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January
28, 2005
Many of us were at the Defend Maryland Marriage Rally yesterday in the bitter cold. I want to personally thank each person, family, group and Church that made the effort to not only show up, but to stay with us throughout the entire Rally. There were reports of only 500 people attending, others newspapers said 1,000. The police estimated over 2,000. While we have said all along that numbers were not to be the judge of the intent of the Rally we know that legislators and the media knew there were a lot of people represented. The leaders of the various Denominations showed this to be a broad-based coalition. There were speakers representing Black, Hispanic, Asian and Anglo churches, the Legislature and the Executive Branch of government.
The attendance by the Lt. Governor was most welcomed and appreciated. Lt. Governor Steele spoke for the Governor and for himself in stating that “marriage is between one man and one woman.”
The article below (from the Daily Jot) states the reason for our continued vigilance and action. The House Judiciary Committee members need to hear from you!
Look on www.defendmarylandmarriage.com
to see the members of the Judiciary Committee.
Give your thanks to any Delegate or Senator that says they will be supporting the bill. Ask them to be a co-sponsor by seeing Del. Boutin in Room 326.
Many thanks are due to Delegate Don Dwyer for courageously starting the information process after finding out that the ACLU had filed the lawsuit in July. Our thanks also go out to Bishop Bart Pierce and the team of volunteers that represented Rock City Church and the Peace for the City Coalition. We also thank WRBS, 95.1 for all of the public service announcements they made about the Rally.
Remember, this is only the beginning. There will be another Rally on March 10 and there needs to be much lobbying, calling and writing your legislators.
Keep informed by frequently checking our website, www.mdfamilies.org for information about this bill and other information pertaining to the legislature during the 2005 General Assembly.
Doug **************
The Daily Jot
The national debate over the definition of marriage has moved to Maryland. Some 2,000 people gathered Thursday at the state capitol of Maryland to offer support for a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. They stood for over two hours in 20 degree or less weather listening to politicians and preachers warm up the air with their proclamations about the social ills of same sex marriage. So far, the Defend Maryland Marriage website lists only 29 of the 141 Delegates favoring the amendment. And therein lies the problem. Maryland is a state where pro-marriage forces face nearly an insurmountable task in defending traditional marriage because leftists control both houses of the statehouse and most of the court system.
Maryland Democratic leadership has told legislators to stay away from this issue. The Democratic Party line: there is already a law in Maryland that defines marriage between a man and a woman, and unless the courts overturn it, a constitutional amendment is unnecessary. Trouble is, the same Democratic Party machine also controls the court system, which is slated in March to decide on a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of nine homosexuals that says the law is discriminatory. Odds are that the marriage law will be overturned and Maryland will become the next Massachusetts.
The ACLU is pretty smug about its chances. ACLU staff attorney David Rocah has been quoted as saying, "Religious opposition to homosexual marriage was 'not Maryland' and was unlikely to have a major influence on the legislature. Rocah said, "There is simply no political will on the part of a majority of Marylanders or on the part of a majority of Maryland legislators to legislate that kind of discrimination." And that’s a big problem for pro-marriage forces--political will. The ACLU is a organized group with highly skilled and well paid staff taking on an issue in a state where the politics are stacked in their favor. The vast majority of Maryland citizens, however, are against same sex marriage.
The secular crowd says same sex marriage is a civil rights issue. The overwhelming majority says it’s a values issue. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 19:4, “He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’” Marriage is between a man and a woman. There can be no other definition of marriage. May the entire nation stand in the gap with Marylanders before God on behalf of this important issue. Skill, finances, hard work, prayer and God’s hand will be required. Let us stand that we may not be judged.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day! Bill Wilson |
