|
|
|
COMMENTARY • July 2004 |
Why We Must Defend Marriage Now
By Gary Bauer
CHRISTIAN EXAMINER- Opinion |
Believe it or not, this impending vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment is going to be a tremendously difficult battle. It shouldn't be, but in May a deal was struck between Senate Democrats and militant homosexual activists to kill any effort to protect traditional marriage. It appears to be working. Right now, it is hard to count 50 votes in favor of the amendment! That's not because there are 50 senators who will admit they support homosexual "marriage," but many on both sides of aisle are hiding behind a host of excuses to avoid doing the only thing that will preserve marriage in America as the union of one man and one woman.
Make no mistake about it - the courts will redefine marriage. They did it in Hawaii. They did it in Vermont. They did it in Massachusetts. And they just did it again in New York. Are our elected representatives going to do anything to stop it? The result of congressional inaction - or the failure to pass an amendment - will give a green light to liberal judges all across the country and the consequences will be devastating.
One of the most frequently offered excuses is that marriage is a “states’ rights issue” that should be left to the states to decide. It’s a ludicrous argument, but it is nothing more than an excuse. I know this because 65 senators, including 18 Republicans, voted last night to expand federal interference in state criminal issues when it comes to so-called "hate crimes” based on sexual orientation. These 65 senators expect us to believe that the federal government should rush to the defense of a homosexual who may or may not have been attacked because of his “orientation,” but the federal government has no interest in preserving marriage – the foundation of our society.
The words "husband" and "wife" will be meaningless. Homosexual adoption will be instantly legalized and generations of children will be raised in wholly unnatural environments - deprived of ever having the benefit of a mother and a father. The public schools will teach your children that two men "marrying" each other are morally equivalent to one man and one woman. It's legal, so it must be okay! Our kids will be taught how to perform "safe sodomy" in their sex education classes.
Churches will be pressured to either abandon the Scriptures or lose their tax exempt status if they refuse to "marry" homosexuals. That would be discrimination, after all!
Do you need any more reasons to get involved? There will be tremendous economic consequences.
Homosexual "spouses" will suddenly be entitled to health insurance benefits and given the high rates of disease and other medical issues associated with the lifestyle, all of us will pay even more for health insurance. And there's Social Security. Homosexual "spouses" will be entitled to Social Security retirement and survivors' benefits. Will the government have to settle a massive class action lawsuit by all those out there who have been denied these benefits because they couldn't legally marry before? What if two heterosexual men want to "marry" for the benefits? Would that be
legal too?
Once we open the definition of marriage up to something other than the union of one man and one woman, there is no legal or moral reason to continue the prohibition against polygamy and polyamory - group marriage. Polygamists are already suing because the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas said states had no right to legislate based on morality! Is this the future America you want for your children and grandchildren? It will be unless men and women of faith take their civic duty more seriously!
If you have ever organized anything before - even a school bake sale - we need your help now.
We have posted a list of senators who have not yet co-sponsored the Federal Marriage Amendment. We must deluge their offices with phone calls, letters and e-mails in defense of traditional marriage. We need people organizing their churches and social clubs, contacting friends and family members. Be bold! The American people don't want this! But the politicians must hear from you.
Here is what we need you to do: 1) Call Congress right now at (202) 224-3121 and demand your senators co-sponsor the Federal Marriage Amendment. 2) Then call five friends and family members and ask them to do the same. 3) E-mail the Capitol Hill phone number to everyone in your address book and ask them to call too! 4) Copy his report and share it with friends at church and at work and encourage them to call.
Gary Bauer, president of American Values and political activist
|
All site contents copyright© Christian Examiner™ (formerly the Christian Times)
Christian Examiner™, P.O. Box 2606 El Cajon, CA 92021 • 619-668-5100 • Fax 619-668-1115
Email: info@christianexaminer.com • Web site: www.christianexaminer.com |
|
