Archbishop Dolan Fights Marriage Equality in New York

New York archbishop Timothy Dolan, who recently warned President Barack Obama about his move to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, brought his message to a panel discussion in a district represented by one of the four Republican senators who voted for the marriage equality bill.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports on the presentation held Monday and attended by Dolan, other religious leaders, and advocates against marriage equality including Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.

During the talk called "The Ring Makes A Difference," Dolan said the movement against marriage equality is "not antigay," but "aimed at opposing a range of threats to the institution of marriage, including divorce, polygamy and adultery."

The archbishop, who also leads the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, repeated criticism he expressed in a letter sent to President Obama last week. In that letter, which included a "threat analysis" from the bishops' policy arm, Dolan warned that the decision to not defend DOMA and other steps like the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would "escalate the threat to marriage and imperil the religious freedom of those who promote and defend marriage."

The presentation took place in the district represented by Stephen Saland, one of four Republican state senators to vote for the marriage equality bill that passed in June. Opponents of marriage equality, including the National Organization for Marriage, have vowed to raise millions to unseat the senators in addition to their campaign for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, a difficult prospect in New York.