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Christian Groups Mobilize on the "Issue of our Time": Protecting Marriage 10/2/2003 Movement to legalize same-sex marriage rouses pro-family leaders and grassroots citizens.
"'Gay' marriage is not the wave of the future but the end of society as we know it," said Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women for America (CWA). She spoke for a broad coalition of multi-ethnic, conservative Christian groups who announced at a press conference today a major campaign to keep marriage as only the legal union of one woman and one man.
To launch the campaign, the Coalition to Protect Marriage will lead off with Marriage Protection Week from October 12-18. President Bush has placed his seal of approval on the event with an official declaration of Marriage Protection Week.
In addition, the group will promote marriage nationwide through Christian radio and through passage of a federal amendment that defines marriage as only between one man and one woman. The coalition will also conduct local meetings and provide tools for action at www.MarriageProtectionWeek.com.
The groups, including CWA, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, American Family Association and others* vowed to mobilize more than 25 million voters through their efforts.
Citing the Supreme Court's recent decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which found a constitutional right to sodomy, Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, pointed to homosexual activists and the courts as those foisting "gay" marriage upon the United States. "We cannot, we will not allow that to happen," Dobson said.
The coalition will carry its message over Christian radio--to which 41 million Americans listen each month--through public service announcements, programs such as Concerned Women Today and Focus on the Family, and reports from outlets such as AFA radio and Family News in Focus.
Leaders at the press conference reported strong grassroots support, buttressed by recent poll data, for the protection of marriage. "This issue has roused the grassroots, and Marriage Protection Week is just the beginning," said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, who predicted that the issue of "gay" marriage will affect every state and national political race in 2004.
Dr. Dobson agreed that the 2004 elections will be critical for supporters of marriage to influence their elected representatives.
"I am prepared to take leave from Focus on the Family to be involved in races where necessary," he said. "This battle may have to be fought out on the political level."
Whether Protestant or Catholic, Hispanic, African-American or white, group members vowed to continue their efforts to protect marriage.
"This is not a short-term endeavor," said CWA's Sandy Rios.
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*Members of the Coalition to Protect Marriage:
American Association of Christian Schools American Cause
American Family Association
American Values
Bott Broadcasting
Christian Coalition
Citizens for Community Values
Concerned Women for America
Eagle Forum
Faith2Action
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Free Congress Foundation
Gideon Christian Fellowship Church
Home School Legal Defense Fund
INSP TV Network
National Religious Broadcasters
Prison Fellowship
Prison Fellowship/Wilberforce Forum
Religious Freedom Coalition
Samaritan’s Purse
Southern Baptist Convention
Thomas Road Baptist Church
WORLD Magazine
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