Citizens in Maine voted against legalization of gay marriage.

Poll voters in Maine officially overturned on Tuesday the gay marriage legalization act proposed and signed by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

With a 53-47 percent margin, Maine became the first state in history to reverse gay marriage legislation via the ballot system.

Interestingly, Maine is also the first northeastern state to consider legalizing gay marriage in the first place.

The defeat of the act has been termed “a harsh blow” to “the gay marriage drive” by the Associated Press, as well as a substantial obstacle to homosexual activists nationwide, many of whom were convinced they would win in Maine as they did in California.

According to a recent survey by Gallup, Maine is by far one of the most liberal and least religious states in the nation.

The vast majority of supporters had remained optimistic leading up the moment of the vote.

For months, gay marriage activists had poured time, energy and funds into a $4 million campaign backed and supported by leading politicians and several local and national newspapers.

The Stand for Marriage Maine Campaign sought to overcome the proposed legislation by “warning voters [and conservative parents] that if Question 1 lost, ‘gay marriage’ would be taught as normative in public schools,” according to the Baptist Press.

Stand for Marriage Maine ran six television commercials concerning the legislation, five of which included the theme of public school’s teaching of homosexuality.

No win for gay agenda in one of nation's most liberal and least religious states.

Bob Emrich, a spokesperson from Stand for Marriage Maine, told the Baptist Press, “This was going to have an impact on children – the way that children think, what children are taught.The people of Maine responded to that.”

This victory (or defeat, depending on how you see it) comes at a critical time in our nation, particularly after President Barack Obama’s early vow to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA as it is often abbreviated.

Signed into law on Sept. 21, 1996 by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the act states that “the federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman.”

President Obama, however, has made it clear both in national speeches and in the White House website’s Civil Rights section that he is pro same-sex marriage.

He has also indicated that he believes homosexual couples should be granted all the legal rights currently enjoyed by monogamous couples, including the right to adopt.

Currently, five U.S. states have legalized gay marriage.

Boston-based G.L.A.D. (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) has stated it intends to see all six New England states legalize gay marriage by 2012.

Unfortunately, this most recent turn of events may prove a significant thorn in their side.

The majority of political analysts believe New Jersey and New York will be the next frontiers for the fight to legalize same-sex marriage.

May Christians across the nation rejoice in the defeat of the act, not out of contempt toward homosexuals, but in an effort to give God the glory and seek to love the gay community all the more.

In an age when marriage is steadily being redefined by the government, we as Christians must hold fast to our belief that marriage is indeed intended by God to be between one man and one woman.

Such a belief in a God of infinite love should continually spur us to reach out to those in need of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

A nationwide legalization of gay marriage will not only affect the gay community, but the very fabric of our society as a whole, our families, children, churches and our futures.

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How will this new law affect the future of gay rights & Christian free speech?

In a bold political move and statement, President Barack Obama officially signed into the law on Wednesday the first Hate Crimes Bill which will grant specific protection to the gay, lesbian, transgendered and homosexual demographics, according to several national news media outlets. The Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as it had been titled while still in the Senate, was a small piece of a large $680 billion defense spending agenda. For more on this, see my piece: U.S. Senate Passes LGBT Hate Crimes Bill 68-29.

Since its origins within the U.S. Senate, countless conservative Christian groups, churches, organizations and pastors have voiced their concerns over the bill’s likelihood to subsequently stifle their free speech rights to oppose homosexuality.

Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod—told the Christian Post, “Although we don’t know the full ramifications of this bill as of yet, my staff and I will be watching closely for any possible infringement on the rights of our members and pastors to speak out against the sin of homosexuality based on the Word of God.”

During his official remarks at the reception ceremony, President Obama spoke of hate crime’s abilities to “break spirits” and “instill fear”, in addition to the physical harm associated with such violent acts. Obama also noted, “No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love,” according to FOX News Contributing Editor Anne Marie Riha of the Fox News’ White House View.

To the thunderous applause of Shepherd’s and Byrd’s family members and countless Associated Press members and TV camera crews, Obama stated that the signing of the law was “the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade” and “another step forward” in creating a more perfect union.

