Back in June, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins pointed to the marriage equality fight in Illinois to argue that marriage equality is not inevitable:
Today, Pew Research Center did its part to dispirit supporters of natural marriage by insisting that 72% of Americans believe same-sex “marriage” is inevitable (including 85% of same-sex “marriage” supporters and 59% of natural marriage proponents). Apparently, the folks at Pew didn’t survey anyone in Illinois. Advocates of same-sex “marriage” thought victory in the President’s home state was “inevitable” too — until the churches got involved.
The reality is, same-sex “marriage” is only as inevitable as we make it. If Christians play into the media’s hands and adopt this defeatist attitude, then the Left is right: It is helpless. But if believers rediscover the power of the truth, they can do more than stop the dissolution of marriage (like they did in Illinois), they can “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
Of course, Illinois eventually did in fact legalize same-sex marriage. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia now have marriage equality laws, which are favored by 58 percent of Americans and a huge majority of young people.
But undeterred by the facts, Perkins said in his radio address today that “the tide may already be turning” against equality:
Plenty of states have been processing down the same-sex marriage aisle. But according to pundits, that’s all about to change. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins with the Family Research Council in Washington. Homosexual activists like to say that momentum is on their side. And until recently, they might have been right. Sixteen U.S. states now recognize a right to same-sex marriage. And unfortunately, the Left’s success in places like Hawaii and Illinois have helped feed the lie in America that homosexual marriage is inevitable. But don’t believe it, say experts. All we’ve witnessed lately is the Left taking advantage of easy targets. With the exception of West Virginia, none of the other 34 states are under Democratic control. That means the Left’s toughest battles are yet to come. And in places like Indiana, the tide may already be turning. State liberals are rushing to play defense while a marriage protection amendment works its way to the statewide ballot. So be encouraged. Not all same-sex wedding bills are leading to wedding bells.
Indiana will vote on an amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2014, but Indiana GOP leaders are already distancing themselves from or even opposing the discriminatory initiative. While the vote is a year away, the latest polling found that most Hoosiers oppose the amendment.
Marriage equality may also soon arrive in Oregon and New Mexico (where it is already legal in some counties), which may disappoint Perkins as he tries to pretend anti-gay activists are somehow winning the fight on marriage rights.
