Hiding behind benefits and local control

Last session, OutFront tried to legalize same-sex marriage by manipulating benefits and state/local government. It is part of their incremental approach to legalize same-sex marriage via the legislative process - versus the courts.

OutFront tried to make it legal for local government, like St. Paul, to determine who receives benefits. Sounds innocent. However, this ruling in Washington state is a good example of what can happen when same-sex marriage hides behind words like "benefits" and "local control."

Washington Court OKs Gay 'Marriages' From Canada
Homosexuals travel north in their effort to redefine marriage.

It’s the latest example of state officials reinventing policy on marriage. The Washington state Court of Appeals said it’s OK for the mayor of Seattle to recognize same-sex “marriages” from other countries. With Vancouver, a hub for homosexual unions, just a quick trip north, the fiasco is in full swing.

In 2004, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels issued an executive order forcing all city departments to give benefits to "married" homosexual employees. Gay “marriage” was and still is prohibited in Washington, but not in Canada. To get the benefits, Seattle gays traveled north of the border. Nickel’s policy is now the law of the land.

“What business has Mayor Nickels got in taking his local agenda and pounding it through here?" asked Larry Stickney of the Family Policy Institute of Washington.

Brian Raum of the Alliance Defense Fund said proponents of traditional marriage challenged the mayor’s executive order, but lost in court.

“The court in Washington suggests that the same-sex marriages recognized there are only for the purposes of benefits and somehow that’s OK," he told Family News in Focus. "I think that’s a very dangerous position to take because the very essence of what they are trying to do there is gain marriage equality, and that’s one of the tactics that those who support that are using.”

There’s a similar battle brewing in New York. “The highest court in New York said there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage," Raum said. "Yet those who support same-sex marriage are trying to circumvent the will of the people and get what they otherwise can’t get in a legitimate matter.”

The Pacific Justice Institute is appealing the Seattle case to the Washington Supreme Court.
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