Posted by
JamesMontalto on Saturday, June 23, 2007 11:48:37 PM
It's been a while since I have written, so I hope this finds you well.
- James
Below I have copied and pasted an article featured in Newsday from June 20, 2007, "Gay marriage bill adopted by Assembly." After that you will see my comments and thoughts on that matter.
Gay marriage bill adopted by Assembly
BY JAMES T. MADORE
June 20, 2007, 12:21 AM EDT
ALBANY -- For the first time in state history, a bill legalizing gay marriage was debated publicly in one of the houses of the State Legislature Tuesday.
The measure, introduced at the behest of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was adopted by the Assembly, 85-61. But the bill was expected to die in the Senate, where it wasn't even scheduled for a floor debate.
"We're not doing gay marriage by [tomorrow's adjournment], that's for sure," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick), before the debate in the Democratic-controlled Assembly.
Still, the three-hour debate represented a victory of sorts because some Assembly members would've preferred not taking up the issue. And Spitzer, a Democrat, lobbied intensely for the debate, sources said.
Massachusetts is the only state to recognize same-sex unions, and it did so through a court decision.
New York is one of five states that doesn't define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Unable to marry, same-sex couples are denied medical decision-making authority, inheritance rights and the ability to adopt children as a couple, said the Empire State Pride Agenda, an advocacy group.
In Tuesday night's debate, Assemb. Daniel O'Donnell (D-Manhattan) urged passage of the bill he introduced for the governor, saying, "This doesn't force anyone to do anything. ... It's about giving out the license, not conducting the marriage."
O'Donnell, who is gay and a brother of actress Rosie O'Donnell, emphasized that the bill would not compel clergy to perform same-sex marriages.
Assemb. Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), an Orthodox Jew, replied by suggesting incestuous couples be recognized along with those of the same sex. "There are certain things that do not change for me unless God sends a message to me," he said.
Lawmakers laughed a few minutes later when they heard thunder from a passing rainstorm.
Hikind and others pointed to a Cornell University poll showing 52 percent oppose legalizing gay marriage.
Assemb. Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), a lesbian, said, "This is about ... protecting family. This isn't about forcing other people to change their religious beliefs."
My thoughts:
Governor Eliot Spitzer promised to push a gay marriage bill as part of his platform and rushed it for a vote into the Assembly. He knew that it would pass in the Democratic-controlled Assembly but knew it had no chance in the Republican-controlled New York State Senate.
This was a statement, nothing more...for now. Spitzer made his point loud and clear. He is serious about getting gay marriage passed in New York State and this is just the first step. If the Dems ever get control of the Senate, gay marriage in New York will be inevitable. With the likelihood of a few aging and retiring Senators, especially here on Long Island, it has a shot. I fear New York may be in big trouble if things keep heading down the same path.
Homosexuals do not want to be equal and they do not want to be married. They want to be accepted. They want to ease their conscience. They feel that by forcing the issue and making themselves heard, and heard loudly, that eventually people will be forced to accept their lifestyles and those of us (me for instance), who believe that homosexuality is a sin and a "lifestyle" that God calls an abomination, should be silenced and perhaps eventually persecuted for "hate speech." It's not a lifestyle folks, it's a deathstyle. Those who participate in homosexual sex are putting their lives in jeopardy. For that matter, those who participate in heterosexual sex outside of marriage (one man and one woman) are putting their lives in jeopardy.
Those pushing the homosexual agenda scream intolerance. But why don't they tolerate Christians who believe what the Bible says about homosexuality? Isn't that intolerance on their part? It's a catch-22.
And hate speech? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the complete opposite of hate speech. It is the greatest book of love ever written. God is love, but He is also just and righteous. And to be just and righteous, God must call things as they are - and no matter how you spin it, homosexuality is sin.
Sorry if the condemnation of sin, all forms of sin, is now considered hate speech. If that's hate speech - then I'm guilty.
Murder is sin. Did I offend Charles Manson? Pedophilia is sin. Does that offend a child molester? Theft is sin. Does that offend a burglar? Cheating on your husband or wife is sin. Did I offend an adulterer? Get my point?
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
I applaud Dov Hikind, a Democratic Assemblyman from Brooklyn who stood against this attempt to go against God's clear teaching throughout the Bible that homosexuality is an abomination.
Leviticus 18 and Romans 1 clearly state what God thinks about homosexuality: calling it an abomination (Leviticus 18) and shameful (Romans 1). I recommend reading both, especially Romans 1, the whole chapter.
I know this is kind of lengthy, so if you took the time to read it, I appreciate it. With that said, I'd like to end this with one more comment.
In the article above, I found a very interesting sentence,
"Lawmakers laughed a few minutes later when they heard thunder from a passing rainstorm."
Very interesting - guess they thought it was funny that at the exact moment they were plotting a vain thing, thunder claps were heard. Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences. However, you must decide. It does remind me of these verses in Psalms 2:1-6:
"Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His anointed,
saying,
'Let us break their bonds in pieces
And cast away their cords from us.'
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The LORD shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
'Yet I shall set My King
On My holy hill of Zion."
Maranatha! Lord, Jesus. Come quickly.