WASHINGTON UPDATE 04/27/2015

| April 27, 2015 | Permalink Marriage Hits a Hopefuls Note The best barometer of what matters to voters isn't what's coming out of the media's mouth -- but the candidates'. For months, the press has tried to persuade the nation that marriage is not only a settled issue, but an unimportant one. This past weekend's Faith and Freedom Coalition event blew that theory to bits, as every presidential hopeful but one almost tried to be more outspoken on the issue than the others. Polling has its place, but generally speaking, candidates don't lead the voters -- voters lead them. And the fact that heading into a major presidential election cycle, almost every official and potential GOP candidate has publicly thrown their support behind marriage is the best indication of where voters truly stand. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who hasn't shied away from a single question on the issue, reiterated his opinion that "There is no federal constitutional right to same sex marriage. There isn't such a right. You have to have a ridiculous reading of the U.S. Constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex." Other stalwarts like Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), haven't budged from their position -- despite the slings and arrows from the Left. While conservatives are usually blamed for fixating on marriage, Senator Cruz fired back that it's actually liberals who "are obsessed with 'mandatory gay marriage in all 50 states." And while those liberals may have had some success scaring off people like Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Governor Bobby Jindal (R-La.) threw down the gauntlet in Iowa, warning, "Corporate America is not going to bully the Governor of Louisiana." Even more moderate Republicans like Governor Scott Walker (R-Wisc.), who is usually more reluctant to speak up on the issue, joined the pack. "Let me be clear, I believe marriage is between one man and one woman," he announced, before cataloguing his efforts on Wisconsin's marriage amendment. "I still hold out hope that the Supreme Court will rule, as has been the tradition in the past, that the states are the places that get to define what marriage is. If for some reason they don't ... I believe it's reasonable for the people of America to consider a constitutional amendment that would affirm the ability of states to do just that." Although Jeb Bush skipped the event, his surrogate wasn't going to leave Iowa without declaring: "[Jeb] Bush supports traditional marriage." Only Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), whose statements are a muddled mix, refused to comment on the issue. Paul's lack of enthusiasm for marriage was more than made up for by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who had a message for every GOP strategist urging a retreat on these issues, "To those who say, on the Republican side, we need to abandon social conservatism so quit talking about these issues because you can't win an election. Here's my response. You don't know what you're talking about." These candidates understand what the media cannot: Regardless of what the Supreme Court rules on marriage this summer, they won't settle such a fundamental public policy issue any more than Roe v. Wade settled abortion in 1973. Forty-two years later, it is an issue in every election from the President on down. Fortunately for conservatives, they know exactly where their potential Presidents stand! Bakers' Sentence a Recipe for Disaster Discrimination isn't what LGBT activists fear most. Debate is. That was obvious all weekend, as the Left unleashed its fury on Christians who dared to hold different views on marriage. Just days before the Supreme Court's oral arguments on the subject, LGBT activists would have been wise to hide their zealotry until after a ruling -- but clearly, that kind of restraint isn't in their nature. Not only do they want to force Christians to participate in an event that violates their beliefs -- they want to punish and silence any dissenting thought. In less than eight hours, a fund that had been established to help Aaron and Melissa Klein, the young parents of five who owned Sweet Cakes by Melissa, pay their $135,000 fine had been taken down -- just shy of the goal. (To donate to the Kleins through the new Samaritan's Purse site, click here!) With amazing ferocity, LGBT activists targeted the GoFundMe site for daring to help a family for standing up for their faith. Faster than you can say "religious discrimination," the site pulled the plug on the campaign -- outraging thousands of Americans who simply wanted to show their support for the First Amendment rights the government was denying them. Yesterday morning, the protests continued -- this time over my appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation." Host Bob Schieffer opened the interview by saying, "Mr. Perkins, I am going to say this to you up front. You and your group have been so strong in coming out against... gay marriage that the Southern Poverty Law Center has branded the Family Research Council as an anti-hate group. We have been inundated by people who say that you should not appear because they, in their view, say that you don't speak for Christians." Fortunately, CBS didn't give into the censorship and allowed us to respectfully disagree with the media's narrative on marriage. But it was disappointing to see that any media outlet would rely on a group like SPLC that has actually been linked to domestic terrorism in federal court and traffics in politically-motivated, inaccurate, and biased claims. After taking a deeper look at the SPLC's motives, the FBI removed links to the SPLC from its 'hate crimes resources' page and the Department of Defense, along with the U.S. Army, have distanced themselves from SPLC's materials. But that wasn't the only surprising part of the interview. Much like he did two years ago, "Face the Nation" host Schieffer actually asked what evidence there was that same-sex "marriage" would lead to the discrimination of Christians. "How can you say that?" he asked. I pointed to the Kleins, and now, thanks to FRC's brand-new site FreeToBelieve.com, we can point to several more Americans who are being persecuted -- and in some cases prosecuted -- for holding a view that, until three years ago, President Obama shared. The media isn't covering the stories of these victims -- not because they don't exist -- but because liberals recognize their potential to swing the debate. The Left's totalitarian tactics continue to trump the First Amendment rights of Christians who were fired, sued, harassed, fined, and suspended for their beliefs. And even the Left isn't immune from the attack. Simply for hosting Senator Ted Cruz at their house, a gay couple was inundated with threats and boycotts of their hotel business. Harassed to the breaking point, an emotional Ian Reisner apologized to his community. "I am shaken to my bones by the e-mails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days. I made a terrible mistake." Mati Weiderpass, the other host, begged for forgiveness. "Unfortunately," he said, "I cannot undo this. You taught me a painful but important lesson." And that lesson is that the Left won't tolerate dissent -- even from its own. (Ask Dolce and Gabbana.) The children of same-sex couples are living proof of this turmoil, as many of them bravely come forward about the horrors of being raised in a homosexual environment -- knowing it could cost them everything. Eventually, the American people will want to know: where is the tolerance these activists are so quick to demand? For more on the CBS controversy, check out Mark Hemingway's column in the Weekly Standard. Thousands Take Steps to Protect Marriage In what has been the largest March for Marriage to date, thousands of Americans flooded Washington, D.C. to send a clear message to the Supreme Court justices: support for protecting natural marriage is alive and well! People from many nationalities and all walks of life were addressed by a robust lineup of pro-family leaders that included pastors, bishops, attorneys and policy leaders -- FRC Action's Executive Director Josh Duggar and FRC's Cathy Ruse among them. Some travelled literally thousands of miles to participate and make sure their voices were heard. With the High Court's hearing on marriage just days away, the speakers reminded the nation of the many significant aspects of marriage -- including its far-reaching impact on society, the long-lasting benefits to children, and the severe fines and penalties many family business owners have faced when government officials have sought to force acceptance of a marriage redefinition. One attendee shared that before coming to the March, the liberal media's narrative on this issue made her feel as if she was all alone in her support for natural marriage. She left with resounding reassurance that there are many others who share this view! The more the nation hears about this issue, the more it realizes that marriage is too important of an institution to experiment with and that the American people should not have a redefinition of marriage judicially forced on us. ** One former First Lady is urging Americans to ditch their faith and embrace abortion and homosexuality. FRC's Rob Schwarzwalder responds in his Christian Post piece, "Memo to Hillary Clinton on Marriage: Here Christians Stand, and We're Not Moving." Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.