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Conservatives cheer traditional marriage victory
Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
November 09, 2009
2 MIN READ TIME

Conservatives cheer traditional marriage victory

Conservatives cheer traditional marriage victory
Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
November 09, 2009

Conservative Christians

hailed results of Nov.3 voting, especially the defeat of gay marriage

legislation in Maine.

Mathew Staver, dean of

Liberty University School of Law, called the Maine decision, which overturned a

same-sex marriage law enacted earlier this year, a “huge victory” for

supporters of traditional marriage.

“Every time the citizens

have voted on marriage, they have always sided with natural marriage and

rejected same-sex marriage,” said Staver. “Maine dramatically illustrates the

will of the people, and politicians should wake up and listen.”

Stand for Marriage Maine, a group

that worked for the repeal of the law, was supported by the Roman Catholic

Diocese of Portland, Knights of Columbus and the Maine chapter of Concerned

Women of America.

Gay rights supporters were

disappointed in the Maine vote.

“As is too often the case,

fear and misinformation have stood in the way of justice,” said Peter Morales,

president of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Conservatives also welcomed

the election of two Republican governors with ties to conservative Christian

organizations: Bob McDonnell in Virginia, an alumnus of Pat Robertson’s Regent

University, and Chris Christie in New Jersey, who was endorsed by FRC Action

PAC, the political action committee of the Family Research Council.

“Many factors played a role

in the outcome of yesterday’s elections, so it’s important not to exaggerate

the religious right’s influence,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of

Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “But at the same time,

Americans need to know that this movement’s leaders are still influential in

American politics.”

Despite the conservative

victories, supporters of gay rights in Michigan hailed a vote in Kalamazoo,

where city voters adopted an ordinance that includes gays, lesbians, bisexuals

and transgender people in anti-discrimination protections. A referendum in

Washington state that gives domestic partnerships many of the legal rights of

married couples appears headed for approval.