In his recent annual address to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest advocate for the equal rights of gays, Obama noted that there are still changes to be made: “Despite the progress we’ve made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open. This fight continues now and I’m here with the simple message: I’m here with you in that fight,” according to CNN.

Although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has previously attempted to assure conservatives and Christian/religious pastors and speakers that the bill will in no way infringe upon free speech rights, the vast majority are still wary of its future ramifications.

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How will Future of Equal Rights Affect Christians & Ministry?

Will Washington's new LGBT bill limit the free speech of pastors to speak against homosexuality?

Yesterday, Thursday, October 22, 2009, the United States Senate passed a bill that has been the subject of political debate and controversy for nearly a decade. Since the early days of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., there has been a civil rights push to institute a federal law against all sexual and gender-related hate crimes.

According to both CNN and FOX national political news networks, with a vote of 68-29, the Senate passed a bill which would “make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender.”The new law essentially serves to offer gay, lesbian and transgendered men and women federal protection against hate crimes based on their sexual orientation.

The bill, which President Obama vowed to sign once it reached his desk, was a smaller component of a $680 billion defense authorization bill, according to several national news media. Former President George W. Bush once noted that he would veto a similar proposition if it ever reached his office.

The movement towards such a bill was spurred by the brutal deaths of Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd Jr. Shepherd, a teen from Wyoming, was brutally beaten to death in October 1998 for his sexual orientation. Byrd, an African American man, was dragged to death in Texas of that same year.

The passing of the bill has raised countless concerns among more conservative Republicans, the majority of whom opposed the legislation during its tenure in the Senate. Dozens of religious groups and Christian organizations have also voiced their anxieties, citing their concerns that such a bill will likely infringe on their rights to speak openly and freely against homosexuality.

Under current federal laws, gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals already receive the same adequate protections afforded all other U.S. citizens.

Many church leaders are worried the bill will be used to stifle pastors who preach homosexuality as sin from their pulpits, as this would be deemed “inciting violence.” Opposition to the bill has maintained that it is the First Amendment right of a pastor or religious leader to speak openly from the pulpit on issues related to sexual orientation. Separation of church and state must remain at the forefront of the legislation, lest church pastors be federally prosecuted for their sermons.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has attempted to convince those opposed that the new bill and laws will only be used to prosecute individuals who commit violent acts of aggression based on sexual/gender prejudice. Holder says the bill will not interfere with the religious belief systems or free speech rights of any American.

Recently, while addressing members of the national Human Rights Campaign organization, President Obama called for a “repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, which bans gays from openly serving in the military” according to The Christian Post. Currently, the Human Rights Campaign is the largest group in the nation publicly promoting and advocating the rights of the LGBT community.

Jon Solmonese, president of the HRC, called the new legislation “our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” according to the Huffington Post. He also noted, “Too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence.”

The question for Christians nationwide has become “How will this new legislation affect the way pastors, religious leaders and conservative men and women voice their opposition to homosexual lifestyles? Or will they be able to at all?”

During his address to the HRC, Obama also stated his desire to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines legal marriage as marriage between one man and one woman.

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Regaining a Perspective on one of Christianity’s Most Debated Topics

These days the word “change” has been thrown around a lot. If you spent any time listening to our new President Barack Obama during his campaign speeches across the country, you likely heard phrases such as these: “change we can believe in” or “change will not come if we wait…” But the issue of change is not just being hotly debated in political realms. In countless Christian circles and church communities worldwide, the issues of homosexuality and change continue to be controversial and often dividing. Is a person born gay? Can a person choose to change their orientation and adopt a different sexual lifestyle? Can a person be a Christian and gay at the same time?

Brian Peterson, 45, has been gay from the womb. Ask him and that’s what he will tell you. “Yes, that’s right. I believe I was born gay,” he says. “And do I think my sexual orientation can change? No, not really. And I may be wrong. But again, I don’t think it’s a critical issue except for arguing with gay people and thus building barriers to the Gospel.”

