Pro-Family Forces React to Same-Sex 'Marriage' Juggernaut

by Jenni Parker and Fred Jackson
February 19, 2004

(AgapePress) - A conservative activist is outraged that four Massachusetts judges and one California mayor are well on their way to changing the definition of marriage in America, while pro-family forces are forced to wonder why they are continually losing in the battle over values.

Even as Bay State legislators anticipate the next round of debate on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court stands: four SJC judges ruled that the existing state law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and must be removed from the books by May 17.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is being portrayed by media as a cult hero for authorizing the handing out of homosexual marriage licenses to same-sex couples, even though his actions clearly violate California's Proposition 22. And now Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is saying he would have no problem issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the Windy City.

The Campaign for California Families is looking forward to a Friday, 2:00 p.m. hearing before San Francisco's Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay, at which the group and its legal representative, the Liberty Counsel, will attempt to get an injunction to block Mayor Newsom and the City of San Francisco from illegally issuing same-sex marriage licenses. CCF's Randy Thomasson is optimistic since, as he says, "There's no question that state law holds that marriage is for a man and a woman, as it should be."

Gary Bauer

But Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families is livid over the way the battle to defend traditional marriage is going in these states and across the U.S. He asserts that by ordering the elected representatives of the people of Massachusetts to recognize same-sex marriages, regardless of what the people might think, four liberal state justices have in effect "reversed the American Revolution in the very state in which it started."

But although Bauer feels the four judges' actions, along with those of San Francisco's mayor, have ushered in a cultural twilight zone, the pro-family activist says those who care about family and faith could learn a few things from the leading forces in the push for same-sex marriage.

"As repugnant as I find what they are doing, I am in awe of their boldness on behalf of a bad cause," Bauer says. "I cannot help but compare it to the timidity of our own leaders on behalf of a noble cause, the preservation of marriage as the union of only one man and one woman."

Deafening Silence from Conservative 'Leadership'
But while liberal political leaders and judges retain their momentum, pro-family groups are calling on ostensibly conservative leaders to act and getting fairly little response. For instance, when Concerned Women for America and others called upon Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to rein in San Francisco's mayor for brazenly flouting Proposition 22, the governor merely "urged city officials to stop the same-sex weddings," as Fox News reported.

CWA's chief counsel, Jan LaRue, says it is high time the executive branch, both in Sacramento and in Washington, DC, started to "take some responsibility for executing the law." Although some Republicans have cast doubt on the California governor's actual political leanings, the fact remains that many less questionable conservatives have also failed to step forward in defense of traditional marriage.

Bauer agrees that something is definitely wrong at the leadership level. He is convinced that one reason pro-family forces are still losing the battle over values after 30 years of political activism is that many of those elected to defend those values have failed to speak out or fight for them. And that indictment goes all the way to the top, he says.

Bauer notes that a recent Washington Post article quoted homosexual rights advocates as saying that, as far as the homosexual marriage debate goes, "reasonable political minds at the White House have decided there's no reason to say anything right now." But the Campaign for Families spokesman begs to differ.

Bauer feels there is plenty to be said, but the silence from the White House has been deafening. He notes that President Bush has repeatedly evaded opportunities to take a stand and did so again on Wednesday when a reporter asked for his reaction to recent efforts to redefine marriage. Bush once more declined to endorse a federal marriage amendment and only remarked that he is "watching very carefully" and is "troubled by what I've seen."

Bauer insists, with all due respect to the Commander-in-Chief, that the time for watching is over. "What more do we need to see?" he asks, adding that what America needs from Bush, immediately, as well as from other elected officials who claim to be pro-family, is "strong moral clarity."

However, Bauer feels that if pro-family leaders remain paralyzed by fear, the destruction of marriage may be imminent. "This battle can be won and should be won," he says, "but we will prevail only if those who will be avidly seeking our votes in a few months quit stalling and start vigorously defending our values. If they don't, history will judge them accordingly."

Grassroots Reactions
According to a recent Washington Times report, 59 percent of Americans oppose homosexual "marriage," and this indicates a six-percentage-point rise since July. During the same period, opposition to such marriages rose from 71 percent to 80 percent among "committed religious Americans." Still, even though the majority of Americans do not approve of same-sex unions, the pro-homosexual minority has become the "mouse that roared," waging a surprisingly successful campaign to redefine an institution that has survived some four millennia.

Hank Hanegraaff, radio's well-known "Bible Answer Man," is advising Christians not to let themselves feel besieged by the push for homosexual marriage or to develop an "us-versus-them" attitude. According to Associated Press, Hanegraaff says what is happening in the culture is merely the result of pagans exercising "their job description." And the talk show commentator says Christians have to do the same. For believers, he explains, exercising their job description means living and sharing Christianity in a way that does not repel unbelievers and defending the Bible's teachings with gentleness and respect.