VICTORY, for Now, in Illinois: YOU Helped Stop Homosexual ‘Marriage’ Bill, SB 10, as Session Closes

Left-wing Chicago homosexual activist Andy Thayer (at left) of Gay Liberation Network (GLN) unfurls pro-homosexual “rainbow flag” in the gallery of the Illinois House May 30. Photo: Dave Smith of Illinois Family Institute — who led the successful grassroots effort to stop passage of a homosexuality-based “marriage” bill before the legislative session ended May 31. Click on photo to enlarge.

UPDATE: June 1, 2013 — in what is a stunning setback to the Homosexual Lobby in Illinois, openly homosexual St. Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) announced on the last day of the legislative session yesterday that he did NOT have the votes to call SB 10, the same-sex “marriage” bill. Harris and his high-powered liberal allies were not able to peel off enough Chicago Democrats or wavering Republicans — in a General Assembly that has veto-proof Democratic super-majorities in both houses — to pass the bill. A strong grassroots coalition of black, white and latino Christians across the state formed the backbone of the opposition.

Congratulations are well deserved to: first and foremost to my good friend and Illinois Family Institute (IFI) leader Dave Smith, who worked his tail off up and down the state to stop SB 10; and Laurie Higgins, Kathy Valente, Dave Norck and the entire IFI team; Paul Caprio of Family-PAC, who led the Coalition to Protect Children & Marriage (of which AFTAH is a member) and did yeoman’s work in thwarting SB 10; Bob Gilligan of the Catholic Conference; former Sen. Rev. James Meeks, who played a huge role; veteran Springfield lobbyists Ralph Rivera and Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch; Penny Pulen; Peter Breen; Scott Phelps (Abstinence & Marriage Partnership); Bishop Lance Davis; AFTAH Board Member John McCartney; John Zahm; John Biver; Jack Roeser; Nick Costello; Rev. Larry Rogers; Hiram Crawford; Tom Brejcha (Thomas More Society); Mary Anne Hackett; Elise Bouc; Rev. Bill Owens (Coalition of African American Pastors); Brian Brown and National Organization for Marriage; Jim Finnegan; Cardinal Francis George (see his letter on homosexual “marriage” HERE); and all the pro-family advocates who helped secure this unlikely victory. (There are so many more I could name.)

We must realize that this is only a temporary win. Now homosexual activists will redouble their efforts to homosexualize marriage in our state — so we must redouble our efforts to stop them.

Also, immediately after the defeat, the powerful homosexual lawyers group Lambda Legal began touting its lawsuit — before openly lesbian judge Sophia Hall — as another avenue towards legalizing homosexuality-based “marriage” in Illinois. Self-styled “queer” activists, filled with “pride” and considerable arrogance, believe they are entitled to homosexual “marriage” as a supposed constitutional “civil right.” They are wrong. (And, yes, Judge Hall should recuse herself from this case due to her obvious conflict of interest; see biased homosexual Advocate article HERE and “Think Progress” piece slamming AFTAH HERE.)

This hard-won victory, after a string of “marriage” defeats in other states, will encourage and energize pro-family advocates across the nation because it shows — despite the frequent boasts of our adversaries — that homosexuality-based “marriage” is NOT “inevitable,” even in Democratic-dominated Illinois. AFTAH has been defending real marriage here for a long time, so we will savor this triumph of common sense over social leftism. But only for a moment, and then it’s back to work.

This was about “We the People” winning out over homosexual and liberal special interest groups. God bless all of you who got involved in this battle: YOUR calls and contacts with legislators and fellow citizens made the difference!  Let’s keep on fighting for Truth! — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality

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Previous AFTAH “Alert” May 31:

URGENT ACTION ALERT: Folks, we need all hands on deck in Illinois to help stop the homosexualization of “marriage” in our state on this, the last day of the legislative session in Springfield!  The Homosexual Lobby is pulling out all the stops to make Illinois the 13th homosexual-“marriage” state.  Please call your State Representative at 217-782-2000 and oppose SB 10, the homosexual “marriage” bill – and urge your network of friends and co-workers to do the same.

Encouragement for the nation: Holding back homosexuality-based “marriage” with Democratic super-majorities in both House and Senate would be a HUGE shot in the arm to pro-family advocates across America.  Pray!!  And if you’re near Springfield, Illinois, go to the Capitol to lobby your Representative in person.

