Baptists and advocates for traditional marriage converge at Capitol in support of ammendment

On Feb. 26 Senate Resolution 595, a proposed amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman, went to the Georgia House floor for debate and a vote. In order to pass, a constitutional majority of 120 votes is needed.

After three-and-a-half hours of debate, the vote came to 117-50 – three votes less than what was required to approve the amendment.

On March 1 the House debated the bill again and voted 127-48 to send it back to the Rules Committee so that it might be reconsidered. House Speaker Terry Coleman said, “I asked Rules Committee Chairman Calvin Smyre to make sure it comes up before the end of the session.”

Diane Reasoner

Bishop Wellington Boone, president of the Fellowship of International Churches, speaks to the crowd gathered in front of the state Capitol March 1. “I am offended that the opponents to this marriage amendment would make a civil rights issue out of it,” he said. “I cannot change the color of my skin, but they can change their behavior.”

The pro-amendment rally at the capitol on March 1, which had been scheduled in early February, began to take on the look of something providentially designed in the midst of all the political maneuvering.

In fact, Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Church in Blackshear, said, “I was asked why we as conservative Christians picked this day, this time…to take this stand. My response is that we did not choose this time. This time chose us.”

There was little room for ambivalence as the battle lines were drawn at the historic government site on Washington Avenue.

Georgia Equality, the group that has vehemently stood against the marriage amendment, had their rally in the rotunda of the Capitol at 10 a.m. But Baptists and other concerned citizens favoring traditional marriage had to go to Plan B when it was obvious that the rotunda of the state Capitol would not accommodate their large crowd. Plan B was the west lawn, under the shadow of the golden dome of the state’s house of government.

Baptists led the charge in support of amending the state constitution to insure the sanctity of marriage. Stone was the first to speak and set the tone of the meeting.

“Let it be said clearly today to all who are listening; we are not here today to protest anything,” he stated. “We are here to pray for our leaders, to participate in the democratic process, and to promote the traditional Biblical definition of marriage of one woman and one man.

“Some will call our assembly a hateful gathering of intolerance. Let it be known that this coalition of concerned Christian citizens has gathered here in an atmosphere of peace, love, and Christ-likeness.

“A Spirit-filled, sold-out Christian can no more be hateful than he can be homosexual.”

Ray Newman, Georgia Baptists’ lobbyist to the legislature, introduced and called upon J. Robert White, Executive Director of the Georgia Baptist Convention, to pray. In White’s prayer he referred to God as the architect of the institution of marriage and indicated that He specifically designed it to be between a man and a woman.

State Senator Mike Crotts was introduced as the sponsor of SR 595. He expressed his hope that the resolution will find favor with the House of Representatives and pass without any revisions.

Newman indicated that a formidable contingent of Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington eagerly offered their support to the marriage amendment. He read letters endorsing traditional marriage from Georgia’s two U. S. Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Zell Miller. He then read a letter of support signed by eight of Georgia’s 13 representatives to the U. S. Congress. Those representatives are: Jack Kingston, Johnny Isakson, John Linder, Mac Collins, Charlie Norwood, Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, and Max Burns.

Governor Sonny Perdue was represented at the pro-amendment rally by his chief of staff, John Watson. Watson read a statement from the governor in which Perdue gave his first public endorsement of the amendment.

Newman introduced Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and keynote speaker for the rally. Land announced, “Once you abandon the sanctity of marriage you will have polygamy in ten years…This is a struggle for our children and our grandchildren and the kind of culture in which they will have to live.

“I don’t want to have to stand before my Lord at the judgment and have to say, ‘I didn’t do everything I could have done (on this issue).’”

Land added, “This is still a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Let the people decide this issue. Let the people vote. If the people vote, we will have in the United States marriage between one man and one woman, and that’s it.”

Bishop Wellington Boone, president of the Fellowship of International Churches, brought a stirring and emotional message to the assembled crowd. He declared, “When God created a helpmate for Adam, He did not create another man, but a woman.

“I am offended that the opponents to this marriage amendment would make a civil rights issue out of it. I cannot change the color of my skin, but they can change their behavior.

“This is so serious that it could bring an end to our society as we know it,” Boone emphasized. If you follow same sex marriage to its logical conclusion, all you can see is the annihilation of the race.”

Boone concluded his remarks by addressing the legislators, “If you can change your mind because of peer pressure, you didn’t have much convictions to start with.”

As the coalition forces prayed and listened to messages, hundreds of protestors jeered and shouted obscenities from across the street. During one prayer the gay rights supporters chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia has got to go.”

One rally organizer said, “I hope that even the most casual observer will be able to tell by the tone of our rally that although we have an uncompromising commitment to principle that we also have an uncompromising compassion for all people – even the protestors.”

As of this writing, the marriage amendment is still awaiting the legislature’s final approval. If that approval is given the proposed constitutional amendment, Georgia voters will have an opportunity to make the final decision in the November election.