It is another sad day in the USA. As many of you will have already heard by
now, and as many of us have been expecting for some time, liberal New York
Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has just signed a bill legalizing same-sex
"marriage" in that state. The bill -- which is similar to bills which failed
to pass in 2007 and 2009 due to Senate opposition -- was earlier approved by
the Democrat-led New York Assembly. With the Republican-controlled Senate
then approving the bill by a narrow vote of 33-29 after obtaining some legal
protections for churches and other religious organizations, it was just a
matter of Governor Cuomo signing the bill into law Friday evening. The New
York same-sex "marriage" law goes into effect in thirty days.
In reviewing some of the earlier remarks which I made concerning this issue
on our Endtime Prophecy Net Messageboard, I just discovered the following
comment which I made on December 3, 2009. Sadly, what I said then has turned
into reality:
"Well, this is certainly surprising -- but positive -- news. A lot of people
-- including myself -- expected that the state of New York would easily fall
to the gay and lesbian agenda. Apparently not so, at least for now. But I
don't think that the bill failed to pass due to moral issues. It simply
wasn't politically convenient for some of the state senators to support the
bill at this current time. When 2011 rolls around, it may be a completely
different story."
At that time, the New York senate shot down the bill by a vote of 38-24.
This time, not even two years later, this revised bill passed by a vote of
33-29. Thus, New York -- along with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut, Iowa and Washington, D.C -- becomes the sixth state where gays
and lesbians can legally enter into a "marriage" relationship.
It would have been the eighth state, except for the fact that after being in
effect for five months during 2008, California's same-sex "marriage" law was
overturned by California voters through a public referendum known as
Proposition 8, which constitutionally established a union between a man and
a woman as the only legally-recognized form of marriage in that state. The
validity of Proposition 8 may eventually be determined by the U.S. Supreme
Court. In November of 2009, voters in the state of Maine also shot down a
same-sex "marriage" bill through a statewide referendum. In all, thirty-nine
states currently have similar laws in effect.
Obviously, seeing the handwriting on the wall, as well as an opportunity to
win additional points with the gay and lesbian community before the upcoming
2012 presidential election, President Barack Obama encouraged New York
lawmakers to support gay rights during a fundraiser that was held in New
York City with the gay and lesbian community.
Many God-fearing, Bible-believing Christians will no doubt find this latest
development in New York very troubling, as they should. If you don't quite
understand why the passage of this particular bill is even more troublesome,
allow me to point out a few things to you.
There are several factors which make Governor Cuomo's "victory" unique. For
one thing, New York is a huge state, with the third largest population in
the American union. In fact, New York's population of over nineteen million
citizens is more than the combined population of the other states where
same-sex "marriage" is currently permitted. As various news agencies are now
reporting, this means that in effect, the number of same-sex couples who
currently reside in states where same-sex "marriage" is legal has more than
doubled overnight with Governor Cuomo's signing of this bill.
This fact alone will no doubt inspire, motivate and radicalize many other
same-sex "marriage" advocates across the nation who may have become
discouraged by defeats in New York in 2007, in California in 2008, in Main
and New York in 2009, in New Jersey in 2010, and in Maryland and Rhode
Island this year. Let me remind you again -- as I did in a comment on our
Endtime Prophecy Net Messageboard in April of 2009 shortly after the gay and
lesbian "victory" in the state of Iowa -- that gay and lesbian militants
have every intention of winning over every New England state by the end of
next year -- 2012. So again, this "victory" in New York will no doubt
strengthen their cause and rekindle their flame.
Another big difference between New York and the other five states and
Washington, D.C., is that the state of New York has no residency
requirements for obtaining a marriage license. In other words, it is my
understanding that the same-sex "marriage" bill which was just signed by
Governor Cuomo will allow gay and lesbian couples from other states to go to
New York, and immediately obtain a "marriage" license. It isn't difficult to
imagine thousands of gay and lesbian couples flocking to New York in the
coming months in order to get "married".
This leads me to another point. While this is being painted as an equal
rights issue by liberal New York politicians and a few left-leaning
Republicans, my personal suspicion is that this development has more to do
with New York's current financial woes, and a way to bring a lot of new cash
into the state in a quick manner. Just think of how many agencies and
businesses will profit from a huge influx of gays and lesbians to New York
who want to get "married" while the legal door remains open -- hotels,
restaurants, clothing stores, jewelry shops, flower shops, photography
studios, tour agencies and sight-seeing spots, etc. It will be a financial
bonanza.
What also makes the New York same-sex "marriage" law unique is the fact that
it is only the third state -- besides New Hampshire and Vermont -- where the
gay and lesbian community has achieved their objective through legislative
means, and not through a cowardly, roundabout court order, as occurred in
Iowa, for example. This fact endows the bill with more power, influence and
legal weight.
Furthermore, I would dare say that whereas the 2004 Massachusetts bill has
been the primary legal model up until now, I suspect that the New York bill
will become the new model, which liberals in other states will now follow;
because by examining the exact wording of this bill, they will have learned
how to overcome -- through legal means -- some of the primary objections and
concerns which are expressed by more conservative, God-fearing Americans.
Whether or not the New York law will endure remains to be seen. While New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and their
liberal ilk have obtained a "victory" for now, as occurred in Maine and
California, it may be short-lived. According to everything that I have read
concerning the people of the state of New York, outside of New York City
itself, they are quite conservative, and a legal challenge, and possibly a
future referendum, may already be in the works.
On the other hand, Cornell Law School professor, Michael Dorf, holds the
view that it is "inevitable that we'll have same-sex marriage in most of the
states within a decade." While I truly hope that Professor Dorf is wrong in
his assessment, if we consider the increasingly liberal views which are
embraced by the younger generation -- despite the conservative views which
are held by their parents -- it is a serious cause for concern.
In fact, as I point out in a number of my articles, I have long suspected
that in a moral sense, the USA has already passed the point of no return. An
honest examination of the mass media, the public education system, the
entertainment industry and other areas of American public life will quickly
reveal that the USA is moving full steam ahead in its carnal liberality, and
soon won't be much different from hedonistic Rome of two thousand years ago,
which engaged in every form of sexual perversion and sin. Concerning that
misguided society, the Apostle Paul wrote the following:
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their
own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave
them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural
use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men
with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that
recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do
those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full
of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that
they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but
have pleasure in them that do them."
Romans 1:21-32, KJV
While I could say a lot concerning the previous verses, I will refrain from
doing so at length, being as I already discuss this issue in detail in such
series as "The Gay And Lesbian Agenda: To The Point" and "When Sin Is No
Longer A Sin".
Let me just call your attention to one sentence from the previous verses.
Paul writes "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them". That sentence alone demonstrates the perversity, obstinacy
and hardheartedness of the ancient Romans. In other words, the Romans knew
that what they were doing was wrong. Perhaps, like many people today, they
were even aware of the terrible fate which befell the ancient cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah, as a result of their perverse sexual sins against God.
Yet, despite that fact, they plunged headlong into hedonism, and even took
pleasure in their sins and rebellion against God.
The United States of America today is very much the same. Not only do many
people engage in all of these sexual perversions, and flaunt their sinful
lifestyle publicly, but in their strong delusion, they even have churches
where they claim that God accepts or at least overlooks and tolerates these
blatant sins, and loves them just as they are. This, in my view, is even
worse than the legalization of same-sex "marriage". It is slapping God in
the face.
Should we then expect a different fate from Sodom and Gomorrah if we
willfully choose to engage in and legalize these very same sins?
I think not.
God's judgments grind exceedingly slow, but exceedingly fine.
Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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