Dear Colleague,

Mark Adams is the new Communications Manager for the Culture of Life
Foundation and C-FAM. Among his many duties, Mark reports and writes
Culture & Cosmos.

A few days ago the intrepid Mr. Adams secreted himself in the strategy
meeting of the religious left where they met to plan opposition to the
proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. We report today that these lefty
ministers claim their religious freedom would be violated if they could
not perform homosexual "marriages."

Spread the word.

Yours sincerely,

Austin Ruse
President

Action item: Stay tuned. The Federal Marriage Amendment will come up for a
vote in a few weeks. We will ask you to contact your Senators in their
home-state offices. Watch this space.
__________________________________________________________________________

CULTURE & COSMOS
June 22, 2004 Volume 1, Number 46

Religious Left Strategizes on Homosexual "Marriage"

        At a June 18 meeting of homosexual rights activist, opponents of
the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) revealed a strategy of utilizing
liberal clergy to argue that the proposed amendment would limit the free
exercise of religion. At the meeting, clergy from "progressive" Protestant
denominations, along with one Reformed Jewish Rabbi claimed the proposed
FMA might be used to ban them from performing ceremonies that bless
same-sex unions.

        Speakers at the meeting, sponsored by the left-leaning pressure
group People for the American Way, made it clear that they intend to halt
religious conservatives from co-opting the marriage issue. Rabbi Michael
Namath even echoed some language used by traditional Christians when he
referred to the family as the "fundamental institution of the society."
Namath then turned such reasoning on its head by arguing that homosexual
marriage would produce "families of loving gay and lesbian couples . . .
capable of creating a nurturing environment for children." One minister of
the Disciples of Christ said his denomination's opposition to the marriage
amendment was based in part on their belief that it favors one religion
over another. He also echoed a commonly heard theme saying that the
definition of marriage should be determined by individual churches and
local civil authorities and not the federal government. None of the
participants acknowledged the growing possibility that the Federal Courts
may eventually impose such unions on the entire nation.

        The Federal Marriage Amendment, sponsored by Colorado Republican
Sen. Wayne Allard, is set for a vote during the week of July 12 and
consists of two sentences. "Marriage in the United States shall consist
only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the
constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or
the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the
union of a man and a woman." Namath said the language is open to
interpretation and poses a "serious threat to the free exercise of
religion. . . . some warn that if the FMA is adopted, performing a
religious wedding ceremony for same-sex couples might be unconstitutional
and illegal." He did not explain why clergy who currently perform same-sex
"marriages" that are not recognized by civil law would suddenly be
prohibited from continuing to perform such ceremonies by the FMA.

        Meeting organizers also did their best to draw parallels between
the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the drive to legalize same sex
marriage. They distributed literature from several African-American,
Hispanic and other civil rights organizations who oppose the marriage
amendment. But several Congressional aides have told Culture & Cosmos that
the African-American population largely opposes gay marriage and many
bitterly resent the civil rights analogy. Kenneth Samuel, a black preacher
from Atlanta who spoke at the meeting, opposes the FMA but admitted that
the marriage amendment is popular within the African-American community.
Congressional aides also believe the issue of same-sex marriage represents
one of the first real "cross over" issues for Republicans seeking black
support which has largely gone to the Democrats over the past half
century.

Copyright---2004 Culture of Life Foundation.
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

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