Campaign Blog

Today, Representative Rick Glazier, from Fayetteville, introduced House Bill 100 in the North Carolina House of Representatives, a bill that would legalize sodomy in North Carolina.  I call this the "Anti-Marriage Amendment Bill,"  because it is clearly designed to vie for the attention of already harried legislators and to distract the focus from the real problem in North Carolina—the lack of Constitutional protection for marriage between a man and a woman.

On Sunday February 15, the largest Marriage Renewal in the history of Eastern North Carolina will take place in Rocky Mount at Englewood Baptist Church. The congregation, relatives and friends will witness as 193 couples, representing a combined total of 4,407 years of marriage, renew their wedding vows.
 

How do you do the right thing when there might be negative consequences?  Do you ignore that there is a problem and stick your head in the sand?  Do you pretend that the impending storm is not coming, when all the signs are on the wall?  Do you attack the messenger and ignore the message?

Can you believe it?  The lesbian "couple" whose court battle led to the legalization of  same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts is now seeking a divorce.  The couple, Hillary and Julie Goodrich, "married" on May 17, 2004, the first day same-sex marriages became legal under the Massachusetts Supreme Court's ruling.  They separated only two years later and now share custody of their 12 year-old daughter, Annie. The Goodrich's have destroyed the meaning of marriage in Massachusetts all for the pleasure of two years of wedded bliss.

Have you ever wondered what the future might be like if we don't protect marriage in North Carolina by placing the definition of marriage--the union between a man and a woman--in our State Constitution? Well, here's a glimpse of what the future might look like.

Today NC4Marriage traveled to beautiful Hickory, North Carolina to meet with about 50 pastors who are eager to join the campaign to get a Marriage Amendment on the ballot in 2009.  They were concerned to hear that the members of the General Assembly and the people of the State have not been allowed the opportunity to vote on a Marriage Amendment, even though bills have been proposed for the last five years in the General Assembly.  An increasing number of pastors around North Carolina are learning that their leaders in the General Assembly have not exercised the leadership necessary

On Wednesday, January 28, the Board of Directors and the Council on Christian Life and Public Affairs of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina voted unanimously to endorse NC4Marriage and its efforts to get a Marriage Protection Amendment passed. This will certainly lend support for the campaign to the millions of Southern Baptists in North Carolina. Although the Board of Directors does not speak for the Convention, its endorsement signifies the importance that the Board places on protecting marriage in our Constitution.

What has changed this year?  Why is a Marriage Protection Amendment needed now more than ever?  Why do we need to amend our State Constitution to define marriage, when our statutes already define marriage as the union between a "male and a female person?"  These and other questions are answered in this month's Courts page published in the January/February edition of Family North Carolina Magazine.

Pastors and churches all over North Carolina are signing up to be part of NC4Marriage.  Today, several churches called to report that they have filled buses with members of their churches who will come to Raleigh for the Marriage Rally on March 3, 2009.  Expectations are high as these concerned people prepare to show their support for protecting marriage.

Should marriage be based on affection on gender? Is marriage a legal contract or a religious covenant? Is same-sex marriage a civil right? What role should government play in marriage? A panel of experts was recently convened by Insight Podcast to discuss these and other issues concerning marriage. NC4Marriage participated in this discussion, which produced an enlightening and refreshing discussion of the value of marriage when it is defined as the union between a man and a woman.