FMA Defeated.....For Now

Today the U. S. Senate voted 49-48 on a motion to end debate on the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, 11 votes short of the 60 needed to bring it to a vote on the floor of the senate.

This was an important victory for those who are fighting to avoid making discrimination a part of the U. S. Constitution, but it's merely a battle won. The war will continue and perhaps intensify.

Think I'm exaggerating? Check out these quotes:

"We're going to continue to press this issue," Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard said. "If it's up to me, we'll have a vote on this issue every year."

"We're making progress, and we're not going to stop until marriage between a man and a woman is protected," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas.

Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said failure to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would be "a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions for children" in a Monday radio broadcast.

President Bush, in a 10-minute speech on Monday, said "An amendment to the Constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice."

Of course, the right-wing defines "activist courts" or "activist judges" as ones who don't support their views.

Regarding the Senate vote: "It is true what this vote will do will be to help the voters identify who is and is not supportive of the family," said Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. "And I think those that are not are going to have to answer for it."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), "Marriage ranks as one of our most important social institutions," he writes. "Americans have made it clear that they want to protect it against activist judges like those who sit on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts."

Folks, these people are not going away just because they lost a vote. Some of them truly believe they have the moral high ground and that they are charged with protecting their version of God's will from being violated. Others are seizing this issue as their ticket to power and wealth. Either way, they're not going to quit.

It is critical that those 47 senators who voted against bringing the amendment to a vote know that their constituents have their backs, and their vote.

It is also cricital that people understand that the attidute of treating homosexuals as second-class (if that high) citizens is NOT reflective of all Christians. There are people who love God with all their hearts and feel the leading of the Holy Spirit to strive for equality for ALL his people. We need to continue to raise up our voices and speak to God's love, not this spirit of exclusion the religious right wants people to think he is all about.

"Ex-Gay" Leaders Invited to White House

When President Bush announced his support for the constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage yesterday, he did it with in the company of Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas from Exodus International. Exodus is an organization at the forefront of claiming to "lead people out of homosexuality."

In this outstanding column by Michelle Goldbert of The Huffington Post, the writer offers this thought:

"If, as virtually all mainstream experts believe, Exodus is wrong, then Bush's attempt to rally support against gay families is simply gratuitously cruel. But mainstream experts carry little weight with this administration. Once again, Bush is using his position to symbolically subvert science in favor of a faith-based parallel reality. Gay people will suffer the most from what he is doing, but truth itself is also a casualty. "

Wide-Ranging Takes on Same-Sex Marriage Ban

If you're even an occassional visitor to this blog, you know where I stand on the issue of same-sex marriage and the proposed Constitutional amendment currently under consideration in the U. S. Senate that would ban it across the nation.

Courtesy of the political blog "The Moderate Voice," I found one of the best aggregations of opinions that I've come across regarding this issue, so I'm linking it here for your perusal.

Will Bush's Push for Gay Marriage Ban Backfire?

There are even some conservatives that are seeing through this as nothing more but a shallow political ploy, and there is some thought that even this won't galvanize the Religious Right to support the President or the Republicans?

Where else can they go? How far away could we be from a new political party with them as the base?

"Ex-Gay" Conference Coming to My Area

I am very disappointed to report that one of Focus on the Family's "Love Won Out" conferences is being held on Saturday, June 10 only a few miles from my home. It is being hosted by one of the larger independent churches in the area, Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. For those of you who haven't heard of them, this is where homosexuals can go to get "cured" of their same-sex desires. At least that's what Dr. Dobson and his folks want everyone to believe.

I am pleased, though, that there will be an organized opposition vigil in front of the church both before and after the day-long conference. It is being put together by Equality Maryland, the DC chapter of PFLAG, Teach the Facts, a group promoting education about homosexuality in Montgomery County Schools, and Christ Congregational Church, a UCC member.

I'll be participating in what is promised to be a silent and respectful vigil. I believe it is important for GLBT people and their allies to demonstrate their opposition to these farcical exercises whenever they come to town. Anyone in the DC area that is interested in participating in the June 10 vigil can contact Rev. Sandy Dodson at sandy@christ-ucc.org.

For more information on "Love Won Out," click here.

It's About Protecting Votes, Not Marriage

There is an excellent column on EthicsDaily.com about next week's Senate vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment that would restrict marriage to one man and one woman in all 50 states.

I've linked to columns by this writer, Jim Evans, who is a pastor in Alabama, and he again nails it with this one:

"The Marriage Protection Act is not about protecting marriage. It's about getting out the vote.
Never mind that it demonizes a segment of our population in a legislative effort no one believes will really happen. It works, and that's what matters, apparently."

I have yet to see any pundits on either side of the isle who think this Amendment will come close to receiving the 60% vote it needs to pass. Even if it did, 35 states would need to ratify it before it became a part of the Constitution.

It is painfully obvious that conservative Republicans are pandering to their dissatisfied religious right constituency. Could those voters actually be so shallow and narrowly focused to fall for that ploy? Anyone who is gullable enough to be influenced by this maneuver should have their right to vote taken away until they get a clue.

One God, One Body, In Service to Christ

In my latest column for Gay Christian Outreach, I share my thoughts about the divisions in the church caused by divergent views on homosexuality, and what each side can do to bridge the gap and move closer to God's will for our lives.