It’s Not the Economy, Stupid; It’s (Still) the Culture
If Republicans roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and tackle head-on the messy and stomach-churning social issues that actually drive up voter enthusiasm, they will be well rewarded in November. But if they insist on resorting to business as usual, then they will once again do what they do best: lose a winnable election, and do more for a Democratic president than his own party ever could.
— Eric Lendrum, in an article at American Greatness published August 25, 2022 and titled “Yes, Republicans Are Blowing the Midterms” —

Key point: Republicans must stop betraying their base and must stand up for the values that have made America stable, prosperous, and free. This includes man-woman marriage and laws that separate the sexes in public change and restroom facilities, and in change, restroom, and living facilities in institutions of higher learning. The decisive battle that will determine whether or not America survives will be over cultural and social issues, not the economy.

On May 8, 2012, the people of North Carolina voted 61  percent (1,317,178 votes) to 39 percent (840,802 votes) to amend the state’s constitution to preserve marriage as an institution exclusively reserved for one man and one woman. The proposal was called “Amendment 1.”

Governor Roy Cooper / Wikipedia Commons

In all, before the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell on June 26, 2015 that states could not exclude same sex couples from “marrying,” at least 32 states, including North Carolina, had adopted constitutional amendments protecting marriage.

Amendment 1 was the last state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to be passed in the United States via voter referendum, as well as the shortest-lived: it was found unconstitutional in federal court in October 2014 after then-Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to further defend it.

Cooper, a Democrat, is the current governor of North Carolina.

Senator Thom Tillis

The vote in North Carolina to preserve the natural definition of marriage took place a mere ten years ago. When the people of North Carolina passed Amendment 1, Thom Tillis, a Republican who later would become one of the Tar Heel state’s US Senators, was serving as the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. (The North Carolina legislative building is pictured at the top of this article.) Tillis was a member of the NC House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015 and was Speaker of the NC House from 2011 to 2015. According to Wikipedia, “In 2014, Tillis announced that he would not seek reelection to the state House, instead running for U.S. Senate against first-term Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan.” He “defeated Hagan by about 45,000 votes and a margin of 1.6%.”

Six years later, when Tillis ran for reelection in 2020, his Democrat opponent was Cal Cunningham, a former North Carolina senator.

Cunningham led Tillis in the polls for most of the year. In October 2020, Cunningham acknowledged having an extramarital affair and his lead in the polls was reduced to less than two points before election day. Tillis received 48.7% of the vote to Cunningham’s 46.9%.

Betrayal!

In light of this history, it is unconscionable that Senator Tillis is working with Democrats in the US Senate to enshrine same-sex marriage into federal law. The Obergefell decision by SCOTUS (an unelected body) is certainly an affront to nature and to centuries of accepted norms and legal practice in the civilized world. If the US Congress (an elected body) were to pass a federal law consistent with the Obergefell ruling, this would effectively make same-sex marriage permanent — irreversible in a practical sense. The legislation is deceptively referred to as the “Respect for Marriage Act.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Forty-Seven House Republicans Run Roughshod Over Marriage. What Will Senate Republicans Do?

Here is some background information on the legalization. In July,

[f]orty-seven House Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in voting for the bill, leading to speculation that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) might be able to find enough Republican votes to pass the legislation. Although a handful of Republican senators have gone on record in opposition to the bill, a few have indicated support, while the majority have remained noncommittal.

Senator Joni Ernst

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is an example of a Republican who is considering voting for the bill. Despite criticizing the Obergefell decision in 2015, Ernst recently told reporters that she was “keeping a very open mind” about codifying same-sex marriage into federal law. She indicated she may support the bill because she has a “good number of very close friends that are same-sex married.”

Ernst’s remarks reflect what is increasingly becoming the view of a portion of Republican lawmakers. Although the most recent version of the Republican Party platform condemns the Obergefell and United States v. Windsor decisions and states that “marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation for a free society,” formerly stalwart defenders of natural marriage seem to feel less strongly than they once did.

