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Mar 11, 2010 - 9:20:54 PM |
Rally for Marriage remarks by Michael S. Heath, Executive Director, Maine Family Policy Council (formerly the Christian Civic League of Maine) at the Augusta Civic Center on Sunday, February 15, 2009.
I'm so pleased to see so many of you here tonight! Thank you for coming out to say YES to Marriage! We needed you to be here tonight. More important, Maine needs you to be here. Tonight is your night. Make no mistake, this is about you; your sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters. What we begin here will echo through the ages.
My 21 year old Marine son, Sergeant Sean Heath, returns from combat on the border between Iraq and Syria in two days. For seven months he's performed his duty with his rifle at his side always. Just as Sean's rifle provides the capacity to bring effective force to bear at a moments notice to protect innocence and freedom, Tony Perkins ... himself a Marine, has brought you to his shoulder at this moment of crisis in the defense of marriage. Thank you for bringing us together tonight Tony. God bless you! And ... Semper Fi!
It is also a great honor to stand shoulder to shoulder tonight with other pro family heroes. Representative Cebra, Representative Hanley, Charla, Bob, Marc ... it is a privilege to stand with you to uphold marriage in Maine. I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge and honor the sacrificial leadership, extraordinary dedication and unmovable conviction of my good friends Paul and Susan Madore from Lewiston. Since that day in 1991 when they persuaded 67 percent of their neighbors to reject special rights for homosexuality in their hometown of Lewiston they have remained steadfast in the fight. They are here tonight with a plan for victory. I will talk more about that later.
Thank you for the extraordinary personal sacrifices you have all made over the years fighting this most important battle with us. You have devoted a great deal of time and money to this. I personally have been in this fight since 1986, marching through one bruising battle after another with many of you.
I am sustained in the battle by my family, especially my Valentine, Paulie. Thank you, honey, for your love and patience. You're the best!
We all have treasured memories of our families. We remember a camping trip, or a trip to a far-off place, where the boys and girls fish with dad. Or it could be the family reunion by the lake in summer, where we tell stories about the family, and days long past.
There is another image of a family which comes to mind. It is a a certain family which binds you and me and all our neighbors and all the Christians around the world together. It is the image of Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. The Gospel begins with the story of a humble family, the story of a family tree, first an engagement, then a marriage, and the joy which surrounds the birth of a child. When the special child grows to manhood He performs his first miracle ... at a wedding.
No other religion on earth is like this. The story of Confucius begins and ends with the story of a wise teacher. The story of Buddha is the story of a solitary prince who renounces the world. The story of Mohamed is the story of a merchant who turns warrior. The story of Christianity begins with the story of a family, and that is part of the reason why you are here today, because of your deep commitment to the traditional family.
A very good family was needed to bring God into the world. Families are the basic building block of society. Families bring right thinking and happiness into the world. Society must not privilege the wrong type of families.
The family exists for procreation, and for the rearing and education of children.
Our opponents want the public to believe that same sex marriage is only about law and civil rights. At the heart of the issue, however, is an ethical question which concerns the proper definition of marriage. The reality of procreation, and of child-rearing by man and woman cannot be set aside. They exist in the real world. Marriage reflects an existing reality. To put it very simply, Marriage is what it is, and nothing else.
There is an element of selfishness in the gay rights movement, in that homosexuals already have the right to form domestic partnerships. Let us assume for a moment that same sex marriage does not harm society - which it does, of course. Why should a practice which lacks the elements of marriage -- procreation and child-rearing -- be called marriage? What if this practice is also based on harmful and immoral sexual practices?
If there is no proof that same sex marriage benefits society more than domestic partnerships, isn't the call for same-sex marriage based on nothing more than selfishness? And marriage is, above all else, a matter of sexual morality. It is selfish for a vocal minority to impose its special version of immorality on the definition of marriage.
Married couples who are committed to one another for life and who are parenting deserve the protections and privileges of traditional marriage. Homosexuality and promiscuity cannot be equal to marriage because they are fundamentally unequal. You can see now that this vocal minority actually seeks special rights, not equal rights.
A so-called equal right becomes a special right when it ignores, or attempts to alter, reality. The reality is that an expanding, creative and growing civilization does indeed privilege the traditional family unit by making real marriage the ideal. A declining civilization confuses the matter.
Make no mistake, the special rights that are demanded by this vocal minority are not equal -- they are special indeed.
We are for equal rights, not special rights. You must tell your legislators to vote against the special right to so-called same sex marriage.
All this represents a type of moral inversion, in which our modern world reveals itself to be quite topsy-turvy. If the majority of people believe that two homosexuals can raise a girl properly, these are peculiar days indeed. That the media portrays such an arrangement as an ideal family ought to make our blood run cold. It must motivate us to action.
And that is where you come in.
This evening Paul Madore's Maine Grassroots Coalition is launching the Save Marriage Post Card Campaign!
We Need Your Help! We cannot stop same sex marriage without you!
We have only two weeks to act. Post Cards must be filled out and mailed to my office no later than March 2, 2009.
Make sure that the name of the Governor, your State Senator and your State Legislator is featured right at the top of your Post Card. Please enclose your own personal comment on the line that reads “Respectfully."
Don’t forget to place a .27 cent stamp on the card.
You can fill these Post Cards out here this evening. Someone will be available to help you as you exit the room at the table in the rear of the room. Or, you can take them home with you, fill them out, and mail them to us.
Pastors and groups leaders take a bundle home with you. You will find bundles of the postcards at the table in the back.
In the fight against same sex marriage, Our best line of defense is a strong offense.
Thank you, and God bless you!
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