Measures before Legislature are a recipe for conflict, strife

Marriage has provided the foundation for healthy and harmonious family living for civilized societies for centuries. It does not exist just for emotional and physical satisfaction, affirmation and validation of two individuals, but for the greater good of the social order. Marriage between a man and a woman should, therefore, remain an institution that is honored and encouraged by society, and upheld as an unchangeable standard.

On Feb. 5, hundreds of Washingtonians jammed House and Senate hearings to defend traditional marriage and show their resolve to defeat Senate Bill 5688 and House Bill 1727, measures that declare “for all purposes under state law, state-registered domestic partners must be treated the same as married spouses.”

We find it deeply disturbing that the sponsors of the bills (openly homosexual lawmakers Rep. Jamie Pedersen and Sen. Ed Murray) are ignoring the serious consequences that will be brought about by the passage of these society altering measures.

In truth, same-sex marriage presents a very real threat to our hallowed rights of conscience, dissent and freedom of religion. Is it not a legitimate concern that in just a few short months after legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada, activists there successfully passed a bill criminalizing public statements against homosexuality, punishable by up to two years in prison?

Sadly, the bills have passed out of their respective House and Senate Committees and are moving rapidly toward the Rules Committees for consideration. Swift passage out of “Rules” is highly likely given the current Democratic Party leadership’s unabashed support for the measures and their far superior numbers in both committees. As these bills are on the “fast track,” we could see a vote of the full House and Senate within a few weeks.

If homosexual “marriage” becomes legal in Washington, every public school will be forced to teach that homosexual relationships and marriage are perfectly normal. This will greatly harm our schools and drive an irreconcilable wedge between the public school curriculum and the values and moral code of hundreds of thousands of parents. Those parents with deeply held convictions on this matter will have no choice but to remove their children.

The Legislature is courting disaster with these bills. Lawmakers need to look closely at the conflict-ridden implications of these measures, even if Chairman Pedersen and Senator Murray won’t!

Pedersen would not even support an amendment to his bill (HB 1727) that would prohibit a student from attending or participating in a public school sponsored class, program, or activity dealing with or regarding a gay “marriage” or relationship, unless the student’s parent had been previously notified and approved of the student’s attendance or participation.

Is there any doubt that these homosexual radicals are hell bent on propagandizing our children?

Those who think their values and their children will be safe in a private school or homeschool need to think again. If the gay-lobby extremists are allowed to continue down this path, it will soon be illegal to speak out against homosexual marriage or the dangerous homosexual lifestyle under expanded civil rights laws dealing with discrimination and hate crimes.

Churches in Washington could soon be legally pressured to perform same-sex weddings. Any private schools receiving government money or services of any sort will be wide open to having their curricula reviewed by predatory ACLU lawyers eager to litigate.

Don’t believe us? According to an op-ed published in the Seattle P-I (“Why gays shouldn’t celebrate state court ruling”), Sen. Murray is already on record as supportive of fines, firings and jail time for those who would dare speak out against legalized same-sex marriage.

With liberals in firm control of the Legislature and so many traditional media sources ignoring the same-sex marriage issue this year, we are counting on concerned citizens of Washington to rise up and get the word out to friends and neighbors at church, at work, at play, and wherever else they can. We must either stop these radical measures in Olympia in the next few weeks, or face them down with a costly and labor-intensive referendum or initiative effort this spring and summer.

The Washington Values Alliance is encouraging citizens from across the state to contact their legislators immediately via e-mail, letters and the legislative hotline (1-800-562-6000) to tell them no on same-sex marriage.

Bruce Craswell and Larry Stickney are directors of the Washington Values Alliance (www.valuesaction.org), based in Arlington. They can both be reached via e-mail at info@valuesaction.org.