In The Days

• Source: WND
• News Date: 8/7/08
• Submitted By: Mike and Carol Raley

Social agenda issues declared ‘emergency’ plans

Days of Lot

Please read —Leviticus 18:1-25 (click here for chapter 18) and see the progressive decay of a society that turns from it’s creator.
— ITD Editor -

Iniquity Abounding

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
—2Thessalonians 2:7

State lawmakers, determined to accomplish their social agenda goals to promote homosexuality, apparently have taken steps recently to prevent voters from overturning their work.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts recently approved a plan to repeal a 1913 law that prevented same-sex duos from out of state traveling to Massachusetts to get “married” under that state’s procedures, then returning home with their new “marriage” certificate.

Then they approved it again.

Why? Officials with Mass Resistance, a pro-family advocacy group, explained.

“In an incredible move, on Wednesday afternoon, July 31, the House and Senate both quickly re-passed the bill again – this time with special ‘emergency act’ language to thwart the referendum process,” the organization said on its website.

“We’ve never heard of that happening before. If a bill is an ‘emergency act’ then it’s labeled as such before it’s passed – not the day after it’s passed. Something was pretty rotten,” the group said.

The action apparently mimicked a move by the Colorado Legislature only a few weeks earlier on a so-called “gender-perception” anti-discrimination plan that critics have argued now outlaws the publication of the Bible in the state.

The possibility of discrimination, according to Colorado lawmakers, was such that it presented a threat to the state, so it was determined to be an “emergency” measure, preventing a challenge by voters.

In Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick already has signed the bill into law, using the recent occasion to promote another bill that now forces Massachusetts taxpayers to pay homosexual couples health benefits they cannot other get through the state’s Medicaid program because that program is federally funded.

That state’s 1913 law had prohibited out-of-state homosexuals from getting “married” in the state, which has recognized such same-sex “marriages” for residents since Gov. Mitt Romney was in office there in 2004.

But the repeal now means any same-sex duo can arrive in Massachusetts, get “married,” then return home with a “marriage” certificate and stage challenges to local government or corporate policies that do not recognize those lifestyle choices.

Mass Resistance says it had planned to challenge the new decision by referendum petition, but officials say that now might not be so easy or effective.

“MassResistance was in the State House on Tuesday as the House was debating and voting on the bill,” the group said in a statement. “During the day the idea of a Referendum Petition came up. Right after the vote took place, a Boston Globe reporter, Eric Moskowitz, was interviewing us. We mentioned the idea to him. But we told no one else.

“In Moskowitz’ Boston Globe article the next morning (Wednesday) the Referendum possibility wasn’t mentioned. But then, during the day on Wednesday the House and Senate leadership both re-passed it! They rammed the bill through with the new language to thwart a referendum petition. Why now?” MassResistance asked.

“We called Moskowitz’ boss, Frank Phillips, at the Globe’s State House office. Phillips said he knew nothing about it, but it was ‘possible’ that Moskowitz had talked to the gay lobby for a reaction. (But if so, why not mention it in the article?) This morning we called up Moskowitz and asked him. He denied telling anyone anything. But the whole thing is very strange,” the group said.

“Had Moskowitz included our idea in his newspaper article, it would have been transparent to everyone what the House and Senate were doing, and why they were doing it. It was certainly a newsworthy idea. But he was silent. And even afterwards, in their longer reports, none of the media mentioned anything about what happened,” the organization said.

Officials said that referendum petition now “may not be possible” because of the “emergency” declaration in the second version of the vote.

“We definitely underestimated some things, including the treachery of our politicians and their obsession to push their social agenda without any interference from the citizens,” the group said.

Mass Resistance chief Brian Camenker said had the repeal been passed as a regular law, his group would have been given 90 days to gather about 45,000 signatures needed to suspend the law and get it on the ballot on the next statewide election.

Because it is an “emergency,” the group needs to get only 33,000 signatures, but the law will be in effect until the next election, which in this case because of filing deadlines probably would be in 2010.

Camenker said he’ll be meeting with his organizations leaders to discuss the plan.

WND reported a few weeks earlier when Colorado lawmakers approved SB200, which bans discrimination based on the “perception” of gender.

“This is so loaded. It’s written in an open-ended fashion that anybody can take just about any part of it and grow it into a huge monstrosity,” state Rep. Kevin Lundberg told WND. “It was written with intentional [vagueness].”

He said the bill “is a wide open door for any judge to censor anything that condemns homosexuality, including Scripture.”

“I do believe that the Bible is banned, under the plain language of this new statute,” said Steve Crampton, general counsel of Liberty Counsel.

The Christian publishing house Focus on the Family has called it a payback by the Democrat-controlled legislature and Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter to homosexual activists such as millionaire Tim Gill, who has donated widely to pro-homosexual political candidates.

“Who would have believed that the Colorado state legislature and its governor would have made it fully legal for men to enter and use women’s restrooms and locker-room facilities without notice or explanation?” Focus founder James Dobson said. “Henceforth, every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, cross-dresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence.”

“This is your government in action. It represents a payback to Tim Gill and two other billionaires who have essentially ‘bought’ state legislators with enormous campaign contributions. Coloradans deserve better!” said Dobson.

“And by the way, because of the way this bill is written [with a declaration the situation is an 'emergency], it is not subject to the initiative process. There is no recourse,” Dobson said.