Renewed momentum for federal marriage amendment? (OneNewsNow.com)

Renewed momentum for federal marriage amendment?

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 11/4/2009 1:55:00 PM

marriage banner As a result of Tuesday's election, traditional marriage has been protected in Maine -- but now some tough work begins to protect the state against future attempts to create "counterfeit marriage."

Pastor Bob Emrich of the Maine Jeremiah Project headed the successful campaign and believes that the outcome is something that God has accomplished for Maine. "This was a threat to God's clear statement and God's design," he explains, "and that's what we called upon the people of God to recognize it as such -- and they did."

Emrich says the victory just brings them back to where they started -- so there is important work yet ahead.

"[Our work is] two fold," he says. "That is, first of all, to strengthen marriage, especially within the church -- and then secondly, it's to change the thinking of the legislature so that we don't have to go through this again."

A third phase will then be to work for approval of a constitutional amendment that would clearly define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Unbeaten streak continues
According to an attorney with Liberty Counsel, the victory for traditional marriage in Maine should send a message to the state legislature. Matt Barber believes the victory in Maine is especially sweet considering the liberal leanings of the state -- but there is another point, he says. (Listen to audio report)

"Counterfeit marriage, every time it's been put to the vote, has been rejected outright," he points out. "And it's taken activist judges and a handful of legislators who are in the pocket of the radical homosexual lobby to foist same-sex marriage on the American people."

The remaining question, says Barber, is what impact the vote might have on the next election for members of the legislature. "The next step here is that those legislators who went against their constituents and abandoned the job that they were elected to do, that is to represent their constituents -- those legislators need to be held accountable," he urges.

And according to the Liberty Counsel attorney, there is yet another message from the election. In light of the fact that the Obama administration is moving to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, Barber believes the public ought to pressure Congress for a federal constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage from homosexual activism.

Counting Tuesday's result in Maine, same-sex marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote.