Click here to go to the page.

Somehow, they got the impression that I was mocking Proposition 8; that I was using the political process to point out the hypocrisy of people who were eager to take rights away from gay people to protect “traditional marriage,” but were completely unwilling to give up their own rights to make marriage even more secure.

Even if that were true, the idea that I am abusing the system is absurd. I have no powerful or moneyed interests backing my cause. I gathered people to me on Facebook. I financed the effort with t-shirt sales. All of my signature gatherers were volunteers. I am an ordinary citizen. My cause is populism at its best.

The ballot initiative was designed to put power into the hands of the people, and that is exactly how we used it. We were doing it right—which is ultimately why we failed. If you want to see real abuse of the system, just look at your ballot on June 8^th.

Look at Proposition 16. The deceptively titled “Taxpayer’s Right to Vote Act” is actually backed by more than $46 million from PG&E. Instead of empowering voters, Prop 16 would actually take their rights away—giving a minority the power to veto the creation or expansion of municipal power, and eliminating competition in the marketplace.

Study the Mercury Insurance-backed Proposition 17, which would enable insurance companies to levy outrageous surcharges to customers who have had a lapse in their coverage. Mercury claims the initiative will actually allow them to give increased discounts to drivers who maintain continuous coverage. Does anyone honestly believe that Mercury just paid $14.6 million for the right to give their customers bigger discounts?

The sad truth is that the ballot-initiative process that was originally designed to give power to the people has become instead a cynical way for the rich and the powerful to bypass the political process. Why buy a legislator when you can just buy legislation? If you hire enough people to stand in front of Wal*Mart, you can get anything on the ballot.

I am making my stand against cynicism. I’ve refiled my initiative to ban divorce. I’m prepping petitions and gathering volunteers. I’ve made it my goal to reclaim the ballot-initiative process for the people of California.

My detractors have said that if I were to succeed in getting a divorce ban on the ballot, if it were actually to become law, political anarchy would be the result. I would have made such a mockery of the ballot-initiative system that we would have no choice but to dismantle it and replace it with something else, something better.

Somehow, I’m willing to take that risk.

We bound people with chains of love, while freeing their hearts to explore the confines of the marriage they can never, ever leave.

It is truly a blessing from God when your wife can walk in on you watching an Internet video and it actually moves you further from divorce, rather than closer to it.

PSA #1

PSA #2

On November 14, 2009, thousands of Californians will be united in a common cause as we march on the state capitol building to demand a return to traditional values as part of our petition kick-off event.

We will assemble in Cesar Chavez park, reclaiming it from its Marxist heritage, then march the three blocks to the capitol building. Once there, there will be speakers and our signature event — a mass renewal of wedding vows on the steps of the capitol, reminding the legislators within that God said you should cling to your wife, and that anyone who suggests otherwise deserves a spanking.

RSVP for this events and find other RescueMarriage.org members from your neighborhood on the RescueMarriage.org Meetup page!

Map

View Wedding March on the Capitol in a larger map

Both entries had some funny slogans, but both were lacking a bit in the “design” portion of the t-shirt design contest. So I slaved over a hot PC the past few days and came up with some new designs of my own. The two guys who worked hard to get me some designs will each get a classic RescueMarriage t-shirt, or some swag to be determined later.

The first shirt design is a tribute to the “little fillies” in our lives and their determination to hold on tight with both legs as their marriage bucks and thrusts beneath them.

The Matrimony Pony

The second design is the official event shirt for The Wedding March on the Capitol.

The Wedding March on the Capitol

Both of these designs will be available on a variety of clothing and other items in the next few days.

Q: “What’s the difference between a t-shirt and a marriage?”

A: “You can have more than one t-shirt and you won’t go to hell.”

After the success of our initial t-shirt run, we’ve decided to branch out. We’re holding a t-shirt design contest for RescueMarriage.org. Entries are due on October 7, 2009.

Winning entrants will get a t-shirt with their design printed on it and a few other bits of key swag, plus the pride that comes from realizing that you just gave away an award-winning design for the price of a Cafe Press t-shirt.

Send your designs to info@rescuemarriage.org. All entries become the property of RescueMarriage.org. Winners will be notified by e-mail on October 8, 2009.

]]> http://rescuemarriage.org/2009/09/23/rescuemarriage-org-t-shirt-design-contest/feed/ 17 http://rescuemarriage.org/2009/09/10/rescuemarriage-gets-twitterpated/ http://rescuemarriage.org/2009/09/10/rescuemarriage-gets-twitterpated/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:18:12 +0000 John Marcotte http://rescuemarriage.org/?p=142 Like the burning sensation a sinner feels after a one-night stand with a Tijuana hooker, RescueMarriage has gone viral. And no one has helped the rash spread faster than our good friends over at “Twitter.”

We looked into getting our own Twitter account, but then discovered that we had a better attention span than an over-caffeinated squirrel — so were disqualified for medical reasons.

But for those of you on stimulants or off your meds, check out the following Twitter searches to see what has been twatted about us:

• “ban divorce” @ Twitter
• “rescuemarriage.org” @ Twitter
• “John Marcotte” @ Twitter

Mr. Marcotte,

Thank you for your time, please let me know if you have any questions.

Eric J. Thronson
Fiscal & Policy Analyst
Legislative Analyst’s Office
California State Legislature
925 L Street, Suite 1000
(***) ***-****

This is exciting news. We’re making progress. I called Mr. Thronson up and we chatted for a bit about what the bill was supposed to accomplish. I thought that a bit strange, since we tried to keep the bill as simple and straightforward as possible; but he was quite pleasant and I answered his questions to the best of my ability.

He asked if he could call me if more questions came up, and I assured him that would be fine. So we’re one step closer to a more moral California. Hooray!