You see, Brian isn’t your typical gay male, in that he does not fit the statistical stereotypes placed on him by so many organizations. Although he officially declared his sexuality at the age of 31, he is a born-again believer, the son of a longtime assistant church pastor, and was raised in a strong, Christian household and spiritual community environment from day one. This is where many popular theories surrounding the origins of homosexual tendencies fall short in Brian’s case.

"It just seems we spend way too much time trying to figure out the gay issue and not enough time loving the gay people."-Brian, 45

Countless researchers, both on the conservative Christian and secular sides alike, tend to postulate a “father-deficit theory”, citing that the lack of involvement on the father’s part may increase the potential for these behavioral and lifestyle developments. During a speech at the London-based Anglican Mainstream Conference, American psychologist Dr. Joseph Nicolosi stated, “…the fact remains that if you traumatize a child in a particular way, you will create a homosexual condition. If you do not traumatize a child, he will be heterosexual. If you do not traumatize a child in a particular way, he will be heterosexual. The nature of that trauma is an early attachment break during the bonding phase with the father.”

Brian disagrees wholeheartedly. “I think there are a lot of people who are desperate to make homosexuality a choice, so they grasp at anything they can find. I am very blessed to have two wonderful, godly parents who were actively involved in my life…I never had a deficit in the presence of my father.” He went on to note, “I have many gay and straight friends who grew up with both parents active in their lives…And I have many gay and straight friends from broken homes. You know, I can get a psychologist to tell me anything I need him to tell me.”

Try typing the phrase changing homosexuality into your favorite Internet search engine and see how many interesting results you receive. You may be shocked at the number of “professional” and even “psychological” organizations in existence, each attempting to “cure” homosexuality through radical therapy methods. From PeopleCanChange.com to articles featured in Scientific American magazine, it seems everyone is looking for that “miracle cure.” And perhaps worse, these curing strategies are typically promoted as scientifically sound and medically professional.

A British survey published in March 2009 discovered that one in 25 therapists would agree to assist a homosexual person convert to heterosexuality. Although recent medical evidence suggests that such “curing treatments” have been proven harmful, unsuccessful, and even potentially damaging to an individual’s psyche, countless psychologists continue to promote and employ them.

However, it is not only scientific and psychological organizations that have missed the mark on dissecting and addressing the homosexuality conundrum. What about the ministry efforts of the church? It certainly doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that, globally, the church has not had the best effects in terms of reaching the unsaved or un-churched gay demographic.

Brian doesn’t believe the church is failing, however.

“I would say grossly ineffective is a better term to use,” he cautioned. “The problem as I see it is that the church has been more interested in having a gay ministry than reaching gay people. You see, Jesus never intended for churches to have gay ministries or support organizations to reach gay people. So they don’t have to. Let’s just call it what it is…The problem is: “How did we get to the point that we are so concerned about everything under the sun but the life changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?” Without question, the church is more interested in dealing with men having sex with men than men having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything I ever saw and continue to see is a pre-occupation with the sin rather than the Gospel that sets us free from sin.”

For Christians ministering to homosexuals, grace is the kicker. The Gospel of grace sets us free from sin. In Romans 6, Paul writes, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?…Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:1-2, 12-14, New American Standard-updated, emphases added).

Churches, Christian communities, leaders, pastors, and congregates desperately need to re-embrace the grace found in the life-transforming power of the cross of Jesus Christ and His work in people’s lives. It is time to lay aside the hellfire and brimstone sermons and attitudes and instead pick up the methodology of truth and love. Radical, undeniable lifestyle change is more than possible for “whoever will call on the name of the Lord” (Romans 10:13), and that includes all of mankind, gays and straights alike.

And, as Brian expressed: “It just seems we spend way too much time trying to figure out the gay issue and not enough time loving the gay people.”

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(Christian Post) On Apr. 29 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act” which places “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” “real or perceived,” alongside of “race,” “national origin,” “gender,” and “disability” as benign conditions for which society should provide special protections in federal law. Those who oppose homosexual practice are, by analogy, implicitly identified in law as discriminatory bigots, akin to racists and misogynists.

–Maurice Williams, the Underground staff writer

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