• • Carcieri calls for "family renewal offensive" at banquet
• • Gambling hearing next week, personal stories requested
• • 'Objective' professor receiving money from gambling interests
• • Globe runs story of Maine marriage fight, please donate
• • Cross-dressing killer still seeking taxpayer funded treatments
• • "Choose Life" plates reach important milestone, effort continues
• • Register for December "Truth Project" training
• • Take Action: One last chance to stop "hate crimes" legislation

More than 350 supporters, activists and donors of Massachusetts Family Institute came together last Thursday evening at the Newton Marriott to fellowship and hear remarks from a great pro-family champion, Gov. Don Carcieri of Rhode Island. In a first for an MFI banquet, even during the height of our Marriage Amendment battle, guests were greeted by a small group of protesters angered by Gov. Carcieri's appearance.

Gov. Carcieri, who was accompanied by his wife Sue, made it abundantly clear from the beginning where he stood on the issue of traditional marriage: "Sue and I have been unabashed and unapologetic in believing that marriage is between a man and a woman." He expounded his views, saying that "at the end of the day, it's about children."

He spent a good portion of his remarks referring to the large body of research that demonstrates that the traditional family "of one mother married to one father parenting their biological children has the best outcome for children." While pointing to numerous social costs resulting from the destructive trends in marriage and family life, Gov. Carcieri said that strengthening and promoting marriage is "the single-most important public policy issue of today in the nation."

In a particularly pointed part of his speech, Gov. Carcieri criticized the "odd state of tolerance" that has invaded our culture: "That any and all family configurations are of equal value, any household arrangement is as good as the next, and that no judgments should be made for the best environment for establishing adult relationships and raising children." He said that, in fact, the opposite is true, and that it "does matter what a family is, and it does matter what kind of family is preferred and promoted."

Another key point that Gov. Carcieri made was that same-sex "marriage" is not a civil right, and that the state has "an interest in perpetuating and doing what is good for families and good for children." Weighing in on the push to change the definition of marriage, Gov. Carcieri said that "it needs to be left for the citizens to decide, not by courts, not by legislatures."

Being the governor of Rhode Island, it was only fitting that he took a few moments to discuss the Ocean State and its standing as the only New England state without same-sex "marriage." He said that supporters of same-sex "marriage" refer to his state as the outlier, but he likes to remind them that Rhode Island is in fact "aligned with most of the country."

Gov. Carcieri issued a call-to-action for a "family renewal offensive" in America to support and promote families, and cited MFI as the right vehicle to answer that call in Massachusetts. "We're all in this together," concluded Gov. Carcieiri. "We're fighting for values that may be considered by some to be old-fashioned, but are in fact necessary in every age...Strong families will produce a greater society."

In addition to his strong defense of tradition marriage, Gov. Carcieri stood up for the innocent preborn as well. "I don't know how a society can long endure that does not value human life, particularly at its most vulnerable stage," he explained, saying that both he and his wife have been lifelong prolifers. Gov. Carcieri was perfectly clear when he ran for governor that he was prolife, and he was elected and re-elected in a state with a Democrat-stranglehold just like Massachusetts.

The evening also included the presentation of three Citizenship Awards to individuals who went above and beyond to defend traditional family values in the public square. Kate Hinton was recognized for her work in preventing Planned Parenthood from being allowed into her children's school to teach sex education. Merry Nordeen was given an award for her tireless and ongoing efforts to bring a "Choose Life" license plate to Massachusetts. Kathleen Magno was recognized for putting a controversial school health clinic policy regarding contraception on the ballot in Revere.

Thanks again to all the people who attended this year's banquet, especially those that donated or pledged to donate. A special thanks goes out to the many banquet sponsors who came forward to underwrite the dinner, and we encourage you to utilize their companies and services.

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Next Thursday, the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies will hold a public hearing on several pieces of legislation that would expand legalized gambling in Massachusetts. Among the bills are those that would create resort-style casinos and those that would allow for slot machines at the state's four racetracks.

The hearing will take place on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 10:00 a.m. in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston. We encourage anyone who is able to come to this hearing and show your opposition to expanded gambling.

Action: Do you have a personal story about the negative effects of gambling addiction? Have you or a family member become addicted to gambling or lost everything due to gambling addiction? MFI would like to work with you to prepare testimony to present in writing and hopefully in person to the Committee at the hearing next week.

Please send an email to info@mafamily.org if you would like to testify or share a story about gambling addiction.

