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Written by By TaNoah Morgan, Vine Staff
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Monday, 14 March 2011 13:58 |
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As Maryland lawmakers took to the floor to act on a bill legalizing same sex "marriage" this month, they did so having heard an earful in a last minute push from the ministers and pastors who have the voter's ears on Sunday mornings.
Seven Prince George's County Delegates were either on the fence or in support of the biill that would allow homosexual couples to marry. They were Doyle L. Niemann, Joseline a. Pena-Melnyk, Kriselda Valderrma, James W. Hubbard, Melony G. Griffith, Jolene Ivey, and Veronica L. Turner.
Though not overwhelmingly vocal as the measure has worked its way through committees, ministry leaders now say they have been working behind the scenes to talk to, counsel with, pray with and to push legislators to hear the voice of their constituents -- and the voice of God -- on this critical issue.
"We went to Annapolis several weeks ago just to stand before the senate committee who was hearing opposition and pros and cons for the bill," said Victor O. Kirk, pastor of Sharon Bible Fellowship Church in Lanham, MD. "We stood as pastors opposing it, saying from our perspective, God is not pleased, and in our perspective it is not a civil rights issue, it is a moral issue."
As the bill passed the Maryland senate, and went before the House of Representatives, there was an eerie silence from the religious community -- even from groups that had been very vocal to their opposition to similar legislation in the District last year.
But Rev. Dr. Kerry Kill, who heads the Collective Empowerment Group of 150 churches, and who also is a former Maryland delegate said the lack of a voice from the religious community had less to do with their opposition and more to do with pre-planning.
"We didn’t think they'd have the votes, " he said, explaining that groups of pastors met with each candidate running for office last year, getting commitments from each about their stance on the gay marriage issue. "Some of the ones who we got commitments from that they would not vote for this issue, they turned on us, and we were like 'what happened?' "
Hill said from that point, he and other ministers have been working the phones and in conjunction with fellow pastor and Maryland Senator Rev. C. Anthony Muse, first to try to stop the house bill while it was in review in the Judicial Committee, and next to oppose it on the floor.
Rev. Derrick McCoy of the Maryland Family Council, a collaboration of religious leaders, has also been in Annapolis daily, visiting with members who either support the legislation, or who are on the fence.
“When the bill passed the Judicial Committee we were disappointed and alarmed that unscrupulous tactics were being used to twist the vote,” he said. "The Maryland Family Council will continue to be engaged in efforts to defeat the bill."
Since the measure passed the committee, opponents have made several attempts to slow its progress by adding amendments that would send it back into committee, cause it to have to be re-voted on in the Senate, or otherwise stall its passage. So far, however, every amendment has been voted down.
House supporters are eager to pass same bill that already passed in the Senate so that the measure could go directly to Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley for signing before the 90 day legislative session ends. O'Malley has already indicated that he would sign the bill.
In the meantime, ministry leaders have become more vocal in their opposition, naming the delegates who have either supported the measure or are on the fence, and urging their members to call and let their voices be heard on the issue. Many have carried the message of public involvement into the pulpit, preaching sermons on God's will for marriage.
If the measure should pass, many ministry leaders say that they will push for a referendum to bring the measure to the ballot in the 2012 election, though they expect that measure to be a costly one.
"So far, it’s been the legislature that's promoted it. Millions of dollars have been raised to get this law passed," said Rev. Nathaniel B. Thomas, pastor of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist church in Forestville, MD.
"The mechanism is there to turn it around if the people so choose to turn it around,” he said. "It’s just a question of what we decide to do about it."
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