Articles and Videos – Page 1115

Family Council Responds to Certification of Same-Sex Marriage Amendment

Sep 20, 2013JerryMarriageMarriage, Same-Sex Marriage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 20, 2013

Late Thursday afternoon, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel certified sponsors of an amendment repealing Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage to begin gathering petition signatures to place the measure on the November 2014 ballot.

On Friday Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “This is about legalizing same-sex marriage in Arkansas. Otherwise, what’s the purpose of repealing the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage?”

Cox said he believes those campaigning to repeal Amendment 83 are fighting an uphill battle. “Approximately one out of ten voters in Arkansas signed the petition to put Amendment 83 on the ballot in 2004. Seventy-five percent of voters voted to define marriage as one man to one woman. Recent polling shows the majority of Arkansans still support the ban on same-sex marriage. I don’t think this measure will be successful, but Arkansans need to know that the fight to redefine marriage isn’t limited to places like Massachusetts or California. It’s happening right here at home.”

In 1997, the Arkansas Legislature passed a state law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In 2004, when voters passed Amendment 83, a ban on same-sex marriage was written into the Arkansas Constitution.

“If Amendment 83 is repealed, the door will be wide open for someone to file a lawsuit asking the courts to legalize same-sex marriage in Arkansas,” Cox said. “If Amendment 83 is repealed, Arkansas will have same-sex marriage.”

Family Council is a conservative, nonprofit education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Duck Commander Phil Robertson in El Dorado, AR

Sep 20, 2013JerryJust for FunDuck Dynasty, Just for Fun

Phil Robertson of Duck Commander and the hit TV show Duck Dynasty preached at the Hillsboro Church of Christ in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 2008.

Below is a 5-minute clip from his sermon in which Phil tells two stories about leading men to Christ.

You can watch the entire sermon here.

Labor Dept: Same-Sex ‘Spouses’ Must Get Recognition

Sep 19, 2013JerryMarriageMarriage, Same-Sex Marriage

According to new rules promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor, same-sex ‘spouses’ must be allowed to participate in employee benefit plans–even if they live in a state like Arkansas that does not recognize same-sex marriage, so long as the couple was married in a state that does recognize it.

According to the Alliance Defending Freedom,

ADF: Legally married same-sex couples have the right to participate in employee benefit plans even if they live in states that don’t recognize their union, the Labor Department said Wednesday. | Department of Labor press release: New guidance issued by US Labor Department on same-sex marriages and employee benefit plans

This is another move by the federal government forcing states that have opted to maintain the traditional definition of marriage to recognize at least some same-sex ‘marriages.’ The irony is June’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking part of the Defense of Marriage Act justified the ruling in part by declaring marriage a state matter–not a matter for the federal government. This latest move by the Department of Labor ignores voters in states like Arkansas that have democratically chosen to define marriage as the union of one man to one woman.