Christian Action League
October 11, 2013
RALEIGH – “To expect our Attorney General, Roy Cooper, to vigorously defend North Carolina’s Marriage Protection Amendment is similar to believing the fox will zealously guard the hen house,” said Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. Dr. Creech expressed his frustration just after learning on Friday that the state’s top lawyer was headlining a fundraising event for the state’s premiere homosexual activist group, Equality, N.C.
The event, Equality NC’s “Foundation Gala” will be held in downtown Greensboro on November 9th, of this year. Equality, NC describes its gala as an “extravaganza – a tribute to the best and brightest Equality advocacy in the Old North State.”
In May of 2012, North Carolinians overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment to protect marriage by a margin of 61% to 39%. Since that time, however, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged North Carolina’s ban on “second parent” adoptions, which allow for adoptions only by married couples or single individuals, but not by unmarried pairs. Same-sex couples are demanding to be able to adopt one another’s children via a so-called “second parent” adoption, an arrangement which robs children of either a mom or a dad. In July, Cooper’s office announced that it would not oppose a motion filed by the ACLU to expand this same case to also challenge the state’s constitutional amendment to protect marriage as one man and one woman.
Ironically, Cooper, who was a vocal opponent of the Marriage Protection Amendment in 2012 and has yet to demonstrate any desire to protect the will of the people on the matter, is the lead defendant in the case meant to overturn the state’s marriage laws and constitutional amendment on marriage.
John Rustin, president of the North Carolina Family asked, “So why is our Attorney General, who is charged with defending the laws of our state, and who is the lead defendant in a lawsuit that is seeking to overturn the definition of marriage in North Carolina – both in state statute and in the N.C. Constitution – participating as the keynote speaker for a group that has such an explicitly expressed and vested interest in redefining marriage in North Carolina? At the very least, the Attorney General’s participation in this event is highly inappropriate!”
Tami Fitzgerald, who lead the campaign “Vote for Marriage N.C.”, and currently heads the North Carolina Values Coalition said, “This is outrageous! How can our Attorney General charged with defending the definition of marriage contained in our constitution also headline an event designed to overturn that same constitutional provision? Clearly, he is unwilling to stand up for the Amendment that over 60% of North Carolinians support!
The Raleigh News and Observer also reported, “Cooper has said he has a duty to defend the state, regardless of his personal opinions. But some say he has gone too far in expressing his opposition to the constitutional amendment, particularly since he is a likely candidate for governor.”
Cooper’s actions demonstrate he can’t be trusted to protect the will of the people in the state’s most sacred document – its constitution. Marriage is under attack and it appears as though the soldier who is supposed to be on guard is a collaborator with the enemy.
Take Christian Action:
Equality N.C.’s primary purpose is to overturn the state’s marriage laws and constitutional amendment protecting marriage as one man and one woman. It is highly inappropriate and ethically conflicting for the state’s Attorney General to be a keynote speaker at their Foundation Gala, while he is the lead defendant in a case that challenges the state’s expressed will on marriage. Call his office (919) 716.6400 and graciously express your opposition.