The repercussions of Canada's decision to legalize same-sex marriages on July 20, making Canada the fourth nation that grants marital rights to same-sex couples, have caused organizations in the U.S. to act by making petitions that will protect the definition of traditional marriage.
American organizations, such as Liberty Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), and Alliance for Marriage (AFM) have expressed their concerns and have stated the importance of preserving the definition of marriage as being with one man and one woman.
President Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel told the Baptist Press (BP) that there will be a lot of Canadians who will move to the United States expecting that their Canadian same-sex marriage licenses will be recognized.
In addition, the law will allow same-sex couples in America that marry in Canada to be able to sue back home for their marriage license to be recognized.
"That's why it's so critical that we move forward with a federal Marriage Protect Amendment to amend our U.S. Constitution to preserve marriage as between one man and one woman," he told BP.
Recently, with similar concern, a coalition of Pastors working with the Great Commission Center International (GCCI), who joined with the Campaign for Children and Families, has proposed that at the start of August and over a period of four months, their goal is to gather over a million signatures by December.
GCCI will submit this list of signatures to the state assembly in order for a marriage amendment to appear on the state ballot next summer.
The amendment will call for sole legalization of marriage between one man and one woman, which will protect against any government attempt to abolish the institution of traditional marriage. The proposal is in response to AB1960 and AB19 that has intended to legalize gay marriages through the legislature, which was proposed by Assemblyman Mark Leno.
The letter also calls for Christians to state and recognize that only one man and one woman equal marriage.
So far, they have set up stations in four major cities in California—San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento.
In addition, Rev. Thomas Wang, president of GCCI, has expressed in a recent interview regarding Canada's legalization of same-sex marriages that, this is a serious problem and a tragedy for Canada to recognize gay marriages because both Canada and the United States are founded on Christian grounds.
Dale Schowengerdt an attorney from ADF, furthermore, said to BP that "Canadian policy and the policy of other countries has an effect on what America does.”
Another comment from Rev. Wang expressed that the church's need to "break down the walls and enter the society taking the Bible and the truth and the Word of the Lord," so that, "churches [can] preach."
"American Christians should wake up and be careful, and ask for the awakening of the spirit. Revive! Christians should become God's voice in the society," he stated.
