Dear Karen,

President Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. Her opposition to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and her apparent opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are cause for concern. While Dean of the Harvard Law School, Kagan threw military recruiters off campus on the grounds of opposing the law prohibiting open homosexuals from serving in the military. “This action causes me deep distress,” Kagen wrote. “I abhor the military’s discriminatory recruitment policy.” It is a “profound wrong – a moral injustice of the first order.” Her decision was essentially overturned by the Supreme Court on a unanimous 8-0 vote, showing how far out of the judicial mainstream her thinking is. Ms. Kagan has already tipped her hand on one of the most important issues that is likely to come before the Supreme Court. Overturning ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will have a devastating impact on military morale, recruitment and retention. Plus, there will be no possibility of promotions for officers and chaplains who defend natural marriage as a matter of conscience. Any officer with deeply held views about the immorality of homosexual behavior would have no future in Elena Kagan’s military. Our national security is far too important to become a plaything in the hands of judicial activists like Ms. Kagan would certainly be. Her nomination ought to be rejected on these grounds alone. Plus, Ms. Kagan is part of the Department of Justice that filed a brief which declared “this Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy [and] believes that it is discriminatory.” Marriage between a man and a woman is the cornerstone of any healthy society. To put someone with such hostility to natural marriage and duly enacted law on the Supreme Court is an unacceptable threat to this profoundly important institution. e Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, Ms. Kagan will fill the vacancy created by Justice Stevens‟ retirement at the end of this term.

Ms. Kagan currently serves as the Solicitor General of the United States. She was confirmed to that position on March 19, 2009, by a vote of 61-31. She is the first woman to hold that position.1 Before being confirmed as Solicitor General, she served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School.2 If confirmed, she will be the fourth woman to sit on the Supreme Court.3 She would also be the first Justice since former Chief Justice William Rehnquist to be confirmed without prior judicial experience.4 Her lack of judicial experience also means that she lacks a judicial record for senators to examine during the confirmation process.

Dear Friends,

If we don’t act now, by the end of the week, Vermont could become the first state to adopt same-sex marriage legislatively — without a court order hanging over their heads.

We need two things from you today. It’ll only take about 5 minutes, but your action could make the difference for marriage, not just in Vermont, but in the nation. Once the floodgates open in Vermont, it will be easier for other state legislatures to follow suit.

We need to remind these legislators that their constituents are watching, and that they will be held accountable for their votes. We can’t let them forget that 17 Vermont legislators lost their seats over civil unions in 2000. Urge them to adopt a proposed amendment sending the same-sex marriage bill to the people of Vermont for a vote. Tell them this is too important an issue to ramrod through in just a few days — with no real public debate.

Here’s where things stand: Despite our best efforts, the Vermont Senate passed Senate Bill 115 Monday night on a vote of 26-4. The vote sends the bill to the Vermont House, where the leadership is expected to try to push it through quickly — a committee vote is likely within the next day or two and a vote of the full House may come before the end of the week.

While the Democratic leadership claims to have enough support to pass the bill, our efforts this week are critical. Working together, we can stop this, and at the same time put Vermont legislators on notice that the nation is watching, and that their constituents care about marriage. Even if the leadership succeeds in ramming the bill through this week, the margin of passage is critical. Governor Douglas opposes same-sex marriage, and is considering a veto. The House vote is certain to be closer than the Senate vote, and we need to keep the pressure on.

One legislator told the Burlington Free Press yesterday that he’d received 300 calls and emails about the same-sex marriage bill (an unheard-of number in Vermont!)– and that supporters of same-sex marriage outnumbered opponents by a 2-1 margin! Let’s correct the record, and make sure that every pro-marriage Vermonter contacts his or her legislators today!

Here’s what you can do:

1. Contact the members of the Vermont House. If you live in Vermont, your action today is critical. Even if you’ve taken action before, please use this hyperlink to send a message to all 150 members of the Vermont House of Representatives, urging them to respect the voice of all Vermonters, and send this to the people for a vote — not rush it through in just a few days.

Even if you don’t live in Vermont, please send a message letting the Vermont House know that the nation is watching, and urging them to respect the voices of their constituents — let the people vote!

2. Forward this message to every person you know in Vermont! Click here to send this email to five friends! We have three days to get every pro-marriage person in Vermont to contact their legislators, and we need your help!

Thank you for all you’re doing to stand for marriage. The need is urgent, and we couldn’t do it without your help.
Brian Brown

God bless,

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
bbrown@nationformarriage.org

March 23, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Today US District Judge Edward R. Korman ordered the FDA to make the morning after pill available to 17-year-old minor girls without a physician’s visit or prescription and without parental consent. Judge Korman also asked the FDA to consider making the drug available to girls and women regardless of age.

Chris Gacek, Family Research Council’s Senior Fellow for Regulatory Affairs, released the following statement:

“This ruling jeopardizes girls’ health and the ability of parents to care for their daughters’ physical and emotional well-being. Judge Korman has accepted lock, stock, and barrel all of the claims of a political ideology promoting sexual license for teens.

“Now some minor girls will be able to obtain this drug without any guidance from a doctor or and without any parental supervision. We lack scientific studies on the long-term effects of Plan B with respect to high dosage and repeated use in both women and adolescents. Also, research from Scotland in the 1990s indicated that the increased use of the morning-after-pill did not decrease abortion rates.

“There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to women, especially sexually abused women and minors, under coercion or without their consent. Interaction with medical professionals is a major screening and defense mechanism for victims of sexual abuse. The availability of Plan B over-the-counter also bypasses the routine medical care of sexually active girls and women, which is important to allow screening for other health conditions, including sexually transmitted diseases.”