Protect Marriage Illinois

PMI Did Not File

peter — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:27:48 +0000

PROTECT MARRIAGE ILLINOIS did not receive enough signatures to file with the Board of Elections.
We do want to continue to work on permanently preserving traditional marriage in Illinois, with your help.

There are options that are available to us, so please contact us at info@protectmarriageillinois.org or
217-377-6017 if you are interested in helping us achieve our goal. We need to know who can help.

Thank you to all who worked hard at collecting signatures throughout the state.

dan — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 02:23:22 +0000

The Board of Protect Marriage Illinois is asking for your help in collecting signatures on our petition. We believe that the issue of protecting traditional marriage should be put before the People of Illinois.

It is an issue so important to so many people that we cannot sit by and allow it to be determined by others. (Especially those who have no stake in the future of our state – that includes supporters of homosexual marriage from elsewhere who give money or homosexual activists with no children.) Judges, governors, and even mayors in other states have legalized homosexual unions with the stroke of a pen!

Those of us that have been working hard for years to stop legislation that would allow the legalization of homosexual unions were dismayed to see (homosexual) Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago) introduce HB1826 in May 2007. Rep. Harris, in a Pantagraph article, stated: the plan will allow same-sex couples almost all the same legal obligations and privileges as marriage. Those of us who sat in on the Committee Hearing were saddened to hear the deceptive and misleading discussion on this Bill. When the Bill was passed out of Committee, we were more determined than ever to get the Truth out to Illinois’ citizens. Rep. Harris changed the wording of the Bill to civil unions from marriage after criticism from other legislators.

We don’t have to tell you that our society is changing radically every day. You can see it – now it’s time to put a stop to the things that will drastically affect our children’s futures! The radical homosexual activists have been pushing us around for 30 + years and it’s time we start pushing back. It’s come this far because we’ve allowed it. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue – it’s just common sense!

PLEASE volunteer to collect signatures at the very least. Fill as many petitions as you possibly can between today and April 21, 2008. It is simple to do – and it’s inspiring to be out and about talking to friends and family about this important issue. You will find a few people who do not want to sign it, but do not become discouraged. Do not enter into a discussion unless you have time. Sometimes people who disagree with you will start an argument just to waste your time. We ask that you keep your discussions civil – please do not argue – at this point, we’re just working to get our question on the ballot for a VOTE. Those who do not want to sign the petition can vote however they like once it’s on the ballot!! There are millions in Illinois who believe in traditional marriage and it’s just a matter of asking for their signature!

When November 4, 2008 comes, PLEASE vote. Take your friends with you to the polling places - there are always people who need a ride. It’s going to be determined by who gets more people to the polls to VOTE!

Please let us know if you’re collecting signatures and send them in as they are filled and notarized! Also, please call if you can volunteer for a leadership position. Or, if you have questions just contact us.

Thank you!

Tips for Gathering Signatures

joetta — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:36:19 +0000

NOTE: Please call us 217-377-6017 if you’re sending them last minute as we need to know how many sheets you’re sending from each county so we can number them correctly.
If you received a letter telling you to send the petitions to Box 419, Taylorville, don’t panic as the P.O. told me they’d put them in our Box 6017! Thank you kindly.

Dear PMI Circulators,

First, thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to gather signatures on the petition to preserve marriage in Illinois. Your time and effort is invaluable to this project and please know that we sincerely appreciate your work! We need the signed petitions to be turned in by APRIL 30, 2008 in order to get them processed for filing with the State Board of Elections and each county (or city) jurisdiction.

It will only take about 3 - 4 hours of your time to really impact our future! For instance, you can gather at your church or work in the next few days or stand in front of a busy Post Office.

We want every signature to count, so please read the instructions carefully before starting out.

For example, at an event, it’s very important that you ask a potential signer if they are a REGISTERED VOTER right after asking if they’d “like to sign a petition to protect marriage” and before you start discussing the petition, as that will save a lot of time as far as having an opportunity to explain the referendum question to a sincerely interested signer. From our experience, we recommend that you simply explain the purpose of the petition — to put the question of preserving traditional marriage between one man and one woman before the voters — and not get into a drawn out discussion or argument on the issue. Some people may elicit an argument to divert your attention from the task at hand — gathering as many valid signatures as possible! Of course, encourage each signer to read the ballot question at the top of the petition.

