Marriage - One Man and One Woman

(From FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)

Time for Prayer and Action

The US Senate is slated to take up the Marriage Protection Amendment on June 5. The amendment would constitutionally define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Pro-family leaders say it's time for prayer and action.

The first major hurdle will be the cloture vote to end debate. "We still need seven more votes," said Amanda Banks, federal issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "It's important for everyone to contact their senators — no matter how they may have voted last time." If the MPA is approved by Congress, it would then go to the states to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures before becoming law.

Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage says Senate consideration of the MPA is made all the more important at this point because two states, Washington and New Jersey, are poised to impose gay marriage upon their citizens by court decision. "The Senate vote is critical to placing this issue back in the hands of the people, where it belongs," said Daniels. "The Washington state Supreme Court adheres to the false theory that marriage, as the union of male and female, is a form of discrimination on par with racist bigotry. This theory is rejected by most Americans and overwhelmingly rejected by African Americans and communities of color." If that happens, Daniels said the fallout will have "broad repercussions for America. Americans believe that gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose, but they don't have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society."

Jim Weidmann of the National Day of Prayer Task Force says, "The thing we want to do is make sure that the hearts of our legislators are aligned with God's heart, whatever the issue is. So what we want to do is pray that God may move and use them to take a stand for His principles."

Related Tags: Focus Family, James Dobson, Marriage, One man one woman, Marriage amendment, Christian marriage, Bible, Christian, Amanda Banks, Congress, Alliance for Marriage, gay marriage, Supreme Court marriage