Comments on: Indiana Senate committee votes for ban on marriage and civil unions

By: BobN

BobN — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:51:57 +0000

Hey, where are the posts from Republicans claiming that they only oppose us using the word “marriage”?

By: Ben in Oakland

Ben in Oakland — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:36:44 +0000

“Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.”

yeah, as long as it is YOUR family and not MY family.

you give Christians a bad name.

By: John Doucette

John Doucette — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:36:19 +0000

Maybe we should start voting on heterosexual civil rights.

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:00:50 +0000

We have read and analyzed the Manhattan Declaration. Here is what I found

This manifesto is, I believe, less a declaration of war on gay people and those with unplanned pregnancies than it is a declaration of war on other Christian faiths.

They “are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour” to try and deny the title of “Christian” from mainline Christians and to compel non-believers to be subject to the doctrines of faith shared by Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians by force of law.

It is un-American, contrary to the teachings of Christ, and in direct opposition to the protections and freedoms afforded by the Constitution.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:57:42 +0000

Sign a delcaration to deny equal rights to those who are harming no one? No thanks – you won’t get any takers on that amongst the justice oriented crowd.

By: Gregory Benedict

Gregory Benedict — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:51:03 +0000

The Manhattan Declaration
A CALL OF CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
the sanctity of human life
the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Please
1. Read the Manhattan Declaration
2. Sign the Manhattan Declaration
http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/

God Bless,

By: John

John — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:23:12 +0000

So, another law is being pushed through another state legislature to discriminate against gay people. And in the Prop 8 trial, defenders of Prop 8 argued that gay people don’t face discrimination. Hmmm. Is there any other group of American citizens who are currently being specifically singled out by law in order to be denied rights and priviledges accorded to others in our society?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:52:16 +0000

Keep in mind that a constitutional amendment like this that also bans civil unions has not been passed since 2006, when Arizona voters actually rejected their amendment. In 2008 Arizona accepted an amendment that only banned marriage, not civil unions. So there is hope that this may be defeated at the ballot box.

By: Donnchadh

Donnchadh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:48:08 +0000

I could add that the reason for amendments that seem to ban normal marriage is the mindset of those who write them: they think of it not as an institution decided by the state, but as something transcendent that the state simply acknowledges; hence, they are safe if they can keep the state’s hands out of marriage. That mindset has to go, and taking these amendments at face value should help point out the contradiction at its core.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:16:50 +0000

Sigh. Just when I thought my former home state had moved on from this…

Lynn did a good job of describing the legislative process this would need to take so I won’t go over that again. I remember helping campaign against this with crossed fingers for several years and breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally shelved a couple years ago. But residents of Indiana should certainly NOT get comfortable. If it goes to a popular vote, I agree with other posters who say that it will pass, and I’ll even pull a Nate Silver and predict a 60-40 outcome.