Marriage Amendments and my smart husband

One more political matter. Since the LDS church has come out so strongly in favor of state constitutional amendments to define marriage as between a man and a woman the topic has dominated some conversations we have been having lately. Awhile ago Cory felt compelled to send the email below to bunches of people and I just wanted to post it to get some of our thoughts out there. While I have always been one that has been persuaded by arguments that people should be able to live their lives as long as they are not hurting anyone else the fact is that legally redefining marriage does have huge societal (cost, litigation, etc) and religious freedom ramifications.

Dear all,
As discussion of Proposition 8 in California has increased, better known as the "Protect Marriage Amendment," I have become increasingly convinced that this issue is of paramount importance. For those that know me well, you will know that I am not one for conspiracies, nor do claim that such-and-such thing or person will "destroy" our country/society/culture or whatever. You will also know that I am not a racist, bigot, hatemonger, or homophobe.I hope you will also notice that I NEVER send along, or forward mass emails. This is an obvious exception and is written by my hand. I hope you will appreciate why I have broken track record for this.My reasons for feeling as strongly as I do are based on what is actually happening in Massachusetts as a result of their "legalizing" homosexual marriage, not necessarily what could happen.As a result of allowing same-sex marriages, since 2005 Massachusetts hospitals have been advised to cross out "Father" and write in "Second Parent" for lesbian couples (I could not find any instance of either one of a male gay couple bearing a child so the issue of male-male "parent" birth certificates has not come up...yet). For reasons why this has a substantial impact beyond the need to reprint a batch of birth certificates I will refer you to this article from 2005.In 2006, The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities discontinued it's very successful adoption program inside Massachusetts because the new state law made it illegal to refuse to adopt to same-sex couples. In this article the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities explained that the state law infringed on their religious freedom and concluded that they must withdraw from the state in order to continue practicing their faith.After Governor Romney's failed attempts to prevent the adoption of same-sex "marriage" in the state of Massachusetts, the Governor began enforcing the states long standing residency requirements for marriage to ensure that Massachusetts did not become "the Las Vegas of gay marriages." This prevented gay couples from outside the state to come in, get married and go back home where they could then have a claim that their "marriage" was valid. On July 15th 2008, the Massachusetts Sate Senate voted to repeal those residency requirement sections of the Massachusetts State marriage code, "The Senate acted by voice vote, allowing the senators to avoid putting their individual positions on record during this election year". The bill then went to the house and on July 30th, in an emergency session, they adopted and immediately enacted the bill, opening the flood gates to all same-sex couples in the country to get married in Massachusetts and claim validity in other states.No such provision was offered with the California Supreme Court overruled the vast majority (61% of the population) in the 2000 Prop 22 ballot and, being elected to no office, and accountable to no one with out a state wide recall, by the slimest of margins created law that will force a minority's opinion in one state upon the entire country.This is what HAS happened, and the problems will only grow from here. Attached is a pdf from Family Leader Network, an organization committed to the preservation of the family with marriage between a man and a woman as its central tenant. If you are not 100% convinced that getting involved is the right thing to do, read it. If you are looking for good arguments to counter those who seek to undermine the family, read it.I will be posting this letter on my blog and I would love your comments there. Thank you for your friendship and your support in any way you can on this vital matter.
Cory