Amendment Votes Indicative of Nationwide Surge to Protect Marriage?
by Bill Fancher and Jody Brown
October 22, 2004
(AgapePress) - Many of the nation's religious leaders believe the fight to protect traditional marriage has awakened the Evangelical church. One pro-family group takes it even further, applauding Americans as a whole for "boldly resisting attacks on the sanctity of marriage" over the last year.
For the second week in a row, thousands of Christians crowded onto the National Mall in the nation's capital to demonstrate their support for marriage and their concerns for the direction in which the nation is headed. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins sees the rallies as an indication that the Christian community is waking up to its duty.
"A year ago, it looked like there was no counter effort being made to those that were trying to redefine the institution of marriage," Perkins says, referring to events last November in Massachusetts. "But in the last six months we've seen a massive effort driven by just the average American who cares deeply about this country and about the future of family, which hinges upon the future of marriage."
Perkins says churches are mobilizing their congregations to vote the values they profess. By the time the upcoming election is over, 13 states will have voted on constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. Two of those states -- Missouri and Louisiana -- have already approved amendments in decisive fashion. According to recent polls, referendums in the other 11 states will also pass.
Bob Knight
"Even in Oregon, where homosexual activist groups have poured in thousands of dollars to subvert the amendment, polls show that Oregonians want to preserve the ages-old definition of marriage," say Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute. Those citizens, he says, along with those of other states "realize that their defense of marriage will affect generations to come."
Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, concurs. She says much has happened on the marriage front since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court voted 4-3 the legalize same-sex "marriage."
"As the one-year anniversary of [that] landmark ruling approaches, it is clear that concern for protecting the institution of marriage has energized Americans across the country to thwart the new tide of moral perversion that same-sex marriage represents," LaRue says.
'Ayes' Victorious in Buckeye State
Marriage traditionalists in Ohio received good news yesterday when that state's highest court rejected a request from homosexual-rights groups to prohibit "Issue 1" -- the Marriage Protection Amendment -- from appearing on the November 2 ballot. More than half-a-million Ohio residents had signed petitions to put the issue before the voters.
Phil Burress is chairman of the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage, the group that had coordinated the gathering of signatures. Understandably, he is pleased by the court's 6-1 ruling.
"In these days of judicial tyranny, it seems like anything can happen in our court systems," Burress says. That is likely why he is still sounding a note of caution. He says he still worries about "misinformation and outright lies" being circulated by those opposed to the amendment.
"We know that those who want to undermine marriage in our society will stoop to anything to win," he says. "We saw it in this case and we'll see it in their campaign all the way up to November 2. We just hope and believe the Ohioans will see through the rhetoric and vote what they know is right."
Two dozen state legislators have signed on in support of Issue 1. A press release listing those Ohio lawmakers says they "believe in the sanctity of marriage" and felt it was time to "stand up for traditional values and to recommit to the goal of building healthy marriages and strong families."
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