MFPC Director Mike Heath Issues Statement Opposing Legislation
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| Paul Madore and Mike Heath |
Over three thousand people, Christians, activists, leaders, and government officials attended the Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee Public Hearing for Legislative Documents LD 1020, "An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom" (sponsored by State Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton) and LD 1118 "An Act to Expand Rights for Maine Families" (sponsored by State Rep. Leslie Fossel, R-Alna) on April 22nd in Augusta.
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| Augusta Police Presence |
Held at the Augusta Civic Center, the public hearing for the same-sex marriage bill and same-sex civil unions bill were originally scheduled to be held on April 24th at Augusta's Cony High School, but the date and location of the hearing were both changed with relatively little advanced notice earlier in the month by Maine's Democrat legislative leadership.
At the hearing were Maine's religious leaders, including Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Bishop Richard Malone, Maine Family Policy Council Executive Director Michael Heath, Maine Grassroots Coalition leader Paul Madore, Jeremiah Project Director Rev. Robert Emrich, and Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Public Policy Director Marc Mutty, and Rev. Rick Carver, Pastor of County Road Baptist Church and MFPC Board of Directors member. Maine State Government officials, including traditional marriage supporters State Rep. Paul Davis, State Rep. Jim Hamper, State Rep. Phil Curtis, State Rep. Doug Thomas, and State Rep. Susan Austin, as well as Democrat legislative leaders who support the same-sex marriage legislation all attended the hearing.
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| Homosexual Rev. Mark Doty |
Other same-sex marriage activists and leaders attended and testified, including Maine State Attorney General Janet Mills, Maine State Housing Authority Director Dale McCormick, Executive Director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence and University of Southern Maine faculty member Steve Wessler, and Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality leader Mark Doty of Bangor. Attorney General Mills received criticism from some traditional marriage supporters when she testified that she was the "Attorney General for the whole State of Maine" prior to announcing her support for same-sex marriage.
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| Sen. Larry Bliss, Judiciary Committee Chair |
Additionally, many Maine pastors spoke at the hearing as traditional marriage supporters, while the same-sex marriage supporters included mostly medical professionals, homosexual group activists, college and high school students, and 'out' homosexuals. The Judiciary Committee Chairman for the Maine State Senate, Larry Bliss (D-South Portland), was recently publicly criticized for his leadership on this committee which is overseeing the same-sex legislation while openly living with his homosexual partner. Despite calls for him to do so, Sen. Bliss has refused to recuse himself from the committee while the bills were being considered.
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| Same-sex Marriage Supporters |
Same-sex marriage supporters were notified in advance to wear red clothing, which many did, and they comprised a majority of those in attendance at the mid-week event. The presence of large numbers of people in the Augusta Civic Center wearing red clothing gave the impression of a foreign political rally or sporting event to some of those who testified to the committee.
At the hearing were dozens of members of Maine's law enforcement community and security officers, including a significant Augusta Police Department detail. Maine's television, print, and radio media were a prominent presence, as well, with many reporters and journalists recording the activities of the day and interviewing both Maine leaders and grass roots activists alike.
Michael Heath, MFPC Executive Director, had prepared a statement for the public hearing, which read:
Over four millenia ago humanity's first married couple were asked the slippery question, "Has God really said?" We gather today to submit the opinion of our era in that ancient dialogue.
Nothing we do or say here today will affect the subject of that question, God. He spoke. He speaks today. Every single one of us will always know, deep down where it matters most, the difference between right and wrong. Put simply, sex outside of marriage is always wrong.
No amount of political campaigning will create a new morality. Celebrity proclamations will not adjust the truth for all time. The Eternal Judge of All Men is deaf to the evil rulings of men who serve as judges.
I am not here to persuade today. If I thought I could be persuasive on this matter, I would be. However, recent events in the West reveal unreasoning forces at work. Persuasion no longer serves.
I am here to proclaim. Where would any of us be without the proclamations of honest men. Three hundred and eighty eight years ago the world's first Americans gathered in the hold of a broken ship anchored in a New England bay. The first words of their Mayflower Compact declared, "In the name of God, Amen."
New England's founding fathers proclaimed their reason for forming a government as they continued, "Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith ..."
Are we to completely abandon this historic political foundation? Do these perilous times advise such a risk? Is sexual immorality working for us?
We conclude, "No, it isn't."
A Massachusetts father spends a night in a cold grey jail cell for merely requesting reasonable notification. Very young children wonder whether they are "gay." Lawyers abandon truth for fashion while teachers pretend tolerance is the ultimate truth. And worst, by far, during this epic financial crisis is the debt we refuse to acknowledge.
The national debt is not measured in dollar bills. Our nation owes a debt it can never repay. The blood of thousands spilled on the battlefields of the world merely symbolize payment. The way forward is always the same. Rising civilizations acknowledge the unmerited favor, the grace and the glory, of their traditions. Ignorance leads to decline and judgment.
This decision is about ultimate things. This decision is about truth.
Marriage, like love, can never be on a slippery slope. It is not possible for it to evolve. Marriage is a permanent thing, like the morning sun.
Pledge with us, the Maine Family Policy Council, to guarantee for future generations the renewing dawn of marital bliss in an enduring culture of honest men.
Reject today's primal urge for pleasure. Choose the truth.
Preserve marriage.
Amen.
While he did appear at the Civic Center for ninety minutes greeting supporters, Heath did not submit his testimony to the Judiciary Committee today. He boycotted the Legislature's last public hearing on gay rights in 2005. In 1990 the Maine Family Policy Council realized the only hope for stopping the gay rights movement rests with the people. The century old group saw the handwriting on the wall. Maine's elite culture would continue to slouch toward gomorrah unless stopped by the public.
Heath predicted this day would come, and that the passage of gay rights would merely lay the ideological foundation for homosexual marriage. While Maine's Democratic Party fought hard for homosexual rights the whole time, Republicans offered tepid resistance that eroded over time until at the end, in 2005, prominent Republicans were leading the gay rights movement. Ted O'Meara, a failed Republican congressional candidate, was the public spokesperson for gay rights in 2005. Republicans continue to lose power in Maine's State House as they quibble over the relative importance of "social issues."
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| Traditional Marriage Supporter Sarah Harvey, with son Judah Harvey |
Bishop Malone's statement to the committee read, in part
"Let me be clear,” he said, “our objection to same-sex marriage is not based on a belief that gay and lesbian Mainers are somehow undeserving of civil rights because of their sexual orientation. We speak in opposition to same-sex marriage because we are deeply concerned about the institution of marriage itself – in this state and in this nation.
"Marriage as practiced in America today falls short of its ideals, but redefining it will make our problems worse, not better."
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| Traditional Marriage Supporter Elaine Graham |
State Rep. Davis, (R-Sangerville), urged the committee to reject the same-sex marriage legislation, saying, in part:
"I believe the basis of our society is our families, when a man and woman unite as one, they become a family. When a man and woman come together, they create children. This can never occur with gay couples."
The public hearing of the Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee on the same-sex bills was scheduled to continue until 8:00 p.m.