If someone declines to sign your petition we ask that you just say, “Thank You” and move on to the next group of people. Do not take it personally or be discouraged if you don’t get 100% to sign! Also, I believe the best time and place for deep discussions on this issue is usually in private, with love and patience. But, of course, if you have an opportunity to share your motivation for being there, please do — after all, this whole effort is based on our First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of worship.

TIPS ON PREPARING YOUR PETITIONS TO GO OUT AND GATHER SIGNATURES:

If you do not download a petition with the country pre-printed, we suggest you write the County/Election Jurisdiction on each line of the petition before making your copies & starting out for the day to avoid someone from a different county/jurisdiction accidentally signing on the wrong petition sheet. If you have mixed jurisdictions on one petition, the jurisdiction with the fewest signatures get thrown out. For example, if the petition has 4 of one jurisdiction and 3 of another, only the 4 count! This is especially important in the cities that are their own jurisdictions (Aurora, Bloomington, Chicago, Danville, East St. Louis, Galesburg, Peoria, and Rockford) — those residents must sign a sheet just for their city. So you will have some petitions with the City lines already filled in for residents of Peoria and other petitions with the County lines filled in to use for all residents outside the city limits in Peoria County. PLEASE DOWNLOAD PETITIONS WITH THE JURISDICTION PRE-PRINTED (or WRITE IT IN ALL DOWN THE PAGE) TO AVOID THESE MISTAKES — especially for those 8 cities!

When we’re processing the petitions, we will separate the City of Peoria from Peoria County petitions (all 8 city jurisdictions).

If you are going to a multi-county event, you can carry several clipboards or you can carry one with Post It tabs (suggest multi-colored) sticking out the side, indicating which county/ jurisdiction and you can flip back and forth. You can also purchase a clipboard that has an inside storage box to carry extra petitions.

Remember to ask each petitioner to sign it exactly like they sign when they go to vote — it needs to match the signature on their registration on file at their County Clerk’s office. Names were discarded last time due to petitioners signing just their middle name or a nickname. We do NOT want that to happen — it is called thwarting the Will of the People, but the Clerks were given specific instructions and we must follow them, too.

During the last effort, I went to a few counties to watch as the County Clerk verified signatures and addresses and was surprised to learn that some people had been taken off the registration rolls if they hadn’t voted in several elections. I asked if they even knew they were no longer registered and the Clerk assured me that they’d sent out notice(s) before they deleted the voters’ names. So, that is another good reason to specifically ask if the petitioner’s registration is current!

If someone is not sure if they’re registered, do not have them sign the petition. If they’re unsure, ask them if they’ve voted recently. If they do not remember the last time they voted, I suggest you give them a petition to sign after they go register to vote. In the meantime, as an American citizen, they can still ask nine of their friends to sign it, too! (As an American citizen they can collect signatures, but cannot sign it until they are registered). A voter registration form can be downloaded from our site and sent to their Clerk’s office. Once they’ve received notice from their Clerk that they are registered, they can sign the petition. If they’re just not sure if they’re registered, encourage them to check with their County Clerk’s office immediately. {Some people want to sign it but are not allowed to vote i.e. a felon, but as an American citizen, they can still gather signatures.}

If you are circulating petitions, will you please let us know? Either email us at
info@protectmarriageilliois.org or call 217-377-6017. Also, please let us know of events or conferences coming up in your area and if you’ll need extra volunteers.

Please collect signatures of REGISTERED VOTERS at every family, church, school, or leisure activity that you attend. You know many people that agree with you on this very important issue!! Again, we ask that you do not get into disagreements with voters while gathering signatures — if you want to discuss it more in depth, please ask the person to meet you at another time. We do not want you to miss other potential signers that would avoid you if you are in the middle of a disagreement.

