Mormon Church Decision to Embrace Pro-Homosexual Laws Could Presage Split in Pro-Family Movement

By Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

Dear Readers,

We may be witnessing the “official” split of the American pro-family movement against homosexuality into two camps: the principled groups and churches that oppose all efforts to recognize and approve homosexuality as normal (AFTAH is in this camp); and “soft” family organizations and churches that oppose homosexual “marriage” (and sometimes “civil unions”) but which support other parts of the homosexualist agenda. Below is a version of an e-mail I sent yesterday to pro-family leaders across the United States upon learning of this misguided decision by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to support special legal “rights” based on homosexuality and gender confusion.

The pro-“gay” decision by the LDS Church to back a local “sexual orientation” law — widely reported by the media — is very bad news for our side.  The proliferation of newfangled laws granting special protections based on objectively disordered sexual/gender behaviors created the basis for punishing dissenters and people of faith long before the “gay marriage” debate became the dominant issue that it is in the “culture wars.”  I think I speak for us all in saying that we are very grateful to the Mormon Church for all it has done to defend against same-sex “marriage” (I personally am astonished by the LDS’ huge contribution to the cause). But “protecting marriage” while legitimizing government-backed preferred status based on changeable, wrong, and very unhealthy (even deadly) behaviors is a Pyrrhic victory if there ever was one.

Moreover, allowing homosexual special rights will only be used by liberal judges to rationalize their imposition of “gay marriage,” anyway (as has already happened), so what’s to be gained by such concessions? [See Gary Glenn’s article on this point HERE]

Surely, much is to be lost.  Once we give up the principled argument, we torpedo our moral authority — which is our greatest and most precious asset.  If homosexuality (sodomy) is truly a crime against nature (and implicitly nature’s God), as Noah Webster defined it in 1828, and liberties truly come from God as I trust we all believe, then how can we possibly acquiesce to “rights” based on sin and perversion and keep our credibility as truth-tellers?  Are special homosexuality-based legal protections “civil rights” or a mockery of same?  If churches back “gay rights” (and the LDS is hardly the first), is there some truth to the idea that those of us who remain opposed to ALL aspects of the “GLBT agenda” are “bigots” or somehow extreme in our worldview?  And let’s be honest: our movement has already begun to ostracize its most principled warriors: I notice that everyone [in the pro-family movement] loves to use Brian Camenker’s and Amy Contrada’s indispensable, firsthand research but strangely some fail to credit MassResistance for their work. (They’re too “homophobic,” I guess.)

And where does the gay “special rights” train stop?  Is there some legal “right” to be homosexual parents?  Are school “sexual orientation” nondiscrimination codes legit (and even noble)?  Once you begin to cave, it’s hard to stop — while our cultural foes heap praise on us for every defection to their bogus “civil rights” approach.  Naturally, at the same time, the GLBT groups and their liberal allies will escalate their attacks against uncompromising pro-family groups as representing “extreme hate,” the fringe, etc.  Their goal is to marginalize us, and this certainly makes it easier. As we damage our pro-family/truth “brand,” we boost their spurious “equality” brand.

I fear some in the “pro-family” movement are dumbing and defining “victory” down so that we can proclaim it even as we lose the much harder and real culture war against normalizing homosexuality and gender confusion. This is a conversation our movement needs to have — because it appears there are two “missions” emerging from our once-unified coalition: one dedicated solely to preserving marriage (hopefully without allowing “civil unions” but sometimes even making that huge concession); the other dedicated as always to fighting every attempt to normalize homosexuality and using the government (and corporations) to sanction and celebrate homosexuality-based relationships. I say that our long-term survival — not to mention our integrity — rests on sticking with the latter mission.  Best — Peter LaBarbera, www.AmericansForTruth.org