By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — Want to open your meeting with prayer in Jesus’ name? Most North Carolinians won’t mind a bit. According to a poll conducted late last month by the John W. Pope Civitas Institute, four out of five Tar Heel voters do not object to so-called “sectarian” prayers using Jesus’ name.

“It appears the people of North Carolina are much more tolerant than the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) when it comes to religious speech in the public square,” wrote Civitas President Francis De Luca in a March 23 press release on the poll. “They don’t feel threatened or intimidated by words alone.”

The poll and a separate rally, held last weekend at the Walkertown Public Library, come on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s January decision not to entertain a split Court of Appeals ruling in the hard fought Forsyth County prayer case. Read the rest of this entry »

In an attempt to divorce the Marriage Amendment from marriage, opponents deceptively call it “Amendment One.” Do not be mistaken on Election Day. The only initiative that will appear on the ballot this May 8th is the Marriage Amendment, NOT “Amendment One.” Opponents believe that by renaming the amendment they can mislead voters into thinking the initiative has nothing to do with the issue of marriage. If you want to preserve and further protect North Carolina’s current marriage law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, then vote FOR the Marriage Protection Amendment.

Materials now available for churches and others to use – get them today!
By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — The question of the future of marriage in our state will be on May’s primary ballot. But even now, six weeks before we cast our votes, North Carolinians must decide who’s going to determine the outcome. Will the vote reflect the will of the residents inside our state or the whim of outsiders and activists?

“The other side has President Obama speaking out against marriage, the California Democrats making calls into our state and all kinds of resources that they are pouring into their efforts to change the definition of marriage,” said Rachel Lee, Director of Communications for Vote FOR Marriage NC. “But we’re the ones who are going to live here after May 8. We have a vested interest in this issue.” Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — President Obama’s opposition to North Carolina’s Marriage Protection Amendment, announced March 16, has led Catholic bishops to issue a statement showing their disappointment and has left many in the state scratching their heads at the President’s “evolving” views on marriage and the various roles of state and federal government.

Bishop Peter Jugis, head of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, and Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh described their “grave disappointment as it is reported to be the first time that the President has entered into this issue on the state level, further escalating the increasing confusion on the part of some in our society to the very nature of marriage itself.”

“As Catholics, we are FOR marriage, as we believe it is a vocation in which God calls couples to faithfully and permanently embrace a fruitful union in a mutual self-giving bond of love, according to His purposes,” the bishops wrote, adding that “… children have the fundamental right to grow up with the understanding of the proper place of sexuality in human relationships.” Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League

RALEIGH – North Carolina’s 2-year-old ban on smoking in restaurants and bars has withstood its second legal challenge with a unanimous Court of Appeals ruling issued Tuesday affirming that the law does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Amendment.

“This is good news,” said Pam Seamans, executive director of the North Carolina Alliance for Health, a statewide coalition of health and wellness agencies that had fought for the ban’s passage in 2009.

The three-judge panel struck down a District Court ruling that had virtually made the ban unenforceable in Pitt County, where owners of four Greenville nightclubs had argued in court that the law was unfair because it applied to bars but not to private country clubs. The District Court had agreed, but Judge Linda Stephens wrote for the Court of Appeals that the statute’s verbiage should be interpreted to allow smoking only in private, nonprofit country clubs. Read the rest of this entry »

By Sarah Bowman
Christian Action League

RIDGECREST – The Christian Action League hosted a Prayer Rally Sunday, March 18, at the Ridgecrest Lifeway Conference Center, where believers gathered for several hours specifically dedicated to praying for the NC Marriage Protection Amendment. Ministry leaders from across the state shepherded the group in petitioning God for specifics related to the upcoming referendum, while providing attendees with information about why the amendment is necessary, an overview of the campaign, and the need for a national revival in marriage and family life.

Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, gave the welcome and pointed out the focus of the event.

“It is easy for us to think that money is the greatest need for Christian service…. Nevertheless money has never been the strength of any movement of God and it never will be,” he said. “Our strength is in the Spirit of the Lord Himself.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Paul “Skip” Stam,
Biblical Recorder

On May 8, the voters will decide whether this provision should be added to the State Constitution:

Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This Section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.

This marriage amendment would recognize only domestic legal unions between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships or civil unions, whether opposite-sex or same-sex, would not be valid or recognized here. The amendment would prohibit the government from creating “same-sex marriage” Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

SPRUCE PINE — The Spruce Pine Town Council on Monday joined a growing list of public bodies across the state that are resolving to support North Carolina’s Marriage Amendment, the upcoming referendum that seeks voter approval to insert the definition of marriage — one man and one woman — into the state’s Constitution.

“I was proud to see the Council take a stand on this, and I hope that it impacts Spruce Pine citizens and influences how they decide to vote on May 8,” said Garland Honeycutt, chairman of the recently formed Mayland Citizens for Faith and Family Values. The group, which takes its name from Mitchell, Avery and Yancey (MAY) counties, describes its membership as “convictional, concerned and convergent.” Read the rest of this entry »

‘Give now so that we can get out the vote and spread our message about the importance of preserving marriage on May 8^th’
By Tami Fitzgerald, Chairwoman
Vote for Marriage NC

Why does the media keep lying about public opinion on marriage?

Aren’t the media supposed to tell the truth?

My fellow North Carolinians’ here is the truth:

Despite misinformation in recent headlines, 64% of North Carolinians remain strongly in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment according to a Civitas Institute poll released last week.

Have you seen this reported ANYWHERE in the media? Of course not!

If we can’t trust the media, then we need to take it upon ourselves to get the truth out.

If you believe that marriage is between one man and one woman then we need you to help us talk to our fellow North Carolinians and remind them that they could lose marriage in just a few weeks. Can we count on you? Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — Despite what you may have read in your local newspaper or heard from televised news reports, support for the Marriage Amendment is not waning in North Carolina, but is, in fact, slowly gaining momentum.

“The small minority of opponents sounds loud because the editors and news producers at TV stations oppose the Marriage Amendment and most reporters who write on it oppose the Marriage Amendment,” Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca wrote on his blog in response to a recent Raleigh News and Observer article and other media reports touting a swell of support for homosexual marriage.

On the contrary, the Civitas Institute’s most recent poll, reported March 6, shows 64 percent of North Carolina voters favoring the amendment, which would insert into the State Constitution the one man-one woman definition of marriage. That figure is up 2 percent from last October. Read the rest of this entry »