We have received a few petitions with mistakes in the Notary portion at the bottom. You will need to fill in all but the Notary’s signature/stamp! You can fill in all but your signature before you make your copies to save labor when it comes time to get them all notarized –you will sign it in front of the Notary Public after (s)he has verified your identity! Here is a link for you in case you don’t know which “municipality” to circle on your petition — it is the list of Cities, Towns, and Villages in Illinois:
http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-cities-in-illinois

Whenever we go out to festivals, dinners, etc., we’re very encouraged by the positive response. It’s just a matter of going to where the people are — you’ll find that most are reaching for the petition before you’re done explaining! It is encouraging and inspiring to be out working on this important effort. Thank you so much and I look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Joetta Deutsch

217-377-6017

info@protectmarriageillinois.org

PMI Relaunches Marriage Protection Petition Drive for 2008

peter — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:14:46 +0000

Protect Marriage Illinois is relaunching the statewide petition drive to place an advisory question on the 2008 ballot asking citizens to vote “Yes” or “No” on whether to call on the Illinois General Assembly to pass a constitutional amendment protecting the age-old definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

The following language will appear on the 2008 Illinois ballot if PMI succeeds in getting the required 270,000 valid signatures:

Shall the Illinois General Assembly propose an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Illinois to be submitted to the voters of Illinois at the 2010 General election stating as follows:

“To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as marriage or similar union for any purpose.”

Visit often for updates on this project.

‘Protect Marriage Illinois’ Coalition to Deliver Well Over 300,000 Signatures Today to Qualify Referendum for Ballot in November

webmaster — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:37:04 +0000

by Illinois Family Institute

News Release, May 8, 2006

Petitions arrive at the Board of Elections in Springfield!
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois–Volunteers from across the state will be in the capital today to hand-deliver well over 300,000 signatures to the Board of Elections–to place a referendum on the November ballot asking if the General Assembly should amend the Illinois constitution to declare that “marriage between a man and a woman is the only legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”

If it survives a promised challenge by homosexual activists, the Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI) effort will be the first citizen advisory referendum to make it on the Illinois ballot in Illinois in 28 years. A total of 283,111 signatures of registered voters is required to get the referendum on the ballot, but PMI volunteers will deliver tens of thousands more than that.

The exact number of signatures to be submitted will be revealed after the petitions are delivered at 11:30 a.m. to the Illinois Board of Elections, at 1020 S. Spring St. in Springfield. At 12:30 p.m., the following speakers will be available to the media at the front entrance of the Board of Elections:

David Smith, PMI Project Director; Senior Policy Analyst, Illinois Family Institute

Jack Roeser, Chairman, Family Taxpayers Network

Naomi Attaway, PMI Coordinator, African-American Family Association

Susan Jordan, Catholic Outreach Coordinator, Protect Marriage Illinois

Rev. Joseph McAfee, Central United Community Church, Chicago

Peter LaBarbera, Executive Director of Illinois Family Institute, called the Protect Marriage Illinois campaign “a huge grassroots success that is historic in its proportions. The task of going to the ballot to call on our political leaders to protect traditional marriage has united people from every part of Illinois and from all races and backgrounds: African-American Pentecostals in Chicago, white Catholics in Peoria, evangelicals, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Truly, this is a ‘We the People’ movement.”

(LaBarbera will not be able to attend the PMI event in Springfield due to a personal trajedy in his family.)

Noting that a proposed binding constitutional marriage amendment has languished in Springfield for over two years, PMI Project Director David Smith said: “It’s a shame that we’ve had to resort to an Advisory Referendum to tell our legislators specifically to make protecting marriage a top priority. Nevertheless, it is humbling to see how many people and churches have invested their time, energy and resources to give us this unprecedented grassroots victory.”

The right of self government is quickly eroding away, as demonstrated in the battle to protect marriage. In Massachusetts, a 4-3 decision by the state’s highest court quashed a state law that preserve marriage as a union of one man and one woman and created a new “right to marry” based on unnatural sexual behavior.Can you believe that in Nebraska , a state constitutional marriage amendment that passed by 70 percent in November of 2000 was declared unconstitutional by a federal court; or that mayors in San Francisco and New Paltz, New York passed out “same-sex marriage” licenses–violating the respective laws of their states? Here in Illinois , House Speaker Michael Madigan has disregarded the people’s will by repeatedly blocking a popular Marriage Protection Amendment. If this amendment were ever allowed to come up for a vote by entire General Assembly, it would receive the needed three-fifths vote needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Since this constitutional amendment has been blocked in Springfield , grassroots groups started a petition drive to gather 283,111 signatures of registered voters to place an advisory referendum on the November ballot that calls on the General Assembly to pass a Marriage Protection Amendment. Thousands of concerned citizens are now circulating Protect Marriage Illinois petitions to get the necessary signatures.

