parents do better by every social measure than children raised in any other situation. And when we do, we’ll throw same-sex marriage on the scrap heap of failed social experiments and get back to what actually works for kids.
The Election is Over… Sort of
In all my years of campaigning, electioneering, polling and strategizing I have come to a conclusion. The best part of elections is when they’re over. No more TV ads, postal carriers breathe a sigh of relief and a knock on the door is much more likely to be a neighbor coming for a visit than a candidate looking for your vote. The voting is done, the results are in and the vast majority of voters will tune out for another two years. But for some of us – tuning out is not an option. As I told a newly elected legislator the other night, the election was the easy part; now the real work begins. For some, election night means the start of a whole new set of elections as they campaign for the cherished positions of Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Majority Leader, Minority Leader and Whips. In some cases it’s more challenging than the election itself. It’s the height of raw politics, deal making, political intrigue and arm twisting. That’s because political party labels such as Republican and Democrat only tell part of the story. Within each caucus are conservatives, moderates, and liberals. And the tension between conservative and liberal Republicans can be just as real as the tension between members of different parties as a whole.
The first place those differences go on display is in the run up to the winter caucuses which will be held next week at the Capitol. That’s where the members of the House and the Senate meet with their respective parties to choose their leaders for the upcoming session. It’s not enough that Republicans control both the House and Senate, the big question is which wing of the party will control the leadership. Will it be the conservative Republicans or the moderate Republicans? The answer to that question to a large degree affects the outcome of the session itself.
The elections are next Wednesday and we’ll keep you posted on the outcome along with an analysis of how that outcome is likely to affect certain high profile bills. After the winter caucuses most of the legislators return home, but for many in leadership it’s time to get to work. They only have six short weeks to choose committee assignments, hire staff and bring the Legislative Chambers out of mothballs. Then on January 5th legislators and families fill the Chambers, the members are sworn in, then the families go home and the work begins. Along with the legislators, an army of lobbyists also move to Helena, and our team will be there from day one; fighting for life, marriage, religious freedom, and school choice. We have a saying in our house – the world is run by those who show up. We plan to show up and we hope you will too. Bills are already being drafted that would severely limit free speech and the free exercise of religion. Bills that would force people of faith to participate in activities that God says are sin. Bills that will increase government intervention in your family and give government even more control over how you raise your children. It’s our job to pass the good bills and kill the bad bills, but we can’t do it alone. And that is why I always say, this government is your government and your input does make a difference.
Don’t Call Me a Boy
During a recent trip to Boston, I stood before the graves of people like Paul Revere and Sam Adams, wondering what they would think of the country they worked so hard to create. I returned to Montana just in time for a five-day news cycle that included the de facto legalization of same-sex marriage in even more states, and an article that said teachers in Nebraska are being told to remove all references to gender from their classrooms. That’s right – it’s now politically incorrect to call a boy a boy and a girl a girl. In fact, it’s offensive. Teachers have been told to reference boy and girl as the b-word and the g-word. And to share examples with their students of times when they’ve used gender-specific language and how they could do it better next time. This is social engineering on steroids and it reminds me of a song from the 80’s that said “stop the world, I wanna get off. This is too weird for me”. I find myself wondering who we are and what we’ve done with our own country. These politically correct, crazy philosophies used to be confined to the nation’s largest cities. Now they are in places like Lincoln, Nebraska and soon – they will be right here in Montana.
Marriage is another issue that points to a clear and distinct breakdown of the rule of law. Prior to the court’s involvement, 36 states enshrined natural marriage in their states constitutions. They did it to fend off attacks from liberal judges. In some cases, these marriage amendments were passed by popular votes of the people by 70% – 80%. Now, 10 years later, the number of states has almost completely reversed, with 30 states having legalized same-sex marriage. The problem is that it was done by judicial fiat – contrary to the overwhelming desire of the people to keep natural marriage the law of the land. The left says that attitudes are changing, but the reality is that only three states have endorsed same-sex marriage at the ballot box, and together they only represent 4.5% of the U.S. population. Cicero once said that “time obliterates the fictions of opinion and confirms the decisions of nature”. We are seeing that now with a dramatic shift in public opinion. In the past few months, support for same-sex marriage has dropped nationwide by 5% according to Pew Research. People know inherently that marriage usually involves kids, and that kids need both a mom and a dad. They should not be a part of a grand social experiment. For the American experiment in self-government to succeed, the will of the majority of people must be allowed to govern, either through elected officials or by direct vote. It should not be usurped by a small band of unelected judges acting as a super legislature to award, by judicial decree, that which is not achievable by political consensus.
It’s time for us to step up to the plate, set aside our excuses, and re-engage. If we choose to sit on the sidelines during this election, then we will get the government that we deserve. The founders placed our destiny in our own hands. What we do with that is up to us and us alone.