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A University of Massachusetts professor, who has billed himself as an objective voice in the debate over casino gambling in the Commonwealth, is now a paid consultant for a gambling proponent in New Hampshire, reports the Boston Herald. Clyde Barrow, whose research has been criticized for being biased in favor of gambling, testified yesterday for a developer seeking to open a resort casino just across the border in NH.

"It's about time the people of Massachusetts know where the (gambling) proponents are getting their numbers on jobs and tax revenue," said Kathleen Conley Norbut, the president of United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts. Barrow's work has been cited by Gov. Deval Patrick and other Bay State gambling proponents as proof of the benefits Massachusetts would reap from resort casinos.

Barrow is the director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass-Dartmouth and acknowledged on Monday that he is getting paid an unspecified among of money for producing a "market feasibility" study for the Greenmeadow Golf Course, which is pushing for a resort casino in Hudson, NH.

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Maine has become the latest battleground in the national fight over same-sex "marriage," and the Boston Globe says that "polls indicate that the contest is so far evenly divided." Question One will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot and allow Maine voters to use a "people's veto" to get rid of the same-sex "marriage" bill approved by the legislature earlier this year.

Though polling shows the question to be even, funding, as is always the case, heavily favors the organizations opposing traditional marriage. $2.7 million have been raised to oppose Question One, while supporters have reported raising $1.1 million in contributions.

If you are able, please take a moment to visit the Stand for Marriage Maine website and donate to the cause. There is a concerted effort by homosexual activists to distort the truth about same-sex "marriage" to sway voters away from Question One. Supporters of traditional marriage must have the resources to respond. Click Here to donate today!

            Source: Boston Globe

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According to the Boston Herald, a cross-dressing killer who is currently suing the state to pay for his sex-change operation is refusing to brush aside a federal judge's denial of taxpayer-funded hair removal. Robert Kosilek - who strangled his 36-year-old wife Cheryl to death in 1990 - has gone back before U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf on Monday, asking him to order the state Department of Correction to provide electrolysis treatment for his gender identity disorder. Kosilek, who now goes by Michelle, claims to be a woman trapped in a man's body.

Judge Wolf in August refused to get involved with the debate because it wasn't proven to him to be a medical necessity. Department of Correction officials have offered to provide Kosilek with razors and depilatories.  Wolf has tentatively scheduled a Nov. 23 hearing on the motion to approve the taxpayer-funded procedure.

            Source: Boston Herald

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Massachusetts is one step closer to joining with 24 other states in offering "Choose Life" license plates. In the Commonwealth, if an organizer is able to find 3,000 people who are willing to reserve their plates, the plates will then be produced without legislative approval. A generous donor stepped forward and put up a bond of $100,000 so that only 1,500 reservations were needed, and that mark was just recently surpassed.

However, it is very important to get the second 1,500 people to sign up to preserve the bond and not leave the generous donor in the lurch. Please visit www.machoose-life.org/ to get what you need to sign people up (and if you have not already done so, you can submit your reservation!) for their plates.

Last week, MFI honored Merry Nordeen, the amazing volunteer who has made it her cause to bring the "Choose Life" plates to Massachusetts, with one of our annual Citizenship Awards for citizens who go above and beyond in support of our values. They surpassed the 1,500 reservation threshold just before our banquet, and Merry was able to make that announcement from the stage after receiving her award.

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The Defense Authorization Act of 2010 will be up for a vote sometime this week, but instead of focusing on the much needed support for our troops, sneaky Senators have decided to attach to this bill an amendment that has nothing to do with our national defense. A pro-homosexual "hate crimes" amendment was added during the summer to this bill, and it threatens the first amendment rights of all Christians.

A new provision that was added to the defense budget has the potential to kill the bill via a veto by President Obama. There was originally a provision for a second engine for the F-35 fighter jets, but the President came out in opposition to this provision, and the Senate removed it. However, the House has come out in support of the engine to provide extra protection to our armed forces. (Incidentally, the alternate F-35 engine will be made here in Massachusetts at the GE plant in Lynn.)

The President has already promised to veto any bill with this F-35 engine in it, so if the Senate can be convinced to allow the provision to be added back in, Obama will have to veto the whole bill, including the "hate crimes" within it.

Call Sen. Paul G. Kirk (D-MA), chosen to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy, who serves on the Senate Armed Service Committee today. Ask that he support this provision to add the extra F-35 engine to the Defense Authorization Act of 2010 to support our troops and support the jobs in Lynn that would be used to make the engines. He can be reached at 202.224.4543.

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