Christian Activist Foresees Uphill Marriage Protection Battle in Maine
by Chad Groening
November 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - - A spokesman for the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM) says the recent rejection of pro-family values by a majority of Maine voters indicates a spiritual void in the state. The voters there said no to a "people's veto" that would have nullified a bill passed by the legislature giving special rights to homosexuals.
Maine voters had rejected special rights for homosexuals in 1998. However, pro-homosexual activists are celebrating across the state today, after citizens recently opted not to use a people's veto to repeal the bill pushed by the state's liberal governor and legislature -- a measure conferring special rights on gays and lesbians.
CCLM legislative liaison Tim Russell believes the voters in his state need to be made aware that "Pandora has been let out of the box." Concerned that this victory by the homosexual lobby will pave the way for the approval of same-sex marriage statewide, he asserts, "Clearly, we're going to have to address the officials that we elect. We're going to have to start to educate the Maine citizens."
One of the first issues to be addressed, Russell contends, is the spiritual climate in the New England state. "We have throughout this campaign spoken God's word, his truth, in love; and it's been turned around and spouted back that we are bigots," he says. "And clearly, scripture tells us that we can expect this." The anti-family opposition has been so vicious, he notes, that pro-family voters have been accused of hate speech simply for wearing buttons supporting traditional marriage.
The CCLM spokesman concludes that, if there is to be any hope of shoring up traditional marriage against its attackers, pro-family forces are going to have to take political action. "We could never hope to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a man and a woman in this state -- and it must be done through the legislature in the state of Maine -- until we change the House and the Senate here in the state -- and, actually, the governorship," he says.
Russell says Maine's voters must get mobilized to get rid of legislators who continue to support reckless agendas promoting unhealthy, anti-family lifestyles. "We've got to get men and women who subscribe to traditional family values," he asserts, "and clearly we have got to turn our attention back to scriptural values in God's word."
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.