We'll Lose Gay Marriage if We Continue Making "Religion" a Factor
            As long as the citizens who favor traditional marriage continue to talk about "religion", they will lose the gay marriage issue, says Sally Pawlick of Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage (MCM).
            "This is what Margaret Marshall wants us to do. It's why she inserted in her ruling that 'many people hold deep-seated religious' convictions on the subject. She is pleased to have everyone think of gay marriage as a 'religious' issue. And we're helping her immensely.
            "As an example, the President of MFI [Massachusetts Family Institute], Kris Mineau, who is an ordained Protestant minister, said on Monday: 'This marriage amendment is our last stand for traditional marriage in Massachusetts. We must not fall short of our goal. We effectively have 10 days left to get more signatures and turn them in to the town clerks.'"
            MFI is the local chapter of the Christian "Focus on the Family" organization based in Colorado Springs, which arrived here in 2004 and spent millions of dollars in a vain effort to make this into a religious event.
            "When we passed our successful "Protection of Marriage" Amendment in 2001, we did so as a secular organization that was supported by many groups including the Catholic Church and MFI We had an Orthodox Jew as our Executive Director. But when the Legislature violated the state Constitution (at the urging of Pinch Sulzberger and his Boston Globe/New York Times complex) and refused to allow its members to vote on sending it to the voters (which would have required only a 25% approval in the Legislature) everyone believed the Boston Globe that the Amendment was dead.
            In addition the Globe has been successful in painting the Catholic Church as the worst institution in the world. As long as that false image persists, it appears that the Church would be wise to quietly remain in the background.    
            Meanwhile our neighbors in Maine have just approved what's been described as the strongest law favoring homosexuals in the entire country. The citizens of that state appear to have backed the law this time because it's being fought by the Christian Civic League of Maine. In the past the group in charge was the Maine Grassroots Coalition which successfully spearheaded the battle twice. It is not clear why they switched to an organization with religion in the title.
            Down in Texas, there was a huge success for traditional marriage. An Amendment was passed on Tuesday by 76% of the voters which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman and also outlaws civil unions. It was sponsored by a secular group, "Texans for Marriage". The Houston Chronicle said: "Blacks and Hispanics who traditionally vote Democratic strongly backed the state's gay marriage ban at the ballot box this week, sometimes outpolling Republicans," The Dallas Morning News said: "Texans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to bolster the state's ban on same-sex marriage by writing it into the state constitution, rejecting concerns." Unlike Massachusetts and Maine, the people in Texas copied what served us well in 2001, a secular organization that had the support of many groups, including churches.
            The measure swept most of the state's major urban counties, including Dallas and Tarrant. Overall, the amendment, Proposition 2 on the statewide ballot, prevailed by about a 3-1 ratio. A Houston homosexual newspaper wrote that support was "widespread" including church leaders.

New MCM Radio Ad Highlights Need to Focus on Legal, Secular Issue of Gay Marriage
Following is the text of the Radio Ad that is being recorded by Mass. Citizens for Marriage: