This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November.
The literature shows a Bible with the word ''BANNED'' across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word ''ALLOWED.'' The mailing tells West Virginians to ''vote Republican to protect our families'' and defeat the ''liberal agenda.''
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said Friday that he wasn't aware of the mailing, but said it could be the work of the RNC. ''It wouldn't surprise me if we were mailing voters on the issue of same-sex marriage,'' Gillespie said.
The flier says Republicans have passed laws protecting life, support defining marriage as between a man and a woman and will nominate conservative judges who will ''interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.''
''The liberal agenda includes removing 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance,'' it says.
It does not mention the names of the presidential candidates.
Jim Jordan, a spokesman for American Coming Together, described the mailing as ''standard-issue Republican hate-mongering.''
Gillespie said same-sex marriage is a legitimate issue in the election. President Bush has proposed amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Democratic Sen. John Kerry also opposes gay marriage but said a constitutional amendment is going too far.