Todd Starnes Wows the Crowd
Playing to a packed house at the Northern Hotel last night in Billings, Todd Starnes of FOX News keynoted Montana Family Foundations Friends of the Family Banquet. For those who don’t know, Todd is the Social Issues Correspondent for FOX News who last week broke the story of the Five Houston Pastors who had been ordered to turn over personal emails, sermon notes, and correspondence related to Houston’s recently passed Non Discrimination Ordinance (NDO).
Starnes, who describes himself as a gun-toting, chicken-eating, son-of-a-Baptist, brought the house down with his mixture of humor, poignancy, and snarkiness. The event, filled with politicians, judges, business leaders, and a huge number of pastors, could best be described as an update on the Culture War. Todd Starnes discussed the threats to Faith, Family & Freedom on the national level, and I spoke about what’s happening right here in Montana. We talked about where we’ve been, where we are currently, and where we’re going as a society. Among other things, Starnes talked about Houston and the very real possibility that we may see pastors jailed for contempt as they refuse to hand over those private papers and emails. It all started when a lawsuit was filed in connection with the effort to overturn Houston’s recently passed NDO, but the kicker was – these pastors and churches weren’t even involved in that lawsuit. The take away is that pastors are allowed to preach on any issue they wish. There are Supreme Court cases supporting that position, and it’s their right both under the Free Speech and Free Exercise provisions of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Starnes then went on to talk about the pastors in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho who are being threatened with heavy fines and jail time for refusing to perform a same-sex wedding. This case takes government intrusion into religious affairs to a whole new level, with fines and jail time amounting to a $1,000 per day and 180 days per day! This is draconian, it’s a form of religious discrimination, and it’s un-American. With their new-found right to marriage after a decision of a three judge panel by the 9th Circuit of Appeals, all of whom, incidentally, were appointed by Democrats, gay activists are now emboldened and they are actually targeting churches and people who run their businesses based on religious principles. And we can expect to see hundreds more of these lawsuits in the coming year.
At issue is the guarantee of religious liberty itself and whether or not it will be allowed to continue. Bills are already being drafted in the Montana Legislature that would add sexual orientation as a protected class under Montana Human Rights Law. If these bills are allowed to pass, we’ll see the same thing happening right here in Montana. Rest assured – our team will be right there at the Capitol doing everything in our power to stop this politically correct juggernaut. If it’s allowed to continue, Montana and the United States will soon look like a very different place.
Who Do I Vote For?
With early voting in full swing and Election Day just 18 days away, the big question is always – who do I vote for? It’s a critical question given that we live in a representative republic; which means that we vote for people who believe as we do, so that our values and beliefs are carried to Helena and supported by our elected representatives. That assumes, of course, that the person with our values wins the election. It’s a system built around the concept of majority rule, where we hope that the collective wisdom of the majority leads to the best laws and the most orderly government. Is it perfect? No. No system of government ever is. It only works if the majority of the citizenry has a strong, well-developed underlying moral code that translates through its elected officials. And that only happens if politicians are honest about what they believe so that the people can choose a candidate who best represents their values.
Some candidates are extremely forthcoming—they’ll tell you exactly where they stand. Others are more cagey; they speak in nuances and every statement has a qualifier. When dealing with these types of candidates, a Latin phrase comes to mind – caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. It’s a frustrating game played every election cycle. Candidates hide, and it’s up to us to seek the truth. At the Montana Family Foundation, we have a tool to make this easier, it’s called the Montana Voter Guide and you can find it at www.montanavoterguide.com. Candidates fill out surveys and we publish their answers unedited. It’s non-partisan and straight forward. Some candidates participate, others don’t. For those who don’t, the question is – what are they trying to hide?
The biggest challenge in any election cycle is knowing which judges to vote for. They have a huge impact on our lives and yet we know virtually nothing about them. One of the most contentious judicial races this cycle is the race for Supreme Court Justice between sitting Justice Mike Wheat and former Montana Solicitor General Lawrence VanDyke. Outside money is pouring into this race because the differences between these two candidates are as clear as night and day. Mike Wheat is a former Democrat State Senator appointed to the bench by former Governor Brian Schweitzer in 2010. As a Senator, he has an extensive voting record. It’s easy to figure out what Justice Wheat believes—his voting record shows that he is pro-abortion, he voted against a bill that required minors to notify their parents before getting an abortion, he voted no on a legislative referendum asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision barring the Pledge of Allegiance from public school classrooms, and as a Justice in 2012 he ruled in favor of marriage benefits for same-sex couples. His opponent, Lawrence VanDyke, argued against same-sex marriage benefits as Solicitor General of Montana. He is endorsed by the Montana Chamber of Commerce and the Montana Shooting Sports Association.
This is the type of information that voters need in order to cast an informed vote. Please—go to www.montanavoterguide.com and download your personalized voter guide. Compare the candidates, and if one failed to fill out the survey, call and ask them why, then take that information and use it to cast an informed vote.