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www.familywatchinternational.org
September 19, 2007
A Spanish Lesson
from
Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Dear Friend of Families,
In a very real sense, traditional marriage in Spain was a victim of the terrorist Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004. The bombings, just a few days before Spain’s national election, resulted in victory at the polls for the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.
Unfortunately, the election of this new socialist government has ushered in wide-ranging social changes in Spain, the foremost of which was the legalization of same-sex marriage. Had it not been for the terrorist bombing causing a change of government, Spain would not have become the third country in the world to take this drastic step.
Now in Spain, just as it has been in the other five places in the world where same-sex marriage has been legalized, children have become targets.
As part of its “Education to Citizenship” curriculum, the Spanish socialist government is now implementing a radical sexual orientation indoctrination policy in the public schools. Among other things, this course is designed to make children accept “diverse family situations” and same-sex marriage as normal and equal to man/woman marriage.
The government is trying to “help” Spanish children “overcome homophobic prejudice” by teaching them that homosexuality is normal and equal to heterosexuality. Students are also being taught that “gender” is merely a “social construct” and that there are no moral absolutes. Holding to a moral absolute has been labeled by the government in this course as inherently “intolerant.”
Sound familiar?
It should, because these same concepts are creeping into classroom instruction around the world. And for those readers who think their children are not being exposed, I would ask a simple but critical question: are you sure?
Too many parents are simply unaware of what the schools are doing to try to “mainstream” homosexuality and deconstruct the traditional family. I could write an entire article on what happened in my own children’s schools while most of the parents had no idea it had been going on. Please find out what your children are being taught!
What is happening now in Spain is part of a clear pattern, which worsens wherever same-sex marriage has been legalized. Legalizing same-sex marriage virtually requires all arms of government to be actively involved in deconstructing the traditional family by holding same-sex headed households as equal to the natural family.
Spanish pro-family groups are organizing a revolt among parents who are outraged at this indoctrination of their children by the government. Family Watch International is privileged to be providing technical and tactical support to one of the leading pro-family groups in that country, HazteOir.org, which is in the forefront of organizing this grassroots opposition.
Ignasio Arsuaga, president of HazteOir, is blunt in his assessment of what is going on in his country. “The [President] Zapatero government is trying to brainwash our children’s minds. This is totalitarianism.”
As we take note of the events happening in Spain and in other places where same-sex marriage has been legalized, I hope it will inspire all of us to redouble our efforts to preserve man/woman marriage. By doing so, we will also be protecting our children from the mandatory indoctrination programs that inevitably follow the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Sincerely,
Sharon Slater
President
P.S. Spanish speakers may be interested in the very successful citizen’s petition Web site, epcno.org that HazteOir.org has set up to provide information on this issue.
News Items of Interest
Same-Sex Marriage Ban Upheld by Maryland
In a stunning defeat to homosexual activists in the U.S., the state of Maryland’s highest court has ruled that the state’s 1973 ban on same-sex marriage does not discriminate on the basis of gender and does not deny any constitutional rights to homosexuals. The court also found that the state has an interest in promoting man/woman marriage as the “only relationship capable of bearing children traditionally within the marital unit.” Maryland ratified a state Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which bans discrimination based on gender, but the court found that it did not apply to sexual orientation. Read more here.
Researchers Say Sexual Orientation Can Be Changed
Notwithstanding the insistence of homosexual activists and some in the mental-health field, the scientific evidence continues to mount that a change of sexual orientation by some homosexuals is indeed possible. The latest study was done by Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse and reported in their newly released book, Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation. They have tackled two of the most controversial questions on the subject: is change possible, and can the attempt to change be harmful? The publisher, InterVarsity, claims that the research by Jones, a professor at Wheaton College, and Yarhouse, a professor at Regent University is “the most scientifically rigorous study of its kind to date.” Read more here.
California Legislature Vote Could Ban Words “Mom” and “Dad” in Public Schools
If the legislation just passed by the California Assembly is signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the words “mom” and “dad” could be banned in public schools because they are “discriminatory.” The bill, SB777, bans any curriculum or activities that “promotes a discriminatory bias against” homosexuals, transgenders, bisexuals, and those with perceived or actual gender issues. The Los Angeles Unified School District has already implemented many of the bill’s requirements in its schools. Policies in place in Los Angeles provide restroom and locker room facilities that “corresponds to the gender identity that the student consistently asserts at school.” This means that a male student who consistently asserts a female identity in Los Angeles schools is permitted to use the girls’ bathrooms. Read more here.
New York Court Rules Same-Sex Marriages Must Be Recognized
A judge in the state of New York has ruled that state employees who entered into same-sex marriages out of state should have their marriages legally recognized in New York, and their spouses should be eligible to collect state retirement benefits. The decision by Judge Thomas McNamara of the New York Supreme Court does not apply to civil unions. Read more here.
Nicaragua Renews Abortion Ban
A total ban on abortion was overwhelmingly renewed by the Nicaraguan Congress by a vote of 66-3. An amendment which would have created an exemption for “therapeutic abortion” was also struck down. The penal code punishes “whoever causes an abortion” including medical and health professionals, and the woman herself. The Nicaraguan constitution provides right-to-life protection from the moment of conception. Read more here.
UNFPA Denied Funds Again by Bush Administration
For the sixth year in a row, the Bush administration has refused to fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This UN agency has been tied to forced abortion in China and other countries. The State Department determined that funding UNFPA is a violation of the Kemp-Kasten amendment, which prohibits money from going to any organization that “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” Read more here.
U.S. Christian Camp Loses Tax-Exempt Status over Same-Sex Civil-Union Ceremony
The New Jersey Methodist group which has been embroiled in controversy because it denied the use of its privately owned pavilion to two women who wanted to use it for a same-sex civil union ceremony has lost its tax-exempt status for a portion of its property. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection made the announcement this week. The Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association has used the facility for over 130 years. One homosexual rights group is threatening to appeal the decision claiming that it doesn’t go far enough, that “there is a bigger victory to be had by having the entire tax-exemption removed.” Read more here.
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