News
Same-Sex Marriage and the Threat to Religious Liberty
Redefining marriage to include same-sex unions poses significant threats to the religious liberties of people who continue to believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. These threats have loomed large for several years, but recent developments, including the recent Connecticut and California judicial decisions redefining marriage to include same-sex unions, have refocused attention on the issue in a new, particularly urgent way.
Our society has traditionally considered marriage to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman based on the understanding that marriage is a fundamental social institution ordered to the common good through the bearing and raising of children. But advocates of same-sex marriage consider the traditional understanding of marriage to be a form of irrational prejudice against homosexuals because it excludes them from marriage and the benefits that go with it. In this view, rationales regarding the bearing and raising of children are flawed or, at least, insufficient bases for defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.
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Stop the Trojan Horse!
September 21, 2009 - Our friends at the National Organization of Marriage (NOM) sent out a chilling reminder of what can happen when same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land. In an e-mail I received last Friday, NOM wrote the following:
"In Canada we've seen a lot already: We've seen a Catholic bishop brought up on human-rights charges for posting Catholic doctrine on a Catholic website. We've seen litigation against a religious organization (the Knights of Columbus) for refusing to permit same-sex ceremonies in its halls. In Canada, an evangelical ministry which helps disabled adults was told by the government that it may not require its employees to live according to Christian moral teaching on sex--in fact, in a move reminiscent of George Orwell, these good people were ordered by the government to submit a re-education plan for all their employees."
Is this the future for Washington State too? Or will courageous men and women rise to the occasion and stop the Trojan horse and REJECT SB 5688 when voting on R-71?
Referendum (71) Sunday and other campaign news!
Arlington, WA - June 19, 2009 - Exciting News from the R-71 campaign team! We have recorded a short video (under 4 minutes) that we will make available online as well as on DVD early next week. Senator Val Stevens and Representative Matt Shea are featured in the video making the case for Christian participation and activism in the R-71 signature gathering campaign's "Referendum Sunday(s)".
Governor OKs domestic partner rights law
Associated Press - 12:58 PM PDT on Monday, May 18, 2009
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Gov. Chris Gregoire has approved a measure that gives same-sex domestic partners all the rights and benefits that Washington state offers married couples.
Gregoire signed the bill Monday in Seattle. It will take effect at the end of July, unless opponents collect enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot.
The "everything but marriage" law expands on previous domestic partnership laws, giving additional spousal rights and benefits to domestic partners, including same-sex couples and unmarried senior heterosexual couples, in various areas of state law.