Illinois citizens have the opportunity to assert their God-given right to take back their government and at the same time preserve marriage. Download a petition and get involved today!

David E. Smith, Project Director
Protect Marriage Illinois

“The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.”
–William F. Buckley, Jr.

How many signatures will need to be collected in order for this non-binding referendum to be placed on the ballot?

webmaster — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:52:54 +0000

Our goal, of course, is to collect more than the needed 270,000 petition signatures by April 21, 2008.

Why not seek to pass a marriage amendment through the Illinois General Assembly?

webmaster — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:52:38 +0000

We have tried, but for two years now, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has effectively killed the marriage amendment bill by assigning it to the Rules Committee**. If it were to come before the entire General Assembly, we are confident that it would receive the needed two-thirds vote needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

[**NOTE: In a letter-to-the-editor of the Chicago Free Press (a homosexual newspaper), Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network and Blake Wilkinson of Equal Marriage Now brag about their success in thwarting the people’s right to amend their state constitution, saying, that the “various bills for amendments are successfully bottled up in committees by Democrats and a few Republican moderates who have made the political calculation that, for the time being, their political futures are best served by not handing the most ardently conservative Republicans an issue. This is a marriage of convenience between these politicians and some LGBT leaders, a marriage which could be unceremoniously annulled if public opinion shifts.”]

To date, 19 states have passed protection of marriage amendments by an average vote of over 72 percent. The American people overwhelmingly and clearly reject the idea that marriage could be anything but the union of one man and one woman. This is an issue that the citizens of Illinois are now motivated about and wish to see passed.

Is the definition of marriage an appropriate topic for a constitution?

webmaster — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:52:13 +0000

Yes, absolutely. The constitution is a place to enshrine fundamental rights, basic liberties and the limitations of government. Granted, the founders of our country would have readily held the truths of marriage to be “self evident,” however; today marriage is under attack by a tiny minority of activist and public officials who are usurping their role and authority by ignoring the will of the American people, and by making new policy from the bench instead of interpreting the law.

Why is the Protect Marriage Illinois Referendum necessary? Doesn’t Illinois’ Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) already define and protect marriage in our state?

webmaster — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:51:33 +0000

Illinois’ DOMA law currently defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. But as we saw in Massachusetts, DOMA can be declared it unconstitutional. In theory, an amendment to the constitution cannot be declared unconstitutional.

We should not wait until there is a fire before we install fire sprinklers. It is why we are being pro-active, seeking to establish marriage as a matter of constitutional law before activist judges strike DOMA down here in Illinois. Currently there are several different law suits in state and federal courts challenging DOMA as unconstitutional. It is safer to define marriage constitutionally and protect it in advance of activist judges who wish to illegitimately strike it down.

Polygamists Pawns in the Agenda to Dismantle the Family

webmaster — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:03:13 +0000

by Peter J. Smith - LifeSiteNews.com

The rising tide of polygamist groups in America have adopted the tactics of homosexual activists to lobby for legal recognition of their relationships, however, these groups are playing an important role in the long-standing agenda to dismantle the traditional family.

In a recent Washington Post story, “Valerie”, a mother of eight “with a smile as bright as Utah’s sky”, who “has insisted that she’s just like you and me” illustrates that polygamists have discovered the tactics used by homosexual activists to further acceptance of their relationships in society. Namely, that gushing positive interviews in major media outlets, glossy magazines, and organized demonstrations, can afford them just as a great emotional tool in changing national opinion about bigamy.

“I’m a soccer mom. My kids are in music lessons. They go to public school. I’m not under anyone’s control,” says Valerie, who according to the Post shares a husband with two other wives on a rotation basis, making kitchen remodeling “no small feat”, and bringing the household’s children thus far to 21.

Read more…

HBO’s program titled, “Big Love.”

The program attempts to portray this polygamist family “as just another suburban family trying to live the American dream, struggling to balance the needs of seven kids, three wives, three separate houses, and one husband-in-chief.”