In Brief

Utah's Senator Orrin Hatch Breaks With Mitt Romney Over Federal Ban On Same-sex Marriage

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UTAH)

TAMPA, FL -- Utah's senior U. S. Senator and an influential voice in the Republican party broke ranks Tuesday with presidential nominee Mitt Romney differing on support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Speaking on the convention floor to Sirius Q XM radio, Hatch said;

"I'm a believer that the states should be able to make their own determination. There are about, what, six states that have done it? They've chosen to do that. I don't agree with that, because I believe in the sanctity of the marriage covenant and the traditional definition, but the states have a right to do it."

Hatch, who is running for reelection this year, added that he felt it should be a state's rights issue:

"Well, my personal belief is that we should not discriminate against anybody, but I do draw the line at the definition of marriage,' he said.

'I think that it's a very important thing for men, women and children. But I don't want to see anybody showing prejudice against anybody."

The Senator was first elected to represent Utah in the Senate in 1977 and formerly served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee.

Previously, Hatch has held traditional GOP and conservative viewpoints on issues regarding LGBT people. In 2006, he voted in favor of an unsuccessful federal marriage amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. However, Hatch was an early supporter for federal AIDS funding along with Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector,(R) with whom he voted to reauthorise the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act in a GOP controlled Congress. Hatch later credited the gay led Log Cabin Federation for influencing his vote.

Earlier this year, Romney told Christian evangelical leaders during a conference call with the Faith and Freedom Coalition, that President Obama was leading an “assault on life,” an “assault on religion” and an “assault on marriage” as part of a larger “assault on American values.”

Romney added:

"I think he is very aggressively trying to pave the path to same-sex marriage," [Said of Obama.] "I would, unlike this president, defend the Defense of Marriage Act. I would also propose and promote once again an amendment to the Constitution to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman."

State Tells Catholic Church It Has Gone Too Far

Bishop Joseph Tyson

OLYMPIA, WA -- The Catholic Church diocesan offices in Yakima, Washington sent a 'pastoral' letter written by Bishop Joseph Tyson to all of its 41 parishes last week asking the priests to announce a special collection that would go to Preserve Marriage Washington, which is fighting the same-sex marriage law which was signed into law earlier this year and which opponents have successfully targeted with a voter referendum.

Lori Anderson, a spokeswoman for the state's Public Disclosure Commission told LGBTQNation that request is illegal under the terms of Initiative 134, which Washington voters passed ten years ago to regulate political contributions and campaign spending.

Anderson pointed out that the law specifically states that no organization, (including the Yakima diocesan churches) may be an intermediary for contributions. She says the Catholic churches are allowed hand out envelopes, but either a member of Preserve Washington has to be on hand to collect them or parishioners must send them in individually. Anderson said that the church has been notified by the commission.

Although the diocesan offices refused comment on the collections issues, a spokesperson did acknowledge that the Bishop also alerted parish priests that he has a "Pastoral Letter on Marriage" that he would like read in every parish.

Washington's same-sex marriage law has come under fire even before it was signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire in February. A group of bishops banded together publishing a letter voicing their opposition even before the law passed. They argued that marriage should remain between a man and a woman because it is "related to bringing children into the world and the continuation of the human race."

The church offered to use its parishes as signature-gathering centers for Preserve Marriage Washington's campaign to place Referendum 74 to qualify the measure for the November ballot to put the new law up for a majority vote.

This latest effort by the Yakima Bishop comes as Preserve Marriage Washington acknowledged that it is trailing in fundraising efforts, raising just $471,000 compared with the nearly $6.1 million raised by Washington United for Marriage, which supports the same-sex marriage law.

Washington United for Marriage announced Monday that the group has set aside nearly $5 million for television advertising to commence after the Labor Day holiday.