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R-71 UPDATE: The following is a report I received yesterday morning from the person who led the Tacoma Mall R-71 Rally on Saturday. In their own words:
"Please pass my thanx on to all those that attended the Tacoma Mall rally. At the height of the rally over 300 people stood shoulder to shoulder for 3 hours in support of preserving God-designed, natural one man - one woman marriage up and down 38th St. & Tacoma Mall Blvd. Many stayed for several hours longer after the rally officially ended."
"Vehicle honks, hand gestures of approval and comments were at least 10 - 3 in favor of rejecting R-71/SB-5688 and preserving marriage. Hundreds of brochures were given to people in their vehicles passing through the intersection. Hundreds of signs went home with people who attended the rally that said they would post them at their personal residence. A big thanx to our Russian brothers and sisters in Christ who attended. They seem, more than anyone to understand what we are stand in the threshold in defense of. We left the area cleaner than it was when we got there."
"Tacoma's finest in blue mentioned to me several times that, 'it was the most well-behaved and civil gathering of people that they had seen in a very long time.' They also mentioned to me that, 'the only individuals that they had to speak to about vile signs, offensive language and gestures and obstructing traffic were those in attendance in favor of approving R-71/SB-5688.' About 15-20 in support of R-71/SB-5688 were in attendance with signs that read, "Christianity is about hate, and do they ever love to hate" and "Vote YES for homosexual marriage." Unlike the media, most homosexuals understand that this is about marriage."
"No surprise, the media ignored the rally! Thanx for all your hard work and God's blessings to you."
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R-71: The Revelation and the Deception
Before it is even known if SB 5688 will become law, and I personally think there is a good chance it will not, it has already revealed what many have known all along about the press, the homosexual community and a bit about the Christian community as well.
The R-71 campaign seems to have transcended the Referendum itself.
Among other things, R-71 has revealed a good deal of deception. I want to be very candid in my comments.
The law "that would be," the "everything but marriage" law boldly states in its more than 100 pages, "It is the intent of the legislature that for all purposes under state law, state registered domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses."( p. 4: 25-27 )
Had it not been for R-71, the statements made by Sen. Ed Murray, pleading with his colleagues in the senate saying, "this bill is not marriage, I wish it was, but it is not," then telling the press that "domestic partnerships is an incremental step, a long term strategy" for the "prize" and the "prize is marriage," would have gone unchallenged, except for the minority group of lawmakers who opposed it in the legislature at the time of its passage. Thank God for them.
Rep. Jamie Pederson's remarks to the press suggesting SB 5688 is a, "bridge until they can legally marry," would have also passed without a challenge, aside from all of you who signed on for the R-71 campaign.
You have challenged their comments, called SB 5688 "homosexual marriage," which it is, and over the past few months, they have moderated their words in an attempt to find something more than a hallow chant and an attempt to frame SB 5688 as being akin to the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. Not finding substance for their argument, they have turned to attack our message and our messengers.
And they have ceased their mantra that SB 5688 is not about marriage, with signs, as we saw displayed at the Tacoma Mall Saturday, simply asking people to vote for gay marriage. As our coordinator correctly pointed out, everyone but the press seems to know this is about homosexual marriage.
They know.
R-71 has laid open a complicit press, that has made a feeble attempt at appearing objective in the past, to one of merely writing stories that affirm the obsessive support of homosexual marriage and redefinition of the family that nearly every editorial board in this state has taken.
Today's Seattle Times editorial is typical of the daily assault on R-71 supporters, with references to arm waving (that's you guys who are going to the weekend rallies) and suggesting that somehow we are trying to confuse the voter with hand waving and court orders to seal petition signers names. Sort that out.
It is not only what they write, but what they do not write.
The press has shown itself to appear accountable to the so-called homosexual newspapers and pornographic blogs that are obsessed with the personal destruction of all who do not accept their agenda to deconstruct marriage and the family.
R-71 has cut deeply into the slice of what we believe about marriage and the family---and what we believe about the Bible itself and biblical teaching.
I have lived a fully engaged and rather public life in Christian ministry. I have not seen a more concerted effort to undermine and marginalize biblical teaching on homosexuality and destroy those who believe it as truth.
A recent mild example is that of Ken Schram writing, "I have seen the light, brothers and sisters. I have seen the light." While he eventually gets to his point that easy divorce, not homosexual marriage is destroying the institution of marriage, he must take a shot at the evangelicals. He is, by the way, suggesting that we run an initiative to ban divorce calling it, "Defending American Marriage" or DAM.
It is not uncommon to be mocked for biblical beliefs, but the intensity has reached a significant high since R-71 was filed.
R-71 has also exposed differences within the Christian community. Some have, unfortunately, made it a public matter by taking their case against R-71 to the press and continuing it to include pastors and Christian leaders.
While most seem to agree that marriage must be only between one man and one woman, there are differences as to whether the church should be speaking to these cultural issues and if so, how. Some have said that the work we have done in the R-71 campaign has been harmful, not helpful.
From these differences, new alliances have been formed, based only on deeply held moral beliefs and a belief that reaching people with the message of the gospel and speaking with a clear voice to the cultural issues of our day are not mutually exclusive. We have been called to do both.
If people of Christian faith do not actively speak to the culture, who will? Who will defend life? Who will defend marriage? Who will defend the family? Who will expose and stand against the secular progressive's assault on our children in the public school classroom?
Who will provide moral cultural clarity?
I personally believe there is a call for those who will "stand in the gap" and be the "watchman on the wall." There is a call for those who will rise and be counted for "such a time as this." This is a time to shout it from the roof top.
There is no need for those who merely look for political advantage to solve spiritual challenges or ways to prove their love by passively letting the culture continue to spiral into the abyss, saying it is too late. Whatever will be will be.
That is both fatalism and deception.
Jesus Christ has proven God's love for all who will accept Him.
The call to the church is to rise and be healed from division, fear and apathy.
God is going to help us.
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Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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