Missouri Family E-News

August 4, 2015

     
Missourians Opposed to Same-Sex "Marriage"

A new survey reveals that Missourians are strongly opposed to the recent Supreme Court decision redefining marriage to include same-sex unions.

When asked whether so-called same-sex 'marriage' should be legal in Missouri, respondents to the survey said no by a margin of 61 to 32 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

Contrary to the claims of homosexual rights advocates, the results show that Missourians have not abandoned their previously stated view that marriage should be exclusively defined as the union of one man and one woman. 

Missourians asserted their position on marriage in decided fashion in the August 2004 election when they overwhelmingly adopted the Missouri Marriage Amendment. 

That amendment placed in the Missouri Constitution explicit language preserving the traditional definition of marriage.  The Marriage Amendment was approved by a lopsided margin of 71 to 29 percent.

The survey, conducted by the Remington Research Group, shows that Missourians have not changed their viewpoint about the integrity of marriage over the last decade.

When asked whether they believe marriage should be between one man and one woman, 71 percent agreed, and 25 percent disagreed, with 4 percent undecided.

83 percent of Republicans, 60 percent of Democrats, and 68 percent of independent voters agreed that marriage should retain its traditional legal definition.

The poll was commissioned by the Missouri Alliance for Freedom.  The President of that organization, Ryan Johnson, says the unambiguous results speak for themselves.

"From these numbers it is clear that Missourians' minds have not dramatically changed since they overwhelmingly approved the amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman."

"For us this is a liberty issue," Johnson added.  "Will small business people and clergy be targeted by activists using the courts to compel them to violate their consciences?  Freedom of speech and religion are essential and must be protected."

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon continues to be contemptuous of the unequivocal sentiment of Missourians about the sanctity of marriage.

Nixon issued an executive order in early July ordering all state agencies to recognize same-sex unions as "marriages" despite the fact that the Supreme Court decision was not yet final.

Nixon called the Supreme Court ruling "a historic step forward for our nation...with very real benefits for families here in Missouri."

Nixon's scornful behavior differs sharply from the response chosen by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.  The Kansas chief executive also issued an executive order.  However, his order prohibits state agencies from discriminating against religious organizations because they believe in the traditional definition of marriage.       
  

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Missouri Legislators
Call for Religious
Liberty Protections


Members of the Missouri Senate have responded to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on marriage by calling for enhanced conscience protections for churches, clergy, and the religious community. 

Senators David Sater, Bob Onder, Ed Emery, and Kurt Schaefer all issued public statements condemning the High Court ruling redefining marriage to include same-sex unions.  They all expressed concern that the abusive decree of the Supreme Court would pose a grave risk to the religious freedoms of pastors, churches, and religious ministries.

Senator David Sater of Cassville deplored the action by the Supreme Court justices in striking down the Marriage Amendment approved by 71% of Missouri voters in August of 2004.  That amendment preserved in the supreme law of our state the longstanding historic definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

"The Constitution gives the federal government no authority in defining marriage--that authority belongs exclusively to the states," Senator Sater said.  "Now the Court says the states can't make this decision for themselves and we need a federal government...to define the very nature of an institution that existed long before the Supreme Court was even created."

"This decision had nothing to do with the law or the Constitution," Sater continued.  "It had everything to do with judicial activism and reactionary politics.  In so doing, the Court has trampled on the First Amendment rights of Americans and Missourians who have deeply-held religious beliefs on this issue."

Sater says the ruling declaring so-called same-sex "marriage" a fundamental right opens up "a legal can of worms."  "Will our ministers, pastors, and clergy be forced to perform gay weddings?  Will the tax-exempt status of our churches be in jeopardy?  Will private religious colleges be forced to change curriculum, admissions, or personal conduct standards?  These are serious problems the Missouri General Assembly will have to address."

Senator Bob Onder of Lake St. Louis branded the Supreme Court Obergefell decision a brazen act of judicial supremacy.  "The radical redefinition of marriage is a pure act of judicial will by five unelected Supreme Court justices.  These five justices chose the policy preference of the secular elites over our religious rights contained in the Constitution."

"The Court has ignored both our constitutional history and the will of the people," Senator Onder added.  "The Court's new 'right' was never contemplated by the drafters of the Constitution or the Fourteenth Amendment.   The Missouri Legislature must now do all we can to secure the freedom of religion and conscience rights of our churches, our pastors, and all Missourians."
Senator Ed Emery of Lamar harshly rebuked the Supreme Court for an "unprecedented violation of the separation of church and state."  "The government can no more redefine marriage than it can redefine death or birth.  An institution which has always been the jurisdiction of the church has now been hijacked and neutered.  Heretofore pledged to the propagation and benefit of children, these five elitists decreed it is all about the pleasure of adults."

"America's founders intended for the greatest power to rest with the people," Senator Emery observed.  "Their writings make it clear that it was not their intention for an unelected oligarchy of nine to rule with unrestrained power.  What happened to a nation of laws, not of men?"

"The gradual demise of any moral restraint or even the legitimacy of moral values has introduced this nation to a political no man's land where there are no moral absolutes and hence no right and wrong," Emery continued.   "The Missouri Legislature must seek out the most effective ways to protect religious freedom and the principles of righteousness."

State Senator Kurt Schaefer of Columbia has been quoted as saying that legislation should be enacted in the 2016 session to protect ministers from being compelled to perform same-sex union ceremonies.  "I think there will be sentiment in the General Assembly to look at what the state of Missouri will do to make sure we are protecting the sovereign rights of our state and its people."

Joshua Hawley, a constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri, says legislative action must be taken soon.  "The decision of five justices to ignore our nation's fundamental charter and impose same-sex 'marriage' on their own say so sets a new standard for judicial imperialism.  It also creates a new imperative:  protecting religious liberty.  Missouri's public officials should act now to ensure that no Missouri citizen is punished for following his or her religious convictions when it comes to marriage."

Please be praying that our state legislators are resolute in their efforts to ensure that the civil liberties of the religious community and of Bible-believing Christians are safeguarded from the inevitable attacks that will come as a result of the Supreme Court's depraved decision.

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