Pro-family Movement
Suffers Major Setback at the UN

Dear Supporter of the Family,

As many of you probably know, the pro-family cause suffered a major setback at the UN last week. The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted 23 to 13, with 13 abstentions, to bypass its long-established process and grant UN “consultative status” to the International Gay/Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). 

I want to thank all of you who responded to our action alert to try to stop this attempt by the United States to force this unprecedented action by ECOSOC.  You flooded the key UN delegations with tens of thousands of emails exposing this radical homosexual activist group and its agenda to undermine the family, family values, and the freedoms of speech and religion around the world.

Thanks to your efforts, these countries were warned that accrediting IGLHRC posed a direct threat to them.  So why did so many of them cave or abstain on this vote?

Sadly, the major reason for this anti-family victory was the intense pressure brought by the United States, and to a lesser extent by other countries, to get this U.S.-based group accredited.  We know from feedback from UN delegations that this pressure was the kind that is usually only applied by the United States or other major powers when issues of major national importance are at stake.  Certainly, the efforts by some members of the U.S. delegation to intimidate other nations by using very aggressive and undiplomatic attacks has caused increased resentment and personal animosity towards the U.S.   

There are some clear lessons to be learned from this defeat.  One, for Americans, is the extent to which the Obama Administration is willing to sacrifice important foreign policy goals such as establishing better relationships with countries around the world, particularly Muslim countries, which were most opposed to this campaign by the U.S.
It also illustrates a lack of understanding by many developing nations as to just how serious a threat homosexual activists actually pose.

One of the primary concerns about accrediting IGLHRC was its stated goal of forcing the dangerous “Yogyakarta Principles” on nations around the world.  You can learn more about the major problems and fallacies in this dangerous document by reading our policy brief. But generally, it seeks to make any expression of “sexual rights” superior to true and widely recognized human rights such as freedom of speech and religion whenever a conflict between them might arise.  It was their incomplete and evasive answers to questions put to them by the UN accrediting committee that led to a recommendation that their application be held and reconsidered at the next meeting.

The laws, customs and cultures in countries around the world that support the family will be under more intense attack as a result of this vote.  (And the U.S. has sent a clear signal to these countries that it supports these attacks through such surrogates as IGLHRC and places more value on invented “sexual rights” than on basic freedoms such as religion and speech.)

Finally, the vote shows the wisdom of the famous American Revolutionary, Benjamin Franklin, who observed after the American colonies had declared their independence from England, that as a result of this action, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”  If the developing nations had indeed hung together on this vote, it would have been defeated. 

I understand why so many countries caved to pressure.  This means, however, that we will have to work harder to help them understand that the attacks on their laws and culture will only intensify in the months and years ahead.  But an even more important and now urgent element of our work with countries around the world must be that the sooner they draw the line and hang together, the easier it will be to stop the sexual rights agenda.  If they do not, the end result will inevitably be that radical activist groups such as IGLHRC will impose their anti-family agenda on them.  There is no middle ground.

Sincerely,

Sharon Slater
President

News Items of Interest

Abortion

U.S. State Department Funds Groups Lobbying “Yes” Vote on Pro-Abortion Kenya Constitution.  An investigation by three Republican congressmen has found that $23 million of U.S. taxpayer money has been used to fund a constitutional referendum that would increase access to abortions in Kenya.  USAID admitted to using the money to influence voters in Kenya to pass the highly controversial proposed constitution.  Read more here.

Adoption

Spanish Judge Removed for Resisting Same-sex Adoption.  Fernando Ferrin Calamita was removed as a family judge in 2009 when he refused to issue a decision regarding the adoption until he received a report on the effects of lesbianism on the child.  He has now been ordered to return $130,000 USD in pay that he received while he was suspended.  Read more here.

Russia Bans Adoption by U.S. Same-sex Couples.  Negotiators between the two countries arrived at the agreement after an unmarried U.S. mother returned her 7-year-old adopted son to Russia unaccompanied on a plane in April. The mother said the boy was psychologically unfit and dangerous. Single individuals are also banned from adopting children. Read more here.

Homosexuality Related

Illinois Professor Fired After Anonymous 'Hate Speech' Complaint.  The University of Illinois fired Professor Ken Howell who taught courses on Catholicism.  A student filed a complaint after Howell stated the church’s teaching that homosexual behavior is immoral.  Read more here.

Calif. Professor Fired for Homosexual Comments Wins $100K Settlement.  Biology Professor June Sheldon was terminated for her answer to a student’s question about homosexuality.  The San Jose/Evergreen Community College District initially argued that professors have no free speech rights in the classroom.  A federal court rejected that argument.  Professor Sheldon is now teaching at a different college.  Read more here.

Study Finds Homosexuality Linked with Childhood Trauma.  The study by the University of Otago in New Zealand found that homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals who have had same-sex experiences are more likely to have experienced negative events in childhood.  Nearly 13,000 individuals aged 16 and over were interviewed for the study.  Read more here.

U.S. Lutherans Loosen Homosexual Clergy Standards.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S., now allows non-celibate homosexuals to serve as clergy.  Read more here.

Marriage Related

Argentina Legalizes Same-sex Marriage.  Argentina has become the first Latin American country to legalize homosexual marriage.  Lawmakers voted 33-27 to approve the measure.  President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter of the legislation.  Read more here.

Study Finds Marriage Protects Infants.  According to the study done at Columbia University in New York, the lowest risk for low birth weight to babies born to African American women was found among who were both married when they gave birth to their infants and also had mothers who were married at the time they themselves were born.  Read more here.

British PM Told Catholics Will Never Celebrate Civil Unions.  Bishop of Paisley Phillip Tartaglia wrote a letter to Prime Minister Cameron in response to remarks he made at a “gay pride” reception in June that suggested his government would try to force churches to celebrate civil unions.  Read more here.

New Jersey Supreme Court Declines to Hear Homosexual Marriage Case.  The court decided not to hear a case first brought eight years ago by six homosexual couples challenging the state’s marriage law.  It left open the possibility that it might hear a future case that might come up to it.   Read more here.

Federal Judge Rules Against Arizona on Domestic Partner Benefits.  The judge ruled that the attempt by the state to limit state benefits to the children and spouses of state employees as defined by the state violated the Constitution’s equal protection provisions because homosexual employees’ domestic partners could not qualify.  Read more here.

News Items of General Interest

Montana Sex-ed Program Delayed.  After a flood of public outrage, the Helena School Board has sent the human sexuality section of the proposed health curriculum back for revisions.  The vote on the new program has been pushed back from August to October.  The original program contained many elements that were offensive to parents.  Read more here.

Scientists Find New Ways to Slow Spread of AIDS.  The two promising new approaches that have been found by researchers are a vaginal gel and cash payments to individuals who delay sexual activity.  A clinical trial showed that the vaginal gel could block more than half of new infections if used regularly, and in another study, girls and young women delayed sexual activity for a cash payment of a few dollars a month, which led to a 60 percent reduction in HIV infections.  Read more here.

Nearly 20 Percent of Girls In Britain Get Pregnant by Age 18.  The government survey of 18- year-old sexually active girls found that some had been pregnant twice by that age and that rates were higher for poorer and less educated girls.  Read more here.

 

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