CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA OF WASHINGTON
ACTION ALERT MARCH 19, 2012
“Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:9
Dear CWA of Washington Member,
While reviewing the Scriptures on marriage, I read the one above, and it occurred to me that that verse speaks to the current debate about marriage. There have already been two successful attacks on the sanctity of Biblical marriage, first from feminism which sought to make women independent of men in as many ways as possible and the second from no-fault divorce laws which has greatly increased the percentage of divorces in our nation. The third attack is changing the definition of marriage to include same-sex marriage. Don’t those three attacks do exactly what Mark 10:9 tells mankind NOT to do? Let’s not let this last attack go unanswered! Join with CWA as we STAND FOR MARRIAGE IN WASHINGTON STATE!
LET THE PEOPLE VOTE! The Stand for Marriage Coalition is up and running with two petitions to the people: Initiative 1192 and Referendum 74. CWA of Washington is supporting both, seeing them as different approaches, but both needed to LET THE PEOPLE VOTE! We need your commitment to the campaigns to promote and preserve one-man plus one-woman marriage in Washington State! Petitions are available for printing through our state website: http://wa.cwfa.org. We have posted the links to both the initiative and the referendum websites where you will find I-1192 with instructions for printing and contact information to have R-74 sent to you. There are also regional locations to pick up either I-1192 or R-74; contact the campaigns for that information.
WHY AN INITIATIVE AND A REFERENDUM? This question has been asked a lot, so I will share CWA’s reasoning.
First the definitions:
An initiative brings an issue to the people for their direct vote. You vote either YES or NO depending on your opinion on the issue. If passed with a majority YES vote, the legislature may not change the initiative-created law for two years and then needs a majority to override the citizens’ decision.
A referendum refers a bill passed by the state legislature to the people for their opinion. You vote either APPROVED or REJECTED on the legislative bill within the referendum. If passed with a REJECTED majority of votes, the referendum repeals the bill and stops the bill from becoming law in the state. However, the legislature may pass the same bill in the future.
Now the specifics:
Initiative 1192 Marriage = One Man + One Woman has been filed for the purpose of reclaiming this traditional definition of marriage and to strengthen the language in the state Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA, passed by the legislature in 1998 and upheld by the state supreme court in 2006). Along with other state organizations, CWA is dedicated to the idea that society in general, the family in particular and the surrounding community are best served when the marriage relationship is defined as Marriage = One Man + One Woman.
We encourage you and your friends to sign Initiative 1192 to LET THE PEOPLE VOTE! To qualify for the November ballot, the initiative must submit 241,153 valid signatures to the Secretary of State by July 6, 2012, so print your initiative forms NOW: http://www.protectmarriagewa.com/.
Referendum 74 was filed to give voters the right to approve or reject ESSB 6239 which seeks to redefine marriage by including same-sex couples and changing the words husband/wife to spouse and male/female to person for everybody. While the bill protects religious leaders and their facilities for now, the bill has no protection for individuals or businesses owned by people of faith who believe in traditional marriage. CWA hopes and prays that voters reject redefining marriage, because one-man + one-woman marriage is a unique institution that is profoundly in the common good for numerous sociological reasons. (More on that in later alerts.) Referendum forms are available through the campaign’s website: http://preservemarriagewashington.com/. To effect the cancellation of that law at least 121,000 valid signatures must be delivered to the Secretary of State NO LATER THAN JUNE 6, 2012.
Initiative 1192 is needed to protect and strengthen the state Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Legislature cannot overturn it for at least two years. Referendum 74 is needed to REJECT the same-sex bill already passed by the Legislature; that bill eliminated the state’s DOMA passed in 1998 and threatens our First Amendment right to religious liberty!
GET BOTH PETITIONS AND COLLECT THOSE SIGNATURES ASAP!
THEN PRAY THAT BOTH PETITIONS ARE ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT!
UPCOMING EVENTS
SUPPORT TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE: Join us for a night of information on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 – 7:00 p.m. at the Pierce County Library Admin Bldg (3005 112th St. E. Tacoma, WA 98446). Learn the facts about the initiative and referendum processes and pick up your copies of Initiative 1192 and Referendum 74. You will also have the opportunity to meet people who have already joined us in these two campaigns. Come learn how to stand in the gap!
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RALLIES: http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/
From that website:
“Just this morning, a lengthy article appeared in the National Catholic Register:
The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is set to take place on Friday, March 23, in more than 100 cities across the country. From Hawaii to Maine, citizens are preparing to let their voices be heard on the value of religious freedom. Meeting places include historic sites, congressional offices and federal buildings. The theme for the rally is “Stand Up for Religious Freedom – Stop the HHS Mandate!”
The rallies, which are scheduled to take place on the second anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare), are being organized by the Pro-Life Action League and by Citizens for a Pro-Life Society in response to the recent Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring most employers’ health-insurance plans to provide co-pay-free sterilization, contraception and abortion-causing drugs.”
FORTY DAYS FOR LIFE is happening around the nation right now! Please join this pro-life action between February 22 – April 1 in any of the following Washington cities: Everett, Issaquah, Olympia, Renton, Spokane, Tacoma, Tri-Cities. There are 251 cities across the nation joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history — the 40 Days for Life campaign. More details can be found at http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm.
DAY OF SILENCE WALK-OUT: On Friday April, 20, 2012, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is once again exploiting public schools to promote homosexuality and gender confusion as moral and normative through the political protest called the Day of Silence. Please call your children out of school if your administration permits students to refuse to speak on the Day of Silence. Make that phone call to your child’s school to ascertain their status. Be informed, be vigilant!
For further information, including parental instructions and a sample calling-out letter, visit http://www.doswalkout.net/
LEGISLATIVE
Special session runs for 30 days from 3/12/2012
SANCTITY OF LIFE:
HB 2330 re: all insurance policies forced to cover abortion
House bill 2330 passed in the House and then moved to the Senate, but was not voted on by the March 2 deadline. Therefore, it was considered dead. However, there is a concerted effort by the sponsors to push this bill to a vote in the Senate during the special session. Please contact your state senators NOW and urge them to VOTE AGAINST HB 2330 which would force all insurance companies and purchasers to pay for abortions, no matter their religious or moral opposition to abortion. This is a First Amendment issue similar to the federal mandate to force everyone to pay for abortions. Stand up and be counted!
CALL 1-800-562-6000 (open 8:00-4:30, closed 12:00-1:00 for lunch) to leave a message on the legislative hotline or contact your legislators directly. Individual legislators: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx
In His Service,
Maureen Richardson, State Director
425-869-1923; P. O. Box 143 Woodinville, WA 98072;
director@washington.cwfa.org; http://wa,.cwfa.org