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Santa Fe, NM—Yesterday, the New Mexico Supreme Court voted unanimously to redefine marriage to include two men or two women. New Mexico joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex marriage, after Hawaii and Illinois passed similar laws last month.
“Americans are just now waking up to the fact that homosexual rights are trumping religious rights,” says Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “As families are gathering together for Christmas, the kitchen table is abuzz about the Duck Dynasty controversy, the deterioration of our cultural values, and the impact this cultural deterioration is having on religious freedom,” Staver says.
“The Supreme Court decision on the federal Defense of Marriage Act is opening the floodgates to same-sex marriage. People of faith and moral values are waking up to the impending threats homosexual rights and same-sex marriage poses to religious freedom. This issue will deeply divide America and could be the end of freedom or the beginning of a new revolution,” says Staver.
“There are certain laws which judges, legislators, and even the people cannot change. They are called natural laws. The Declaration of Independence refers to these laws as the ‘laws of nature and of nature’s God.’ These natural laws transcend time, cultures, and political institutions. Sir William Blackstone said any earthly law which is contrary to the natural law is no law at all. This view of law has shaped Western law and government for over 2,000 years. St. Augustine and Martin Luther King, Jr. shared this view of law. If there is a Creator God, then there must be a higher law which cannot be transgressed. We easily accept this view when it comes to the laws of physics such as the law of gravity. But the same is true of certain moral laws, among which include the sanctity of human life, marriage between a man and a woman, and religious freedom. When judges, legislators, or the people have the hubris to deceive themselves into thinking they can violate these laws without consequences, they are blind to history and the Scriptures. Deconstructing marriage will be the end of freedom or the beginning of a new revolution,” concludes Staver.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
LC.org
Federal Judge Opens the Door to Polygamy
Salt Lake City, UT—This summer when the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Liberty Counsel warned that the decision would lead to polygamy and religious intolerance. Homosexual activists, such as the LGBT news magazine, the Advocate, called Liberty Counsel’s warning “erroneous” and “hyperbolic.” Just six short months later, that warning has become prophetic.
On Friday, a federal judge ruled that key parts of Utah’s polygamy laws are unconstitutional, violating the free exercise of religion. Kody Brown and his four wives, on the TLC reality show Sister Wives, and other Mormons filed suit in July 2001 and then left Utah for Las Vegas.
It took Utah nearly 50 years to be admitted to the Union. The reason for the delay was polygamy. The Republican Party, which advocated natural family, said in its 1856 Party Platform that polygamy was “barbaric” and a “twin” of slavery. One of the conditions to admit Utah to the Union was that it ban polygamy and that such a ban be placed in its constitution. After Utah complied, it was admitted to the Union. Several other states in which polygamy was practiced were also required to ban polygamy as a condition to being admitted to the Union.
“We have warned of this slippery slope for years,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “If marriage is deconstructed to include people of the same sex, then there is no logical or legal argument to ban polygamy or polyamory. Same-sex marriage is the abolition of marriage and will destroy the most basic foundation of family and civil society,” Staver said.
“Marriage predates government and civil authorities. No legislative body or court has the authority to redefine marriage,” says Mat Staver. “Marriage was not created by religion or government and is ontologically a union of one man and one woman. Deconstructing marriage will hurt children and society,” concludes Staver.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
