Same Sex Marriage Isn’t a Right
29 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in TownHall.com Tags: Britain, Church of England, European Court of Human Rights, Human Rights Campaign, Lynne Featherstone, Marriage, Same-sex marriage, United States
Throughout the world, the moniker of “human rights” has long been a cloak for a number of so-called rights that cannot be justified in any other way. From free education, to free healthcare, to various aspects of the homosexual agenda and beyond, human rights have frequently been a rallying cry for people intent on imposing their worldview on others.
But the European Court of Human Rights recently bucked the trend by ruling that same-sex “marriages” will not be recognized under that subterfuge.
The court ruled that “same-sex ‘marriages’ are not a human right,” thus upholding a French court’s decision not to allow two females “to adopt a child as a couple.”
And while the court recognized that officials could legislate same-sex “marriage,” the justices warned that doing so under the premise of protecting religious liberty would be a farce: “If MPs legislate for same-sex marriage, the…promise that churches will not be compelled to conduct the weddings will be worthless.” The Church of England has already warned its pastors that if a same-sex “marriage” goes ahead, “equality law is likely to force churches to fall into line and perform the wedding ceremonies.”
British Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone demurred, “Put simply, it’s not right that a couple who love each other and want to formalize a commitment to each other should be denied the right to marry.” She is pushing for the redefinition of marriage in Britain, where she blames what has proven an uphill climb on the presumption that church leaders in Britain are “fanning the flames of homophobia.”
Nevertheless, the justices at the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that the two French women “did not have the rights of married people, who in France have the sole right to adopt a child as a couple.”
This decision needs to be shouted from rooftops in Europe, and in the U.S. it needs to be put before American judges who have been so very fond of selectively citing foreign law to support U.S. decisions (e.g., Lawrence v. Texas). Is foreign court precedent only important when it furthers leftist priorities?
Common sense should lead us to concur with the European Court of Human Rights in at least this much: legal recognition of same-sex “marriage” diminishes, if not completely takes away, the religious liberty of those who have moral objections to such unions. And if same-sex “marriage” is indeed legalized in Britain or France, pastors who remain true to God’s Word and refuse to perform ceremonies for such unions may soon find themselves compelled, or arrested, or both.
Benjamin Bull
Benjamin Bull is an attorney with ADF.
Help Needed
23 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in This N That Tags: Britain, British Isles, God, Nazi, Nazism, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, World War II
During World War II, the British Isles represented the last line of resistance against the sweep of Nazi oppression in Europe. Under relentless attack and in danger of collapse, however, Britain lacked the resources to see the conflict through to victory. For that reason, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill went on BBC radio and appealed to the world: “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” He knew that without help from the outside, they could not endure the assault they were facing.
Life is like that. Often, we are inadequate for the troubles life throws at us, and we need help from outside of ourselves. As members of the body of Christ, that help can come at times from our Christian brothers and sisters (Rom. 12:10-13)—and that is a wonderful thing. Ultimately, however, we seek help from our heavenly Father. The good and great news is that our God has invited us to come confidently before Him: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
At such times, our greatest resource is prayer—for it brings us into the very presence of God. There we find, in His mercy and grace, the help we need.
