| New York Falls Off Moral Precipice |
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The New York State Senate voting record can be viewed here.
Needless to say, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) is extremely disappointed with the recent State Senate vote to legalize gay “marriage”. The bill’s passage was bad enough, but it is compounded by a process that was rotten to the core.
There is no nice way to say this; pro-family voters were sold out by the highest echelons of the Republican Party in the Empire State. This bill could not have come to the floor without the support of at least Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and his legislative lieutenants. When the Republicans were conferencing this issue, they allowed gay “marriage” supporter and major financial donor, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, into the meeting. We now know that other wealthy and liberal GOP donors reached out to the party’s leadership with promises of support in exchange for a vote on homosexual “marriage”.
When the decision was made to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, Republican leadership conspired with Governor Cuomo and Senate Democrats to hold no debate on the bill. They actually shut down Sen. Diaz (D-Bronx), the lone voice defending the family that night while allowing openly-gay lawmaker, Sen. Duane (D-Manhattan) to go on virtually unchecked.
The timing of the bill’s passage was designed to coincide with the 11 o’clock newscasts allowing Governor Cuomo maximum coverage.
The Bible says, “The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Prov. 27:6) Right now, it looks like the GOP gave us Judas’ kiss in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.
Despite the vote, the people of New York recognize that marriage provides a strong foundation for a thriving society. State senators who have chosen to pursue their own agenda or the agenda of liberal activist groups are ignoring the 62 percent of Americans who believe marriage is one man, one woman, nothing else.
Throughout history, diverse cultures and faiths have recognized marriage between one man and one woman as the best way to promote healthy families and strong societies. That's because marriage between a man and a woman naturally builds families - mom, dad, and children - and gives hope that the next generations will carry that on into the future.
Religious Freedoms’ Language Lacking Much has been made of the fact that an amendment guaranteeing religious freedom was included in New York’s same-sex “marriage” law. Sen. Stephen Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) touted this effort saying it was instrumental to securing his support for the legislation. The problem is that the language is sorely lacking. The bill does protect pastors from having to perform same-sex ceremonies and churches from having to host gay weddings or receptions, but this is nothing new. Those protections already exist in the law.
What should have been included are religious freedoms protections for individuals and non-religious affiliated organizations. For example, if you are a licensed Christian counselor, not directly affiliated with a church, a day may come when the state may refuse you licensure for reparative or ex-gay therapy. If you are a wedding photographer or caterer, there is no protection for you, either. Refuse to photograph or serve a gay nuptial and you are vulnerable to a lawsuit. Town clerks and justices will also be required to issue gay “marriage” licenses.
The religious freedoms’ language included in this bill is merely political cover for liberal-leaning elects looking to vote for state-endorsed homosexuality.
Next StepsIn less than a month same-sex 'marriage' will take effect in New York. Rev. Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, says, "I can’t tell you how many hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls our office has fielded since last week’s passage of gay 'marriage' legislation. Naturally, people are looking to New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms wondering what can be done now. They want to know what is next."
"Let me preface this by saying any court action before the law is implemented is a long-shot, but our legal team is looking at our options. It seems much more likely that court cases may result as a violation of religious freedoms. The bad news is that by that point there will be probably thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of gay marriages that any court will be loathe to annul," McGuire continued.
The reality is that concerned Christians will probably have to look to the 2012 elections to send a message to the State Republican Party that they will no longer tolerate being sold out on social issues. It is unfortunate that the vast majority of Democratic legislators and a handful of liberal-leaning Republicans have put personal agendas, ahead of principled positions. Conservatives had hoped for better, but now they look to next year's November. |
By now you’ve no doubt heard that same-sex “marriage” passed the State Senate June 24, by a vote of 33-29. 29 Democrats joined four Republican senators to pass gay “marriage”. Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) was the lone Senate Democrat to vote right, while four Republican Senators: Alesi (R-Perinton), Grisanti (R-Buffalo), McDonald (R-Saratoga), and Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) all voted to redefine marriage and the family.
