World Family Policy Center Newsletter
* News relative to protecting the family worldwide *
Volume
3 Issue 42 - November 8, 2004
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Quote of the Day: “A man
has honour if he holds himself to
an ideal
of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable or
dangerous
to do so.”
—Walter Lippmann
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Today’s Contents: A. Featured Articles:
1. Election Shaped By 'Moral Values'
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EDITORIAL COMMENT
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It is our policy generally to avoid partisan stances
on political issues, but it seems that the moral and family issues we at the
World Family Policy Center focus on appear to have played a key role in this
year’s political outcomes. In the spirit
of keeping our readers informed we acknowledge the
apparent political nature of these articles, but we emphasize that politics has
expanded into our area of focus, not we into theirs.
—A.
Scott Loveless, Executive Director
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FEATURED ARTICLES
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1.
Election Shaped By 'Moral Values'
Abortion and gay marriage turned out to be the top
issues
By Kevin Eckstrom and
Michele M. Melendez
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON — Forget Iraq. Forget terrorism. Forget the
economy. The biggest factor shaping people's votes Tuesday was the mother of
all sleeper issues — "moral values."
In nationwide exit polls, one in five voters said
moral values were the most important issue in casting their votes, outpacing
every other major topic. Those "values" voters overwhelmingly went
for President Bush over Sen. John Kerry, 79 percent to 18 percent.
The stronger_than_expected
role of moral values signals that the nation's values agenda is likely to be
dominated by "social morality" concerns for abortion, gay marriage
and stem_cell research — issues vital to Bush's base.
The election also marks a defeat for progressive groups who tried to cast
"social justice" concerns of poverty, war and the environment as
moral issues.
To read entire article: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595102883,00.html
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2. President's Domestic Agenda to Include
Marriage Amendment
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Bush administration and Republican leaders
yesterday signaled that a domestic agenda including a constitutional amendment
on marriage will dominate the congressional calendar, even though foreign
policy and the war in Iraq dominated the presidential campaign. . . .
Ballot measures against same_sex
"marriage" passed last week in 11 states.
Karl Rove, senior White House political adviser, said
"absolutely" Mr. Bush will continue to push for a constitutional
amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
"We cannot allow activist judges to overturn
that," Mr. Rove told "Fox News Sunday."
"We cannot allow activist local elected officials
to thumb their nose at 5,000 years of human history and determine that marriage
is something else.
"If we want to have a hopeful and decent society,
we ought to aim for the ideal, and the ideal is that marriage ought to be, and
should be, a union of a man and a woman," Mr. Rove said.
To read entire article:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041108_125405_3093r.htm
Related Article: Eleven States Uphold Traditional Marriage
By Cheryl Wetzstein
The Washington Times
State constitutional amendments to uphold marriage as
the union of a man and a woman easily passed yesterday in all 11 states where
it was on the ballot.
Oregon showed the most modest support — 56 percent
with two_thirds of precincts reporting — for the
amendment. In the other 10 states, the amendments passed by
solid margins, ranging from 60 percent in Michigan to 86 percent in
Mississippi.
The other states with amendments were Arkansas,
Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah.
The amendments are an important statement by the
American public, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
A year ago, a Massachusetts court legalized same_sex "marriage" and threatened to impose same_sex "marriage" on the rest of the nation, he
said.
Voters "have spoken up, and they have spoken
loudly. And I anticipate through the night that we will see the other states
echoing the words of Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana and Missouri. We want
to protect marriage," he said.
"The country overwhelmingly rejects the idea of same_sex marriage," said 2000 Republican presidential
candidate Gary Bauer, who has spoken in support for the amendments. "The
votes tonight are going to show that once again.
To read entire article:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041103_030951_3824r.htm
Related Article: Pro_Family
Wrap_Up of Ballot Initiatives and Amendments
By Allie Martin and Jody Brown
November 3, 2004
(AgapePress) _ Pro_family activists are celebrating major victories in
ballot measures across the country.
Voters in 11 states approved constitutional amendments
defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and banning same_sex "marriages." The amendments won easily
approval in Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia,
Montana, Utah, and North Dakota. Oregon was the only state where the amendment
was even close, as homosexual activists poured all their resources into that state
in hopes of a victory.
Other issues of concern to pro_family
voters were also on the ballots in other states. In Florida, almost two_thirds of those voting approved an amendment that
requires notification of the parent or guardian of a minor before an abortion.
The executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference, which represents the
state's Catholic bishops, calls the amendment "a first step to restoring
the rights of parents to look out for their daughters." But a spokeswoman
for Planned Parenthood of Florida attributes the victory to voter confusion.
