Petition Drive Begins to

Save Marriage in Illinois

MetroVoice encourages Illinois & Missouri readers to join the drive

By Jim Day

 

    Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI) has re-started the petition drive to collect the signatures needed to get the marriage issue before the voters of the State of Illinois.  The goal is to get 269,000 signatures by April, 2008, to put the matter on the next state-wide ballot.

    PMI, an outgrowth of the Illinois Family Institute, is now a separate organization conducting the Marriage Petition Drive.  Several Illinois pro-family groups, including Concerned Women for America and Heartland Conservatives, are supporting PMI’s re-launch of the marriage petition campaign.

    Just as pro-family leaders predicted last year, a ‘Civil Unions’ bill (HB 1826) was introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives in March, 2007. The bill was sponsored by an open homosexual activist from Chicago, State Representative Greg Harris. The bill did not reach a vote this year, but the pro-gay activists have targeted Illinois to get such a law passed and seem relentless in their ambition to do so.

    The PMI petition drive is the way for the voice of the people of Illinois to be heard and let the people of Illinois vote on marriage, rather than leave marriage in the hands of those who would undermine and destroy it with same-sex union legislation.

    “Even the name of the bill is designed to mislead and deceive both legislators and the general public,” says Mary Thurman, Executive Director of Heartland Conservatives and PMI Board member. “The bill (HB 1826) is called the Civil Unions and Religious Freedom Act, but it really copies almost line for line the current Illinois Marriage Law, attempting to give the same benefits to civil unions. The bill then throws in a line or two saying that clergy do not have to perform the civil unions to deceive churches.  This is an extremely misleading and dangerous bill and it is urgent that we let the people of Illinois have their voice on this subject.”

    Thurman is not alone in her alarm about the bill.  Constitutional Attorney Paul Linton has done a thorough analysis of the bill and its amendments. He states that “apart from the public policy issues there are legal issues in that the bill would ‘deconstruct the meaning of marriage’ in two ways: 1. It gives same-sex couples all the ‘protections, benefits and responsibilities under the law… as are granted to spouses in a marriage’ and 2. It would allow opposite sex couples to enjoy ‘all the same protections, benefits and responsibilities under law as are granted to spouses in marriage ‘without actually being married.’”

    Linton concludes: “These two changes empty the institution of marriage of all substance, leaving only an empty form (i.e., the name, ‘marriage’) as a ‘consolation prize’ for those who oppose same-sex marriage.” (Mr. Linton’s entire assessment may be read on the web site: http://www.realcivilrights.org.)

    Many have asked why the petition drive is needed in Illinois to stop the assault on marriage. Pro-family groups in Illinois have tried for four years to get a marriage amendment introduced in Illinois to protect traditional marriage, but those in political power in the Illinois legislature have not allowed it out of committee. In contrast, the Civil Union Bill, sponsored by the newly elected homosexual activist legislator, was passed out of committee in a matter of days - less than 2 weeks!

    This demonstrates the very obvious agenda in the present Illinois legislature and it is time for the Church to take a strong stand for the Biblical view of Marriage. The petition drive is the best way for the voice of the people to be heard in Springfield and to let the people of Illinois vote!

    PMI is asking the churches and all those who believe in Biblical, traditional marriage to help get the signatures needed to turn the tide in Illinois.  Working together, the people of Illinois will have the opportunity to vote on marriage in Illinois.

    Below are some ideas and resources to use.

 

How You Can Help:

    Sign the Petition: As a registered voter in Illinois you can sign the petition and help get this initiative on the next Illinois State-wide ballot.

    Get Family and Friends to Sign: Ask them to sign the petition in support of traditional marriage.  Make sure they are registered to vote because only registered voters may sign the petition. You may download the petition at the PMI website: (www.protectmarriageillinois.org) or call PMI at 1-(217) 377-6017.  (To prevent mixing of jurisdictions, download a pre-printed one for your county and a blank one to use in other counties. And, please download the directions, too.)

    Tell others: Tell everyone you know about the petition drive and encourage those you tell to tell others. Help get the word out in your own circles.

    Hold a Petition Drive at Your Church: Under the authority of your pastor, ask if you can set up a table in the front lobby or collect signatures outside the church with a clipboard.  You can also ask to include information about the petition drive in the church bulletin and encourage your pastor to help get the word out about the petition.

    Volunteer to help: Volunteers are needed to gather petitioners’ signatures at churches and public events.

    Send a Donation to PMI: It takes money to run this project, and it is funded solely by donors who believe in traditional marriage.

    Above all - Pray for the PMI Petition Drive project and those working on it.

 

Ways to Conduct an Effective Petition Drive in Your Church:

    1.  Provide a “Petition Signing Table” in prominent traffic locations.

    Position volunteers and tables in the lobby or other prominent high traffic locations where church members and visitors can stop by and sign the petition. Have several stacks of petitions laid out across a single folding table with several pens. Place a removable Post-It Note on or a folded index card near each petition designating the election jurisdiction/county of each petition. (Only one county on a sheet is allowed.) Remind signers that they must be registered voters to sign the petition.

    It is extremely important to remember that there are 8 cities in Illinois that are their own election jurisdictions. In those 8 cities, city voter signatures cannot be mixed with county voter signatures. For example, residents of Peoria, IL will have a separate petition from residents/voters outside the city in Peoria County.  Of special importance to MetroVoice readers in the East St. Louis area, voters/petitioners in East St. Louis will have a separate petition from those living outside the city in St. Clair County.   Those desiring to gather signatures should go to www.protectmarriageillinois.org to download their Petitions by Jurisdiction to make it easier to collect signatures.

 

    2.  Have volunteers with clipboards in the lobby or parking lot of the church before and after the service.

    Prepare a sufficient number of volunteers (3-4 people for about 500 people) who will invite members to sign the petition before and after the service. Each volunteer should be equipped with a clip board filled with petitions. During the service, an announcement can be made related to the petition drive, encouraging those who want to sign the petition to do so.

 

    3.  Have Blank petitions with instructions available.

    This is an effective way to invite members to participate in the petition drive. For those who want to gather signatures themselves, have these ready to hand out. Some churches put them in the bulletin on Sunday.  “Many hands make light work” is certainly applicable here. Getting volunteers who are willing to take petitions with them to gather signatures among friends, family, co-workers and neighbors will help reap many more signatures for this important petition drive.

    The Pastor or moderator can encourage the congregation to participate in the petition drive during the announcements. The Pastor may even want to prepare a special message related to the sanctity of marriage and the importance of protecting it in our culture. Any combination of the above gathering methods could and should occur over the course of several weeks. Some churches even have a session (maybe in Sunday school) to explain how to collect petition signatures correctly.)

 

Begin Now!

    Begin now by going to www.protectmarriageillinois.org and get a petition and instructions. You can also write to PMI to request petitions at PO Box 6017, Taylorville, IL 62568 or call (217) 377-6017.  Missourians can help collect signatures as well. Anyone over 18 can legally gather signatures. So, if you’re a Missourian and visit Illinois carry a blank petition and ask for signatures!  We must protect the Biblical institution of marriage from this attack by homosexual activists.