So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  

  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,


Genesis 1:27-28



 





  




Historic 


Win for Gay Marriage 


 

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” 


Leviticus 18:22.

 

“And there were also sodomites [male temple prostitutes] in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.” 

I Kings 14:24.

 

“The world is following in the steps of the inhabitants of the Noachian world and of the Sodomites. Of the days of Noah it is written. ‘God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually’ (Genesis 6:5). And Jude says, ‘Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire’ (Jude 7).” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 105.

 

“Impurity is today widespread, even among the professed followers of Christ. Passion is unrestrained; the animal propensities are gaining strength by indulgence, while the moral powers are constantly becoming weaker. . . . The sins that destroyed the antediluvians and the cities of the plain exist today—not merely in heathen lands, not only among popular professors of Christianity, but with some who profess to be looking for the coming of the Son of man. If God should present these sins before you as they appear in His sight, you would be filled with shame and terror.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 218.

 

June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court dramatically advanced gay rights in rulings that direct the federal government to provide equal treatment to same-sex spouses and allow the resumption of gay marriages in California.

 

In a pair of 5-4 rulings on the final day of the court’s term, the justices struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to gay couples married under state law, and let stand a ruling that found Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative that ended same-sex marriage in California, unconstitutional.

 

In striking down DOMA, Justice Anthony Kennedy said Congress had no business undermining a state’s decision to extend “the recognition, dignity and protection” of marriage to same-sex couples.

 

By excluding such couples from the rights and responsibilities of marriage contained in more than 1,000 provisions of federal law, “DOMA writes inequality into the entire United States Code,” Justice Kennedy wrote.

 

The DOMA ruling had immediate effects. The president’s administration said it would move swiftly to ensure same-sex married couples get the same tax and other benefits as heterosexual couples, although the process for doing so is uncertain for same-sex couples who marry in one state, then move to a state that doesn’t recognize gay marriage.http://online.wsj.com, June 26, 2013.

 

The Supreme Court made landmark rulings furthering gay rights, but the lack of a mandate to states ensures the fight over same sex marriage will only heat up in regional ballot campaigns, legislative battles and courts.

 

Oregon and Ohio are among the states where voters could decide whether to extend marriage rights to gay couples in 2014, according to activists on both sides. State lawmakers in Nevada and Illinois are also mulling such unions. Meanwhile Indiana lawmakers may place a constitutional gay marriage ban on the 2014 ballot.

 

The Supreme Court decided two cases on Wednesday. In one, the court struck down part of the national Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. That will extend over 1,000 federal benefits to married gay couples.www.chicagotribune.com, June 26, 2013

 

In a pair of landmark decisions, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the 1996 law blocking federal recognition of gay marriage, and it allowed gay marriage to resume in California by declining to decide a separate case.

 

The court invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to gay couples who are legally married in their states, including Social Security survivor benefits, immigration rights and family leave. http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com, June 28, 2013.