To read entire article:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32004a.asp
Related Article: Gays take fight on
marriage to court
By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Homosexual rights groups said yesterday that they will
head back to the courtrooms to achieve legalization of same_sex
"marriages," which voters in 11 states barred Tuesday, as two lesbian
couples filed a federal lawsuit challenging Oklahoma's new marriage law.
This week's election results "ended
nothing," said Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties
Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.
In a federal court in Tulsa, Okla., yesterday, the
lesbian couples challenged the amendment passed Tuesday, which defines marriage
as only between one man and one woman and says same_sex
"marriages" from other states will not be recognized there.
To read entire article:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041105_121520_3129r.htm
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3. Bishop Attacks School Condom Plan
Holyoke tries to stem teen pregnancies
By David Abel
Boston Globe
October 26, 2004
The Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield protested
yesterday the Holyoke School Committee's recent decision to make condoms
available to students in grades 6_12, arguing that the school system is ''an
endorser and an enabler of early adolescent sex."
''I am profoundly disappointed and disturbed,"
Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell said in a statement, contending that school
officials are reducing sex to ''meaningless self_gratification."
''This decision is, in effect, a millstone around the
necks of parents," he said.
Some members of the School Committee, which approved
the policy several weeks ago, said they had to act because of the city's high
teenage birth rate and high incidence of AIDS. It's
unclear how many school systems across the state make condoms available,
because the state Education Department doesn't track the policy, a department
spokeswoman said. At least one school system, Cambridge, makes condoms
available in school health clinics, according to the Massachusetts Association
of School Committees.
To access this article visit www.bostonglobe.com to archives and type in the name of this article. There is a fee
to read archive articles.
Related Article: Family Advocate Condemns
Misguided Illinois Condom Handouts
By Jim Brown
November 3, 2004
(AgapePress) _ An Illinois pro_family activist is expressing outrage over the state's
distribution of flavored condoms.
The Chicago Sun_Times
reports that since January the Illinois Department of Public Health has spent
$115,000 in funds provided by the Bush administration on condoms __ 360,000 of
which are flavored. The agency claims the orange, grape, lemon, and cherry
condoms will help curb the state's high rates of syphilis and other sexually
transmitted diseases.
But Pete LaBarbera with the
Illinois Family Institute feels the state is encouraging homosexuals to
continue in immoral behavior, rather than concentrating on warning them of the
health risks to which they are exposing themselves. "There's a big problem
in the homosexual community in Chicago with syphilis," he says, "so
rather than tell the homosexual community, 'Do not engage in this dangerous
behavior,' they are giving them condoms to entice them to use them for oral
sex."
The IFI spokesman is adamant that the public should
not have to foot the bill for condoms that have the primary effect of promoting
an unhealthy and immoral lifestyle. "It's just outrageous," he says,
"and taxpayers should not be paying for this."
To read entire article:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/32004f.asp
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4. Democrat Group Warns Party Must Change
Stance on Abortion
By Kathleen Rhodes
CNSNews.com Correspondent
November 05, 2004
(CNSNews.com) _ A pro_life Democrat organization is warning fellow members of
the party that they will have to modify their views on abortion if they want to
win national elections.
Democrats for Life of America, seeking to change the
abortion language in the Democratic Party platform, say the party's dismal
performance on Election Day is due in part to the pro_abortion
views of candidates like presidential nominee John Kerry.
"When Democrats take a stand and protect the
rights of the unborn, we win elections. When Democrats campaign on a pro_abortion platform, they lose," Kristen Day,
executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated in a press release.
To read entire article:
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200411\CUL20041105c.html
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COMING EVENTS
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November 29-30, 2004
The Doha International Conference for the
Family
Doha, Qatar
The Doha International Conference for the Family
follows upon the
celebration of the International Year of the Family and will be a
two-day conference in Doha, Qatar, under the patronage of Her
Highness Sheikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad., Consort of His
Highness The Emir of Qatar
and President of Supreme Council for
Family Affairs, State of Qatar.
The conference represents an international assemblage,
bringing
together international VIPs, governmental and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), scholars, academicians, and civil society
leaders who will be invited by the State of Qatar to
participate in
a family conference.
This conference will call upon all nations of
the world to restate the principles related to family
life embodied
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to
adhere to
values and endeavor to promote the role of the family as it
is the
natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled
to
protection by society and state.
To register online: www.dicf.org.qa
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Note: The preceding article excerpts are highlights of
current events and
do not necessarily represent the views of the World
Family Policy Center
or Brigham Young University.
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Newsletter created and distributed by:
World Family Policy Center
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Managing Director:
Richard Wilkins
Executive Director:
A. Scott Loveless
Newsletter Editors: Joy S. Lundberg and Gary B.
Lundberg
If you have any articles, editorials, or papers you
would like
circulated through the WFPC News network, you may submit them to
lundberg@lawgate.byu.edu
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