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Homosexual “Marriage” — It’s Not Fair or Equal

By Peter LaBarbera

Homosexual “marriage” (so-called) is one of the farthest and most preposterous reaches of corrupt liberalism that the world has ever seen.  It is justified using the political euphemism “marriage equality,” but have you ever considered this?  Liberals often aren’t fair and they reject true justice when it conflicts with their pet ideological agendas.  For instance, the same liberals who champion abortion-on-demand (read: the legalized slaughter of innocent unborn babies in the womb) in the name of “freedom” and “choice,” now plead for the homosexualization of marriage in the name of, yep, basic fairness and equality.

Is it “fair” to children to place them in homosexual households that are intentionally designed to be without either a mother or a father?  Hardly, yet we will be forced to pretend that such households are “equal” in society – and in our school classrooms – if homosexual “marriage” is legalized in the Land of Lincoln.  Be prepared for homosexual teachers to gush about their “marriages” and “same-sex weddings” to their captive students.

(With regard to Honest Abe, I have to believe, given his reverence for the Bible and his practical wisdom and common sense, that he would be bemused at the notion of calling two men or two women – or three men and two women, for that matter – a “marriage.”  I’m reminded of the riddle commonly attributed to Lincoln:

If you call a dog’s tail a leg, how many legs does the dog have?

Answer: Four legs. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.)

Nope, calling two men or two women a “marriage” doesn’t make it a marriage, whether SB 10 becomes law or not.  But let’s keep our laws on the side of Truth and Nature rather than the Big Lie that attaches the noble institution of marriage – essential for the continuation and health of civilization itself – to the ignoble Sin of Sodom.

Make no mistake: sodomy-based “marriage” is an assault on our Judeo-Christian-based civilization, and a radical twisting of “civil rights” as we’ve come to know it.  And a “gay”/liberal alliance that so recklessly distorts the historic meaning of marriage as ordained by God simply cannot be trusted to value our cherished freedom to dissent once its Brave Disordered World is in place.

Below (after the jump) is a news release by the Thomas More Society (based in Chicago) explaining the particularly grave threat to religious liberty posed by SB 10, the Illinois homosexual “marriage” bill:

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Illinois Same-Sex Marriage Bill Provides Worst Religious Liberty Protections in U.S.

Thomas More Society Cites Grave Bipartisan Concerns

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 30, 2013 /[read release on Christian Newswire HERE] /– Yesterday, Thomas More Society attorneys issued a letter to members of the Illinois House of Representatives warning that Illinois’ pending same-sex marriage bill (SB 10) provides a disaster for religious liberty, no matter which side of the same-sex marriage debate that one supports.

The letter states: “Law professors on both sides of the marriage issue agree that Senate Bill 10 provides the worst religious liberty protections of any same-sex marriage bill in the country.”

The letter highlights that other states which have legalized same-sex marriage, such as Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington, have recognized the importance of protecting religious liberty and have added specific language in their respective same-sex marriage bills to protect “services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges…related to the solemnization of a marriage.”

The letter warns that, should the current same-sex marriage bill be voted into law, Illinois’ religious hospitals, religious schools, organizations such as the Knights of Columbus, and businesses owned by people of faith would face an onslaught of court battles: “SB 10 will force religious people and organizations into years of legal fights, likely against the Illinois government, to defend their rights to practice their faith.”

“SB 10 would make Illinois the most hostile state in the country to the religious freedoms of people of faith,” said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel of the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm. “SB 10 would generate years of litigation and cause those who faithfully practice their religion to be mislabeled as ‘discriminators,’ stripped of government benefits, and subjected to fines and penalties simply because they abide by their sincerely held beliefs. Legal scholars have urged on a bipartisan basis that SB 10 in its current form be rejected. Illinois legislators should heed this bipartisan call.”

The letter cites numerous examples of businesses and organizations that are being sued around the country for actions taken in compliance with their religious beliefs. The letter concludes by stating that, “Instead of being a ‘Religious Freedom’ bill, SB 10 will devastate the liberties of individuals, businesses, religious organizations, and religious charities all across our State of Illinois.”

Read the letter HERE.

About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit public interest law firm whose mission is to restore respect in law for life, marriage, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, the Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro-bono professional legal services from federal, state, and local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. www.thomasmoresociety.org