Help Me Out ("It's not homosexuals who are under attack, it's family")

[GiovanniC]

This LTTE just appeared in our local newspaper. It sounded hauntingly familiar... then I remembered reading something like it (maybe exactly verbatim) last week on DU. Can anyone find it for me? Here's the text...

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You have probably heard the charge of discrimination in regard to the Federal Marriage Amendment. This is deceptive. In truth, this amendment will write into the Constitution the protection of children by preserving marriage as it has served society for millennia.

The stated goal of homosexual activists, aided by tyrannical judges, is to eradicate traditional marriage by revising national policy. They say gender, especially in child rearing, is inconsequential. (Ask any little boy or girl how strongly they feel about having a mommy and daddy.) They are pushing their agenda though research and common sense show children do best when raised by a married mother and father.

Those who support the amendment aren't trying to deprive homosexuals of any of the legal protections they currently enjoy. They simply want to preserve the foundation of this great, free country-- the traditional family. It is not homosexuals who are under attack. It is the family. No-fault divorce, sex outside of marriage and lack of covenant-committed relationships has inflicted major damage. Ask a single mother trying to raise her children by herself.

Amendment supporters have also been disparaged as "bigots." The proposed language of the FMA is identical to the language of the Defense of Marriage Act, which 427 members of Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law. Are they bigots, too?

Please, don't allow a busy schedule to prevent you from making a difference. I urge every man, woman and child old enough to pray for the passage of the FMA. I urge every adult to vote and contact your congressmen and tell them you expect them to represent you and support the FMA. The campaign to destroy traditional marriage can be defeated if we all stand together. Do it for your family; do it for your country.

[Skittles]

1. from bushwatch

"It's not homosexuals who are threatening the sanctity of my marriage; it's all the women who are sleeping with my husband."

[Guaranteed]

2. The same logic would say that divorce should be illegal.

And there's a lot of garbage assumptions in there that should be thrown out, too.

[eyesroll]

3. Astroturf!

Your newspaper was sent a form letter. Most papers try to avoid printing astroturf (fake grassroots), but occasionally something slips through.

Check out these other insertions:
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2004/032004/03282004/1301663
http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/op_letters_editor/article/0,1874,ABIL_7984_2796061,00.html
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/editorial/letters/8335969.htm

On edit: Even more if I ask for the full list --
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22amendment+aren%27t+trying+to+deprive+homosexuals%22&num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0

Here's the original. This one's a little innovative -- it's more of a menu (choose one paragraph from each section):
http://www.nogaymarriage.com/talkingpoints.asp

[GiovanniC]

4. That's Exactly What I Thought

I read something that I think was pretty much verbatim the same letter last week on DU. When I read that phrase, I was sure I'd seen it before, somewhere.

You have confirmed my suspicions. Thanks!

[eyesroll]

7. You're welcome!

And in the future, if you suspect astroturf, a good way to identify it is to take a phrase from the letter (that seems like it would be unique to the letter), plug it into Google with quotes around it, and see what comes up.

It looks like a lot of papers got duped on this one...

[GiovanniC]

9. Our Paper Got Duped TWICE!! In ONE WEEK!

I looked at those sites and recognized other phrases that I read last week in our newspaper. I honestly thought that it had been copied from something Ann Coulter might have written. It's unbelievable... different pieces of that same website sent in letters to our newspaper that were each published less than a week apart!

[GiovanniC]

11. Today's Paper Too!

Whole cloth verbatim.

Unbelievable.

[meegbear]

5. Sounds Falwellian ...

I get his weekly emails sent to my home email address (at work now). I will try to remember to look through the email archives and see if it's there.

On edit, I see it's from Focus on the Family. Different name, same putzes.

[BigBigBear]

6. Wingnut

Focus On The Family types. These creeps really get to me.

What's their position on divorce-on-demand?

[kysrsoze]

8. Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette...

Liza Minelli, Bill Wyman, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carmen Electra, etc. You could go on and on with shameful, ridiculous marriages.

[kiahzero]

10. It's not family thats under attack, it's ministers

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--gaymarriage-minis0417apr17,0,7624273.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- They speak softly. One quotes Camus from the pulpit, the other cites Tolkien. They are in their 60s. One is straight, the other gay.

Unitarian Universalist ministers Dawn Sangrey and Kay Greenleaf might seem like unlikely symbols in the fight over gay marriage. Yet criminal charges against the ministers for marrying gay couples in New Paltz last month place the two quiet women in the middle of the clamorous debate in a way they never quite intended.

...

The two women appear to be the first clergy nationwide to be prosecuted for marrying gay couples, according to advocates. They are accused of solemnizing marriages without a license _ the same charges brought against New Paltz Mayor Jason West for performing same-sex marriages.

Though critics of the closely watched case say it blurs the line between church and state, prosecutors say the pair crossed that line by invoking the civil powers to perform illegal marriages.

If convicted, each woman faces a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in jail.

[maggrwaggr]

12. gee, I have a family and I don't feel under attack

we're doing just fine in a city that abounds with gays (LA).

[adriennel]

13. hmmm homosexuals have families too