Proposition 102 Update - the Bishop’s Letter: By Mark R. Kerr

In a pastoral letter to church members, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson and Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead of Phoenix said Proposition 102 "is in alignment with our deeply held moral beliefs regarding marriage. And without a constitutional provision, the pair said, the current laws that define marriage in Arizona as solely between one man and one woman could be overturned.”

The Arizona Daily Star story ends with " ... Kicanas pointed out, however, that courts in Massachusetts and California have ruled Gays are constitutionally entitled to wed despite state statutes to the contrary."

Excuse me Bishop Kicanas and Bishop Olmstead, Arizona law, Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) 25-101 and ARS 25-112, enacted in 1996 already covers the subject and prohibits the state from recognizing such marriages conducted in other states that perform these weddings.

In 2003 and 2004, the law was upheld in Arizona Superior Court and the Arizona Supreme Court in the case Standhardt V. Superior Court.

This letter by Bishops Olmstead and Kicanas is a violation of Commandment Number Eight (of the Ten Commandments), "Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor."-This commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in relations with others. This also forbids lying.

In addition to the violation of Eighth Commandment, Olmstead and Kicanas’ letter goes against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, specifically Catechisms 2464-2513 (I - Living in the Truth, II - To Bear Witness to the Truth, III - Offenses Against Truth, IV - Respect for the Truth, V - The Use of the Social Communications Media, VI. Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art and In Brief (www.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a8.htm.)

Enough already! Donate to Arizona Together and most importantly to Vote No on Proposition 102, the local grass roots effort, which includes the same individuals who helped to deliver Pima County into the "No" column by such a wide margin, it was a major contributor to the overall victory to defeat the proponents (Cathi Herrod and the Center for Arizona Policy) in 2006 and will do again.

Voting for the November general election will commence, with the mailing out of the (vote by mail) ballots to registered Arizona voters who are already on the early voting (vote by mail) list and for this election, voters in Arizona must make important decisions regarding many ballot measures, allowing voters to study the language, as well as the arguments for and against each measure, and make an informed decision with a more relaxed timetable than is possible in a traditional polling place.

Voting by mail will encourage those to get others to the polls or who don't choose to cast their votes by mail to do so on November 4, to defeat Proposition 102. Go online to the Pima County Recorder’s website and follow the links and sign up to vote by mail and cast your votes to defeat Proposition 102.

If you wish to send a check, here are the addresses: Arizona Together, PO Box 880, Scottsdale, AZ 85252; No on Prop 102, PO Box 87955, Tucson, AZ 85754-7955.