Posts Tagged ‘homosexuality’

CA Same-Sex Marriage Remains on Hold

August 18th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Supporters of California’s Proposition 8, limiting marriage to one man and one woman, are preparing for their defense of the law following a federal court decision to keep same-sex marriage on hold.

Last week, the federal district judge who overturned Prop 8 ruled that the hold on same-sex marriages would expire Wednesday, but Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to extend the hold indefinitely while the ruling is appealed. Supporters of Prop 8 must convince the court that they have standing to defend the law in court, since both California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown declined to do so.

The 9th Circuit will expedite the case, putting it on track for oral arguments to begin in December. Whatever the 9th Circuit decision is, the losing side will likely appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Who Defines Marriage?

August 10th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Do states have the right to define marriage or not? Two recent federal court decisions struck down laws restricting marriage to one man and one woman, but the two decisions were based on conflicting arguments about who can define marriage.

In July, U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro of Massachusetts struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, arguing that the federal government cannot interfere with the right of individual states to define marriage. Then last week, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of California overturned California’s Proposition 8–which defines marriage as an institution between one man and one woman–as unconstitutional, saying that California’s voters do not have the right to define marriage based on their religious or moral views.

Tauro’s DOMA ruling held that the law violates the Tenth Amendment, which gives states all powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. Writing in the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby notes:

Under DOMA, federal programs do not regard same-sex couples as married — not even in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is allowed. Tauro held that to be an impermissible intrusion on “a core area of state sovereignty — the ability to define the marital status of its citizens.’’

But Jacoby goes on to show how DOMA actually provides for the Tenth Amendment:

But hold on. The Defense of Marriage Act itself upholds the states’ 10th Amendment right to define marriage as they see fit. Section 2 of DOMA — which is titled “Powers Reserved to the States’’ — explicitly affirms that states that do not recognize same-sex marriage need not defer to the “acts, records, and proceedings’’ of those that do. What could be more states’-rights-minded than that? Plainly, Congress was not only aware of the Tenth Amendment when it passed DOMA, but committed to defending that “core area of state sovereignty’’ of which Tauro is so solicitous.

Tauro’s ruling essentially says that any interference whatsoever from the federal government with the states’ right to define marriage is unconstitutional. But then came along Judge Walker, who held that the states don’t actually have the right to define marriage as they wish. Princeton Professor Robert George writes in the Washington Examiner that the decisions really weren’t about states’ rights at all:

Confusing?  Not if one realizes that the judges in these cases had a common purpose and theme.  Their aim was to redefine marriage and label those who hold to the historic understanding of marriage—whether they be the 7 million California voters who approved Proposition 8 or the 427 members of Congress who approved the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996—as “irrational” bigots.

George notes that both decisions ultimately rested on the notion that religious and moral beliefs are an “irrational basis” on which to make a determination about what defines marriage. Walker’s decision striking down Prop 8 includes a “finding of fact” that religious teachings against homosexuality harm homosexuals. George writes:

The religions Walker cites with such animus are precisely those whose doctrines of sin are inextricably tied with doctrines of forgiveness and redemption.

They are also religions that teach, as doctrine, that every individual is made in the image and likeness of God and that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  They demand of the believer not only a hatred of the sin, but a sincere and ungrudging love for the sinner.

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Posted in Government & Law, Marriage & Family | 1 Comment »

Senate Set to Vote on Kagan Nomination

August 4th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

The full Senate is expected to vote Thursday on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan is expected to be easily confirmed, as five Republican senators have signaled that they will support her confirmation. Kagan came through her June confirmation hearings relatively unscathed as opponents were unable to find a long paper trail to pin her down with.

Conservatives have raised concerns about Kagan’s stance on abortion, homosexuality, and the military, as well as her lack of judicial experience. Political activist Dick Morris has also said that Kagan would be open to incorporating Sharia law into American jurisprudence.

Democrats hope to have the Kagan vote as a prominent victory heading into the Senate’s six-week recess beginning next week.

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Posted in Government & Law, Marriage & Family, Military & Veterans, Sanctity of Life | 1 Comment »

Evangelical Lutheran Church Welcomes Gay Clergy

July 28th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Pray for believers in America to stand against every kind of sexual immorality within the Church and especially among Church leaders.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has welcomed back seven homosexual clergy members who had been barred from the denomination. At a ceremony Sunday, the seven became some of the first actively homosexual clergy to be added or reinstated by the ELCA since the denomination voted last year to rescind its policy requiring homosexual clergy to be celibate.

