Blog Article Posted by ACLA President & Church Lobbyist Darrin Mitchell:

Recently, I had a telephone discussion with a same-sex marriage advocate about the Marriage Protection Act of 2011 (H.R.875). She asked me a lot of questions on why the American Christian Lobbyists Association (The ACLA) supports this bill and for our organizations position on homosexuality. During our conversation I wrote down a number of her questions and upon review decided to incorporate them into this blog article.

I began our discussion by explaining the two reasons why the ACLA supports H.R. 875. First, this bill would amend title 28, United States Code, to limit Federal court jurisdiction over questions under the Defense of Marriage Act by allowing no court created by an act of Congress to have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court would have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity of DOMA under the Constitution.

Now you might be asking, what is DOMA? The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the commonly-used name of a federal law of the United States that is officially known as Pub. L. No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419 and codified at 1 U.S.C. § 7 and 28 U.S.C. § 1738 C. This law has two effects: (1) That no state needs to recognize a marriage between persons of the same sex, even if the marriage was concluded or recognized in another state. (2) That the Federal Government may not recognize same sex or polygamous marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.

This bill was passed by the U.S. Congress by a vote of 342-67 in the U.S. House of Representatives and a vote of 85-14 in the U.S. Senate, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001) on September 21, 1996.

Second is that the Defense of Marriage Act has been under constant attack by the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) community in the United States. The preferred method of attack by secular civil rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who support same-sex marriage is litigation. Why? Because when same-sex marriage has been put on the ballot for the public to decide it has been defeated in 31 states out of 31 state election contests so far.

The ACLU states on their website that: “Our legal strategies are built on the idea that fighting for civil rights means not just persuading judges but ultimately changing the way people think. As we litigate for change, we implement targeted media, online and outreach campaigns to change public attitudes, and provide advocacy tools to help people take action in their community.” http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights

Since 2004, the ACLU and other secular civil rights groups have been successful in getting 13 states and the District of Columbia to recognize some form of same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships. To stop this the ACLA is working to help pass the Marriage Protection Act to protect DOMA and to stop gay activist judges from stealing our votes by bypassing the voters on same-sex marriage in the same manner that they were successful in legalizing abortion.

Midway through our discussion the activist changed the direction of our conversation by asking me why I believed homosexuality was a sin. I replied by reading her the following two scriptures from the Bible:

"Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin." Leviticus 18:22

“So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.” Romans 1:24-27

She then took a serious tone and asked me: “Would it offend you if I said that the Christian religious bias against homosexuality is represented by a selected interpretation of the scriptures. A complete inversion of the values of Jesus Christ?" (During our discussion I looked up the word inversion which would suggest that Jesus had a reversal of position, order, form, or relationship.)

I told her: "No miss, it wouldn’t offend me, I’m secure in my Christian faith." The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:8: that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

She quickly responded by asking me: “Isn’t there something in that Bible of yours about forgiveness. Aren’t we all God’s children?" I replied by telling her “Of course we are, which is why the federal government shouldn’t institutionalize immoral behavior in opposition to our Christian faith."

I then asked her if I could reading the following scripture verses from John 3:18-21:“There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."

She then asked me: ”What gives you the right to visit the Christian faith upon the country at large? I replied: "One nation under God and the protection of the First Amendment."

Getting frustrated with me she asked me: "How can you support this bill? I mean, President Obama himself has declared that “homosexuality is immutable and that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.” After our conversation I looked up the word immutable. It means: it is an object whose state cannot be modified after it is created. She tried to close by telling me that it was the Presidents job to do this as he swore an oath to uphold the constitution of the United States of America.

In reply I asked her this simple question: "And where was his left hand on?" She answered reluctantly: "The Bible."

I then asked her if she knew what the Bible had to say about marriage. She replied that she didn’t read the Bible and therefore didn’t know. I followed up by asking her if I could close out our discussion by reading the Bible’s position on marriage that was clearly defined by God’s son Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago when he declared: "But God's plan was seen from the beginning of creation, for He made them male and female. This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together." Mark 10:6-9

At the end of our discussion, I asked if I could explain why I believed in the Christian faith. She declined, but thanked me and told me that I had given her a lot to think about. It is my prayer that she will find Christ and discover what I learned when I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior 39 years ago: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

As of today's blog posting there are only 26 of the needed 218 U.S. Congresspersons needed to pass The Marriage Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Knowing this I need you to do the research and see if your Congressperson from your U.S. Congressional district has Co-Sponsored this bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.875:

If they have, please send them a letter of thanks and then follow up with a phone call to let them know that you appreciate their stand to pass this pending bill. However, if your Congressperson has not Co-Sponsored this bill you need to contact them by letter, phone and or in person and let them know that as their constituent that you want them to vote yes on H.R.875.

If you are uncomfortable about contacting your states elected officials in the 112th U.S. Congress, please E-mail me at darrin.mitchell@americancla.org. Lets discuss what we can do together to work to pass The Marriage Protection Act of 2011 (H.R.875) and save Marriage as an act between one man and one woman in the United States of America. Thank you.