A Most Important Vote
November 5, 2006
By: Sellers S. Crain, Jr.
On November 7, 2006, Tennesseans will go to the polls to elect a governor, a U.S. Senator, several U.S. Representatives and Candidates for state wide and local races. As important as these votes are, there is one far more important for those of us who are Christians and who value traditional marriage. On the ballot on November 7th there will be a proposed amendment to our state constitution which would define marriage as only a union between one man and one woman. If it is passed, this amendment will guarantee that no other definition of marriage will be recognized as legal in the State of Tennessee. It also specifies that unions performed in other states between same sex couples will not be recognized as marriages in Tennessee. At this time twenty-one other states have already overwhelmingly passed similar constitutional amendments to their state's constitution. No proposed amendment on this issue has been defeated yet.
This vote is important for a number of reasons. First, the pro-homosexual marriage activists have targeted Tennessee. They have openly vowed to make Tennessee the first state to defeat this ban on same-sex marriages and thus open the door for homosexual marriages. Second, those promoting the defeat of this amendment will be out in mass at the polls. Third, the entire agenda for homosexual activists is to change the definition of marriage to make their lifestyle socially acceptable. Is it not, contrary to what they may say, to make it easier for homosexual couples to have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. There are already other laws on the books to prevent the kinds of discrimination they say that takes place against them.
In one of the news reports I heard on this issue, a homosexual activist said that since there was already a state law on the books in Tennessee passed by the General Assembly in 1995 that defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, we do not need this amendment to our state constitution. If this were true, why are they working so hard to defeat this amendment? Because this is a statute and not a constitutional provision, if a homosexual couple were to challenge it, it could be overturned by the State Supreme Court. This is what happened in Massachusetts, you can be sure that there will eventually be a challenge to this statute. If this amendment becomes part of our state constitution the courts could not overturn it as easily.
There is already some confusion on how to vote on this amendment. Two things are required before this proposed amendment can become part of our state constitution. First, it must receive the majority of the votes cast. Second, the number of votes cast for the amendment must be equal to half of the votes cast in the Governor's race plus one additional vote. This means that if there were two million votes in the gubernatorial election, to be passed, the amendment must receive one million and one votes. If you vote for governor and do not vote for the amendment, it will be the same as voting against it.
This is perhaps one of the most important votes we have had in Tennessee in years. Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, if you believe that marriage is only between a man and a woman, vote YES on this proposed constitutional amendment. Many voters have been turned off by all of the negative political commercials, and some have already decided not to vote at all. Please don't be among them. This vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment is far too important to ignore. The only thing the forces of evil need to succeed is for the forces of good to do nothing. Sue and I voted early.
Brotherly,
Sellers