Since the vote last year, at least 185 congregations have voted to leave the denomination over its position on homosexual clergy, according to an ELCA spokeswoman. The ELCA is the largest denomination in the U.S. to allow homosexual ministers. The U.S. Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ also allow them, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in the process of allowing them. Two smaller Lutheran denominations, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, do not ordain ministers in same-sex relationships.

The New York Times reports that more Lutheran congregations are preparing to leave the denomination.

The Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, a coalition of theologically conservative Lutheran churches, said his group expected to form a new denomination, the North American Lutheran Church, in August.

He said of the ceremony on Sunday, “It’s just another steady step taken by the E.L.C.A. to move the denomination further and further away from most Lutheran churches around the world and from the whole Christian church, unfortunately.”

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Posted in Church & Religion, Marriage & Family | 2 Comments »

Kagan Nomination Sent to Full Senate

July 20th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan (Photo: Getty Images)

Pray for wisdom for all Senators and members of the Supreme Court to rightly understand and administer justice.

The Senate Judiciary Committe on Tuesday approved the nomination of Elena Kagan (CNN) to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. The 13-6 vote that sends Kagan’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote was along party lines except for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who said that even though he had “100 reasons” to oppose Kagan’s nomination, he believed Senators should honor presidential choices.

Democrats said Kagan is a solid legal thinker who would be a fair judge, but Republicans argued that she lacks sufficient legal experience, and that she is an ideological activist. Republicans emphasized Kagan’s involvement in denying campus access to military recruiters when she was dean of Harvard Law School, based on her negative view of the military’s policy barring homosexuals from openly serving. Pro-life groups have also cited Kagan’s role as a member of the Clinton administration in keeping partial-birth abortion legal.

The full Senate is expected to vote on Kagan’s nomination before its August recess.

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Posted in Government & Law, Marriage & Family, Military & Veterans, Obama & Biden, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

Federal Judge Overturns DOMA

July 14th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Pray for the Church to be a strong witness of God’s purpose for marriage and families, and to reach out to homosexuals with the love of Christ.

In last week’s decision overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro said the act is a federal encroachment on the right of states to define marriage. The Obama administration has not said whether it will appeal the ruling (ABC News). The Justice Department is tasked with defending federal laws in court, and it has said that it will continue to defend DOMA in court even as the administration fights for a congressional repeal of the law.

The conservative group National Organization for Marriage accused the Obama administration of sabotaging DOMA by intentionally representing it poorly in court. “With only Obama to defend DOMA, this federal judge has taken the extraordinary step of overturning a law passed by huge bipartisan majorities and signed into law by Pres. Clinton in 1996,” said NOM President Brian Brown. “A single federal judge in Boston has no moral right to decide the definition of marriage for the people of the United States.”

At the same time, a federal district judge in California is weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8 (Washington Post), the state’s referendum defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. While the decision striking down DOMA depended on the right of states to define marriage, the challenge to Proposition 8 argues that the state does not have the right to define marriage in a way that excludes same-sex marriage.

Robert George, a constitutional law professor at Princeton University who supports a traditional definition of marriage, says it all comes down to an argument about the morality of same-sex marriage. “This is a good-faith dispute among people of goodwill who just disagree about the rightness and wrongness of the practice,” George said. “There’s no neutral middle ground. A decision will have to be made.”

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Posted in Government & Law, Marriage & Family, Obama & Biden | 2 Comments »

Kagan Hearings Begin Today

June 28th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan (Photo: Getty Images)

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will go before the Senate on Monday for the beginning of her confirmation hearings. Kagan is President Obama’s choice to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Kagan has served as the Solicitor General for the Obama administration, the dean of Harvard Law School, and an assistant counsel to former President Bill Clinton’s administration. Republicans cite concerns about Kagan’s lack of experience–she had never argued before the Supreme Court until her current post as Solicitor General–and her lack of many records to outline her judicial philosophy. Other concerns include her views on abortion, homosexuality, gun rights, and terrorist suspects.

Kagan has also faced criticism for her decision while dean of Harvard Law School not to allow military recruiters on campus because of the military’s policy barring openly homosexual service members. She made the decision when a federal appeals court struck down the Solomon Amendment, which allows the Pentagon to end universities’ federal aid if they do not allow military recruiters on campus. Harvard’s president worked the issue out to allow recruiters. The Supreme Court eventually upheld the Solomon Amendment.

C-SPAN will broadcast the hearings live on television and make them available online.

