Marriage Wins! Overwhelming Victory for the Truth in North Carolina Vote

Tuesday, May 8, 2012, the people of North Carolina spoke clearly.

The reason Amendment One to the North Carolina Constitution passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 is because people know the truth.That is what led North Carolinians to affirm that  "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." Any news source that led their report on the overwhelming victory for marriage in North Carolina with headlines such as "Gay Marriage defeated" or "Marriage Equality Dealt a Setback" is promoting the propaganda of the Homosexual Equivalency movement. 

P>RALEIGH, NC (Catholic Online) - The Rev Billy Graham expressed the sentiment of the majority of his fellow residents of North Carolina when he acknowledged last week, "At 93, I never thought we would have to debate the definition of marriage." But, that is precisely what is happening across the country as opponents of marriage continue their efforts to restructure American society.

The homosexual equivalency movement tries to reframe the debate through the use of Orwellian newspeak. You can tell which media sources support their effort by their headlines. Any news source that led their report on the overwhelming victory for marriage in North Carolina with headlines such as "Gay Marriage defeated" or "Marriage Equality Dealt a Setback" is promoting the propaganda of the Homosexual Equivalency movement. 

The movement is engaged in Cultural Revolution. They are intent on changing the legal definition of marriage and restructuring western culture according to their vision for a new social order. They insist that homosexual sexual practices are morally equivalent to the sexual expression of marital love between a man and a woman.

They want to go further by insisting that the State make homosexual relationships legally equivalent to marriage.  They are dedicated to building a new society where the positive law of the Nation forces us all to call to be a marriage what can never be a marriage - or face the police power of the State. They are supported by collaborators in the Judiciary and elected officials who are injuring the common good. 

The reason Amendment One to the North Carolina Constitution passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 is because people know the truth.That is what led North Carolinians to affirm that  "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." 

The truth about marriage is not simply a "religious" construct.  The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life. Marriage is the foundation for the family which is the privileged place for the formation of virtue and character in children, our future citizens. The family is the first society, first economy, first school, first civilizing and mediating institution and first government.

True marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions. It is a relationship defined by nature itself and protected by the natural law that binds all men and women. It finds its foundation in the order of creation. Civil institutions do not create marriage nor can they create a "right" to marry for those who are incapable of marriage.

To limit marriage to heterosexual couples is not discriminatory now, nor has it ever been. Homosexual couples cannot bring into existence what marriage intends by its very definition. To now "confer" the benefits that have been conferred in the past only to stable married couples and families to homosexual paramours is very bad public policy.

Marriage is ontologically between a man and a woman, ordered toward the union of the spouses, open to children and formative of family. The enforcers of a new social order, whether ruling from the bench or misusing their office in the Legislative and Executive branch, unchecked by any balance of power, have followed what the legal positivists have long proclaimed, "The law is what the courts say it is."

The institutions of government should defend marriage against those who would redefine it. Government has long regulated marriage for the common good. For example, the ban on polygamy and age requirements were enforced in order to ensure that there was a mature decision at the basis of the Marriage contract.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012, the people of North Carolina spoke clearly. They defended Marriage. Rachel Lee, a spokeswoman for "Vote for Marriage NC"  was correct in her assessment: "This amendment is very simple and straightforward -- it preserves marriage between one man and one woman in our state constitution. It will in no way impact on domestic violence protections, child custody or end of life desires. So these claims brought on by the other side are simply false - and they're really meant to distract and confuse voters away from the real issue at hand."

The fear tactics did not work and truth prevailed. The turnout was very high and the vote in support of marriage was overwhelming. North Carolina is now the 30th State to pass such protective legislation. The movement for marriage is growing in numbers and in strength. We present below a Press Release followed by the full letter signed by both North Carolina Bishops supporting the Marriage Amendment. This is one more example of our bishops taking a strong stand on one of the defining moral issues of our age.

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Catholic faithful in the Diocese of Raleigh and the Diocese of Charlotte were provided a letter in their parish bulletins May 5-6, 2012, from Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh and Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte, asking Catholics in North Carolina to join them in voting for the Marriage Amendment on the May 8 election ballot.

The Amendment defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and as the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in the state.

"We are FOR this definition of marriage," the Bishops wrote, "because we believe it is a vocation in which God calls couples to faithfully and permanently embrace a fruitful union that is open to the gift of children."

To the claim that the Amendment will codify discrimination against homosexual persons, the Bishops noted, "As Catholics, we believe in the immeasurable dignity and equal worth of all persons. And so we reject hatred or the unjust treatment of any person. We believe that our human dignity comes from God," adding it "flows not from the expression of our sexual orientation nor from any of our actions."

The letter followed a postcard mailing to all registered Catholics in both Dioceses citing five reasons "Why Traditional Marriage Matters." The mailing was in support of the nonpartisan Marriage Amendment, which lies in the hands of the voters of North Carolina.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This coming Tuesday, May 8th, North Carolinians will have the opportunity to adopt the proposed Marriage Amendment to our State Constitution. This amendment defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and as the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.

We, the Bishops of North Carolina, have repeatedly voiced our strong support FOR the Marriage Amendment and we are asking Catholics in both Dioceses to vote FOR the amendment.

We are FOR this definition of marriage, because we believe it is a vocation in which God calls couples to faithfully and permanently embrace a fruitful union that is open to the gift of children, a gift that comes from the sexual expression between a man and a woman. The children born of this union have the right to the indispensable place of a father and a mother in their lives. Children grow, are loved, nurtured and formed by those whose unique vocation is to be a father and a mother to their child.

Some have insisted that the Amendment will codify discrimination against homosexual persons. As Catholics, we believe in the immeasurable dignity and equal worth of all persons. We believe that our human dignity comes from God, and so we reject hatred or the unjust treatment of any person.

The fact that we do not embrace same sex marriage though can never be seen as discriminatory, as we believe that the source of our human dignity and the respect we owe to all people, flows not from the expression of our sexual orientation nor any of our actions, but rather from the dignity given to each of us by God.

Therefore, the marriage of one man and one woman, which forms a unique, complementary and fruitful bond, does not negate the respect and equal worth of all people, but is rather a union which strengthens all of our relationships with others.

While our State already has a law which prohibits same-sex marriage, as we are well aware by what has taken place in several other states, such laws can be overturned by judicial or legislative action. This is why it is so important for us to vote to protect traditional marriage and pass the amendment to make this definition of marriage part of our State Constitution. The vote this week places this decision in the hands of the people of North Carolina.

We ask you to join us in our support FOR the sacred vocation of marriage and what its definition means to us and to the future of our great State. Vote FOR the referendum and Vote FOR marriage on Tuesday, May 8th.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge   
Bishop of Raleigh  
Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis
Bishop of Charlotte 

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