No One Can Change What Marriage Is

Lightstock

Regardless of “feelings,” marriage is what it is inherently, and it can be nothing more and nothing else. It is a God-created institution in which one man and one woman are committed together for life. That commitment constitutes a family, and the children that come from that union become a part of that family. As I have heard an astute observer say, every healthy person, whether male or female, has a complete respiratory system, a complete skeletal system, a complete circulatory system, a complete digestive system, and numerous other complete bodily systems — except one. Everyone has only half a reproductive system, and the other complementary half must come from a member of the opposite sex. This is God’s statement addressing what marriage is, and He wove this statement into the fabric of nature. In other words, God’s and nature’s definition of marriage is self-evident.

God’s and nature’s definition of marriage is self-evident.

Senator Chuck Schumer / Facebook

The so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” could be presented to the Senate as a stand-alone bill, or Democrat Majority Leader Chuck Shumer may attach it to another piece of legislation. If sixty Senators vote for cloture, or to end debate on the bill, then the legislation itself will be voted on. However, if the vote to invoke cloture falls short of 60, the bill would not come up for a vote. With the Senate evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, supporters of same-sex marriage are hopeful that ten Republicans will join Democrats in voting to end debate on the measure. Be assured, though, that they aren’t merely hoping — they are pressuring them relentlessly. If the bill does come up for a vote, it is certain to pass.

Republicans, Especially, Need to Be Held Accountable!

Brian Brown, the President the National Organization for Marriage (a pro-family group working to restore and preserve marriage as a man-woman institution), reports,

A spokesperson for Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the lead Senate Democrat backing the legislation, told the Politico publication, “We feel confident that we will have the Republican support we need.”

Politico is also reporting that Thom Tillis of North Carolina (where 62% of voters passed a state marriage amendment) told them that his biggest concern about the legislation is how much time it will take up to debate the measure on the Senate floor!

Does Senator Thom Tillis not have anything like a moral compass? It is safe to say he would not even be in the US Senate were it not for a moral violation on the part of Cal Cunningham, his 2020 opponent in the US Senate race. Although Obergefell is forcing North Carolina to ignore the marriage protection amendment its voters overwhelmingly adopted in 2012, that amendment still is in place. Senator Tillis apparently doesn’t care about that, either. But the American people do care about cultural and social issues. Just look at what is happening across the political landscape in Florida and Virginia!

Avoiding Sexual Chaos

There’s more! Last time we noted not only that the US Senate may soon vote on same-sex marriage, but also that the US Department of Education has proposed adding “gender identity” to Title IX. Title IX was adopted decades ago to protect women and their opportunities to play sports at institutions of higher learning.

Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash

Ironically, if “gender identity” is added to Title IX protections, women’s sports would be put at risk, as well as women themselves. Here is a letter summarizing of some of the damage and harm the changes to Title IX will bring on America and America’s young people if adopted. It summarizes the contents of an actual letter I submitted to the Department of Education. Suffice it to say that if the proposed changes take effect, a Pandora’s box of untold evil will be released.

While we absolutely need to speak up and object to the proposal to add “gender identity” to the protections listed in Title IX (we have until midnight on Monday, September 12, to do so; go here for more information), we also need to understand that enshrining same-sex marriage into federal law will undermine every argument against the proposed changes to Title IX. Let me explain

Enshrining same-sex marriage into federal law will undermine every argument against the proposed changes to Title IX.

You see, legislation that authorizes same-sex marriage places homosexuality on par with heterosexuality. As bad as this is, the legislation effectively promotes even more falsehoods and harm. The following realities are inescapable: Because marriage inherently requires two sexes, calling a same-sex relationship a “marriage” validates, not only homosexuality as legitimate, but also transgenderism! To support legislation that calls a same-sex relationship “marriage” effectively surrenders every legitimate point one might make to refute the proposed changes to Title IX!

Because marriage inherently requires two sexes, calling a same-sex relationship a “marriage” validates, not only homosexuality as legitimate, but also transgenderism!

Raise Your Voice

If you haven’t done so already, please read last week’s post and voice your concerns about the proposed changes to Title IX. Also, contact your US Senators and implore them not to redefine marriage.

These two issues are related. We should not be surprised if they stand or fall together.

Copyright © 2022 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.