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Closing Arguments in Same-Sex Marriage Case

June 16th, 2010 by Nathan Curby

A federal judge is hearing closing arguments on Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to establish same-sex marriage as a fundamental constitutional right. The lawsuit, filed by two gay men and two lesbian women, asks the court to overturn California’s constitutional amendment, passed by voters in 2008, defining marriage as being between one man and one woman only.

Chief District Judge Vaughn R. Walker heard arguments about the nature of homosexuality, the impact of same-sex marriage on the institution of marriage, and whether voters had the right to define marriage, as they have done in California and 30 other states.

The plaintiffs, asking for gay marriage to be recognized as a constitutional right, are represented by prominent Republican lawyer Theodore Olson and David Boies, Olson’s Democratic opponent in the 2000 Bush v. Gore case. They argued that they are not requesting the creation of a new constitutional right, but the extension to same-sex couples of an existing constitutional right.

Supporters of the California marriage amendment say that traditional marriage “has been a fundamental, definitional feature of that institution throughout history at common law, in this country and, almost without exception, in every civilized society that has ever existed.”

Defense lawyers argued that the state recognizes marriage as an institution because “increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by their biological mothers and fathers in stable and enduring family units is a government interest of the highest order.”

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Day of Truth vs. Day of Silence in U.S. Schools

April 15th, 2010 by Gary Bergel

Thousands of young people nationwide countered the open promotion of homosexuality in schools today by participating in the sixth annual “Day of Truth” sponsored by Exodus International. The “Day of Truth,” which took place Thursday, April 15 this year, was established in 2005 by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) as a response to the pro-homosexual “Day of Silence,” an annual event created by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) that encourages students to remain silent throughout the school day to show support for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

This year’s “Day of Silence” is scheduled for Friday, April 16, although some schools may observe the event on other dates. It is important to note that the “Day of Silence” is not necessarily organized by school officials but more often by student members of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, or GSAs. The groups encourage students to use the Day of Silence as a ‘tool’ to get things like a ‘queer-friendly prom,’ homosexual-themed library books and teacher training. They also encourage teachers to feature lesbian, gay and bisexual materials in the classroom.”

Since the “Day of Truth” began six years ago, over 17,000 students at schools across the United States have participated.

Throughout the day, participating students are encouraged to wear “Day of Truth” t-shirts, pass out cards between classes with the message: “People with differing, even opposing, viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other. It’s time for an honest conversation about the biblical truth for sexuality. Let’s get the conversation started!”

“Students today have more questions than ever about life, relationships, sexuality and God,” said Jeff Buchanan, who oversees the “Day of Truth” for Exodus International. “I wrestled with these questions as a young man struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction and found that God not only had answers, but could change my heart and my life.”

As in previous years, the Alliance Defense Fund is offering its services to help assist students who encounter challenges to the “Day of Truth” from homosexual activists or school officials, sometimes just for wearing a “Day of Truth” shirt to school and distributing “Day of Truth” message cards between classes.

In related news — for the third year in a row — some pro-family groups are urging parents to pull their children out of schools that are actively or passively participating in the pro-homosexual “Day of Silence.  Tthe “Day of Silence Walk-Out” advises parents to call their local public or private school, and ask them specifically if they allow students or teachers to be silent in the classroom as part of the “Day of Silence.” If the answer is yes, parents are advised to send a letter to the teachers, school administrators, and all school board members, telling them that they will be keeping their child home on April 16 and explaining why. A sample letter is available on their web site.

Parents and Friends of Ex- Gays & Gays (PFOX) urges students, parents, and educators to distribute PFOX’s flyer to schools alongside GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) or other gay- themed clubs.

“Questioning children are often encouraged at school to identify as ‘gay’ at an early age; this flyer simply provides an alternative message that students should not prematurely label themselves before they have reached maturity,” said PFOX board member Christopher Doyle.

“PFOX’s one-page flyer gives students comprehensive information on sexual orientation and urges tolerance for the ex-gay community,” said Doyle. “PFOX has distributed these informative flyers in some of the largest school districts in the country, including those with GSA clubs.”

“Adolescence is a tumultuous time of change and self- discovery — research shows that many young people who experiment with same-sex behaviors during their youth often do not adopt a gay identity as adults,” said Doyle. “Our children deserve a comprehensive message about sexuality, not just one side,” said Doyle. “The flyer has proven to be an educational tool for all students and staff. PFOX urges everyone to print these flyers and distribute them at their schools whenever material or events feature LGBT issues.”

Click here to download a PDF of PFOX’s flyer for free.

Click here to order “Strength in Weakness,” a highly recommended book by Andrew Comiskey on gender identity and healing sexual and relational brokenness.

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